Men's Track and Field | 7/20/2026 3:42:00 PM
New Orleans, La. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse men's track & field team earned the 2026 U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Academic Award in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III, the organization has announced Monday. The Eagles were also named the 2026 NCAA Division III Men's Outdoor Track & Field National Scholar Team of the Year. UWL finished with a 3.64 cumulative grade point average in 2026.
UWL, who finished with a 3.64 cumulative grade point average, won the 2026 NCAA Division III Outdoor Championship. The Eagles captured the national title on May 23 at UWL's Roger Harring Stadium at Verterans Memorial Field Sports Complex with an NCAA III Championship meet record 106 points. It was the Eagles third straight national title and NCAA III record 18th outdoor title. Head Coach
Josh Buchholtz just finished his 18th season and now has led the Eagles to 14 NCAA Division III titles, including seven outdoor (2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2024, 2025, 2026) and seven indoor (2009, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2023, 2024, 2025).
Twenty-six members of UWL's men's squad were named to the 2026 USTFCCCA Division III All-Academic Team.
Trent Backeberg (biology), Ashton Baumann (kinesiology),
Connor Boyle (business),
Josh Brunner (business management),
Nico Castellanos (finance),
Owen Clark (exercise sports science),
Collin Conzemius (finance),
Christian Crumbaker (computer science),
Isaac Ewing (political science),
Mikaiah Hopf (exercise sports science),
Jacye Kiehne (business),
Lucas Krause (finance),
Gaven Lange (applied physics),
Owen Layton (biochemistry),
Aidan Matthai (business management and finance),
Nash Merklein (physics-pre engineering),
Zachary Nyquist (finance),
Gabe Olsen (economics),
Finn Patenaude (geographic information systems),
Carter Pearson (biology),
Spencer Prats (exercise sports science),
Cael Schoemann (political science),
Luke Schroeder (masters of applied statistics),
Ryder Smith (business marketing),
Anthony Staryszak (physics) and
Charles Vater (computer science) earned the honor for UWL.
To qualify for the USTFCCCA All-Academic Track & Field Team, the student-athlete must have compiled a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.30 and met at least one of the following athletic standards: have finished the indoor or outdoor season ranked in the national top 50 of an individual event or in the national top 35 of a relay event on the official NCAA Descending Order list on TFRRS; or competed in the NCAA Indoor or Outdoor Championship.
