Men's Cross Country | 9/18/2026 1:05:00 PM
Fort Snelling, Minn. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse men's cross country team opened the 2026 season with a third place finish at the University of Minnesota Roy Griak Invitational on Friday morning. The Eagles were the top non National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I team in the top seven.
Owen Clark
THE BASICS
Team Results: UWL had three of the top 15 individual finishers and finished with 86 points. Iowa State University won the meet with 24 points while Boise State University (Idaho) was second with 39 points. Rounding out the top five was the University of Minnesota in fourth (125 points) and North Dakota University in fifth (126 points). A total of 18 teams competed in the meet.
Location: Fort Snelling Golf Course, Fort Snelling, Minn. (Hosted by the University of Minnesota)
National Ranking: UWL is ranked second on the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Poll. The Eagles are fifth on the D3 Glory Days Poll.
Head Coach: Derek Stanley is in his 15th season the head coach for UWL's men's and women's cross country. The men's team has captured 10 league titles and back-to-back NCAA III Championships. The Eagles have recorded eight top-four finishes at the national meet. The women's squad has won eight Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Championships and recorded six top-12 finishes at the national championships.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- UWL had three of the top 15 individual finishers led by Owen Clark who finished seventh with a personal best time of 24:05.5.
- Joining Clark in the top 15 was teammates Isaac Ewing, who was 12th with a time of 24:16.9, and Will Aurit in 15th with time of 24:18.4
- Rounding out the scoring for the Eagles was Owen Layton in 23rd place (24:24.1) and Thomas Menefee in 31st (24:41.4).
- Also running for the Eagles was Declan Gregg (32nd, 24:43.2), Chase Altergott (45th, 24:58.1), Ben Weston (57th, 25:10.7), Riley Huss (60th, 25:11.7), Kyle Johnson (62nd, 25:13.8), Alec Taylor (67th, 25:24.1), Brady Norman (74th, 25:32.5), David Obst (77th, 25:34.7), TJ Pennycook (80th, 25:38.7), Owen Klaus (81st, 25:39.6), Parker Heintz (84th, 25:42.9), Seth Rogge (91st, 25:48.2), Dawson Eckerman (92nd, 25:49.1), Logan Salzmann (100th, 26:05.2), Ethan Zywicki (108th, 26:11.5) and Joe Knepp (118th, 26:23.3).
UP NEXT
- UWL returns to action Saturday, October 3 at the Carleton College (Minn.) Running of the Cows at Bill Huyck Championship Course in Northfield, Minnesota at 12 p.m.
