Men's Cross Country | 10/31/2026 8:16:00 PM

Whitewater, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse men's cross country team won its ninth straight Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Championship (presented by Culver's) Saturday afternoon at UW-Whitewater Campus Cross Country Course. 

2026 WIAC CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIP BASICS

• Team Results: With five of the top eight finishers, UWL claimed the top spot with 27 points to finish ahead of second place UW-Stevens Point (46 points). In third place was UW-Whitewater (100 points) followed by UW-Stout in fourth (128 points), UW-River Falls in fifth (133 points), UW-Eau Claire in sixth (135 points), UW-Oshkosh in seventh (177 points) and UW- Platteville in eighth (242). 
• Location: UW-Whitewater Campus Cross Country Course, Whitewater, Wis. (hosted by UW-Whitewater). 
• National Rankings: Two programs are ranked in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III based on Oct. 21 rankings distributed by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. UWL, two-time defending NCAA III Champion, is ranked fifth, while UW-Stevens Point is sixth.
• UWL at WIAC Championships: UWL has now won a WIAC record 41 league championships. 
• WIAC All-Conference: The top seven runners in the 8,000-meter race will receive All-WIAC first team recognition, while runners placing eighth through 14th earn All-WIAC second team accolades. Individuals finishing 15th through 21st claim honorable mention status.

INDIVIDUAL WINNER

• Logan Murphy of UW-Stevens Point won the individual WIAC Title with a time of 24:07.1. 
• A total of 91 runners completed the 8,000-meter course. 

UWL INDIVIDUAL FINISHERS

• All five of the scoring runners for the Eagles finished in the top eight led by Owen Clark in third place with a time of 25:01.1. Teammate Declan Gregg finished right behind Clark in fourth with a time of 25:02.1 while Kyle Johnson finished fifth in a time of 25:04. In seventh place was Chase Altergott with a time of 25:09.6 while Ben Weston was eighth (25:12.1). 
• Joining those five in the top 15 for the Eagles individually was Will Aurit in ninth (25:12.4)), Thomas Menefee in 10th (25:12.7), Owen Layton in 11th (25:13.0), Isaac Ewing 12th (25:13.0) and Riley Huss 14th (25:20.3).
• Also competing for the Eagles was Chuck Vater (17th, 25:29.7) and Alec Taylor (23rd, 25:41.8). 

WIAC ALL CONFERENCE HONORS

• Kyle Johnson was voted the WIAC Newcomer of the Year.
• With their top seven finish, Clark, Gregg, Johnson and Altergott each earned First Team All-Conference honors. 
• Earning Second-Team All-Conference honors was Weston, Aurit, Menefee, Layton, Ewing and Huss. 
• With his 17th place finish, Vater was named Honorable Mention All-Conference. 

UP NEXT:

• All eight WIAC teams will participate in the NCAA Division III North Regional on Saturday, November 14 at St. Olaf Cross Country Course in Northfield, Minn. The NCAA Division III Championships are set for Saturday, November 21 at Bill Huyck Championship Course in Northfield, Minn.