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University of Wisconsin La Crosse Athletics

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Derek Stanley

Derek Stanley begins his 14th season as the head coach of the UW-La Crosse women’s and men’s cross country teams in 2025.  Along with serving as the head cross country coach, Stanley is an assistant coach for the Eagles' women’s and men’s track & field squads. 

The men's cross country team, with four runners earning National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III All-America honors, won the 2024 NCAA Division III title. It was the team's fourth (1996, 2001, 2005, 2024) national title in school history. The Eagles' Grant Matthai (third), Aidan Matthai (fifth), Joey Sullivan (16th) and Jayden Zywicki (20th) earned All-America accolades. It marked the first time in school history UWL earned four NCAA Division III All-America honors at the same championships. With Grant Matthai's third-place and Aidan Matthai's fifth-place finish, it was the second time in school history UWL had two runners in the top-five at the NCAA III Championships. Brett Altergott won the national title and Brad Wilson finished fourth in 1997.

Stanley was named the 2024 U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Association (USTFCCCA) NCAA Division III Coach of the Year as well as the North Regional Coach of the Year.
 
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UWL has won 14 combined WIAC titles under head coach Derek Stanley.

Along with the national title in 2024, UWL has recorded seven top-four finishes at the NCAA Division III Championships under Stanley. The Eagles were second in 2017 and 2023, third in 2013, 2014 and 2018 and fourth in 2012. 

Twenty NCAA III All-America honors have been earned under Stanley's tutelage with Josh Kaul (24th-place) and Josh Dedering (30th) picking up honors in 2012, Alex Ciesielski (8th) and Jonah Weisse (33rd) in 2014; Josh Schraeder (20th) and Thomas Schultz (29th) in 2017; Schraeder (4th), Schultz (14th) and Tyler Nault (30th) in 2018 and Schraeder (5th) and Nault (8th) in 2019. 

Ethan Gregg (11th) earned NCAA III All-America honors in 2021. Gregg and Isaac Wegner picked up NCAA III All-America accolades in 2022 and 2023 with Gregg finishing fourth and Wegner 12th in 2022 while Gregg captured the national title and Wegner 18th in 2023. 

Gregg became the second runner in UWL history to win the NCAA Division III title, joining Altergott in 1997. Gregg was selected the 2023 USTFCCCA Division III Athlete of the Year.

With Schraeder finishing fifth and Nault eighth in 2019, it marked the first time since 2001 UWL had a pair of top-10 individual finishes at the same meet with Tyler Foos placing third and Ross Substad seventh.

The Eagles finished ninth nationally in 2015, sixth in 2016, seventh in 2019, 10th in 2021 and eighth in 2022 under Stanley.  

The men's cross country team, winners of a league-best 39 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) championships, have captured the league title nine times (2012-13, 2017-19, 2021-24) under Stanley.

A total of 85 All-WIAC men's cross country honors have been earned under Stanley at UWL, including 29 first team selections and 38 second team choices. The Eagles recorded nine top-14 finishes in winning the 2024 WIAC Championship. UWL had five runners in the top-10 at the 2012 league championships, four in the top-11 in 2013, six in the top-12 in 2017 and four in the top-10 in 2018. UWL also recorded six top-11 finishes, including five in the top-nine and seven in the top-13 in 2022. The Eagles finished with five of the top-seven finishers and eight of the top-14 in 2023 in winning the WIAC title each year.   

Stanley was named the 2013 and 2017 WIAC Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year.  UWL also earned the 2018, 2022, 2023 and 2024 WIAC Coaching Staff of the Year Award. 

UWL had eight runners finish in the top-24 at the 2014 conference championships as the team placed second.  The Eagles placed second at the league meet in 2015 as seven runners finished in the top-26 while the team finished second in 2016 with six runners in the top-16.

Michael Villa (2019), Aidan Matthai (2022) and Chuck Vater (2024) have been selected the WIAC Newcomer of the Year under Stanley.

Schraeder (2019) and Gregg (2023) have been named the WIAC Athlete of the Year.

The UWL women's cross country squad has won seven WIAC Championships under Stanley (2013-14, 2016, 2021-24) while also finishing second on five occasions (2012, 2015, 2017-19).  A total of 81 All-WIAC cross country honors have been earned under Stanley, including 34 first team selections and 26 second team choices.

The Eagles finished with six runners in the top-12 as they won the 2024 WIAC Championship. UWL recorded four of the top-seven finishers in capturing the 2023 WIAC title, five of the top-10 in 2022 and seven of the top-14 in 2021, including four in the top-seven. UWL had eight runners finish in the top-14, including three in the top-four, in winning the 2016 WIAC Championship.  UWL had 10 runners in the top-29 at the conference meet in 2015 with eight runners finishing in the top-19 at the 2014 championships. The team had nine of the top-16 runners at the 2019 WIAC Championships.

Four runners finished in the top-nine at the 2013 WIAC Championships and five in the top-12 at the 2014 league meet as UWL recorded its fourth back-to-back conference crowns in school history and first since 2005-06.  Four runners finished in the top-20 at the 2012 WIAC Championships as the Eagles placed second.  Twelve runners placed in the top-36 at the 2017 league meet and 12 in the top-39 in 2018. 

Maddie Hannan won the WIAC individual title in 2022, becoming the eighth runner in school history to win the league title and first since Hannah Beilke in 2018. Laura Mead won the conference crown in 2013 and 2014, one of seven runners in WIAC history to capture back-to-back titles.  She is the second runner in school history to win back-to-back crowns joining Tori Neubauer (1982, 1983).  Mead, Neubauer and Julia Rudd (2002, 2005) are the only runners in UWL history to capture two individual conference titles.

Mead (2013, 2014), Elizabeth Frick (2016), Beilke (2018) and Hannan (2022) have been named the WIAC Women's Cross Country Athlete of the Year under Stanley. Hannan (2019), Jenna Lovejoy (2021), Mackenzie Hill (2022) and Greta Koehler (2023) have been selected the WIAC Newcomer of the Year.

Six student-athletes have earned the WIAC Judy Kruckman Scholar-Athlete Award under Stanley, including Rachel Schroeder (2013), Frick (2016), Kaitlyn McDaniel (2017-co), Sadie Kroll (2018-co), Kaylan Marshall (2021) and Katelyn Chadwick (2024-co).

UWL placed sixth at the 2016 NCAA Division III Women's Cross Country Championships under Stanley, the team's best finish since a fourth-place showing in 2005.  Frick earned All-America honors with a 21st-place overall finish. It was UWL's fourth-best individual finish since 2000.

The Eagles were ninth at the 2018 NCAA III Championships as Sadie Kroll (12th-place) and Beilke (18th) each earned All-America honors. It marked the first time since 2005 that UWL had a pair of All-America honors when Rudd placed second and Kristen Painter 35th.

UWL placed 17th at the 2017 NCAA III Championships with Kroll earning All-America honors with a 33rd-place overall finish. The Eagles finished 12th at the 2015 national championships as McDaniel earned All-America honors with a 33rd-place overall finish.  UWL was 13th at the 2014 and 2024 NCAA III Championships as Mead earned All-America accolades with a 10th-place finish in 2014. She became the first runner to place in the top-10 since Stephanie Perleberg finished seventh in 2009. 

The Eagles finished 10th in 2023, 11th in 2021, 19th in 2013 and 2019 and 25th in 2012 at the national championships under Stanley.

UWL was 15th at the 2022 NCAA III Championships with Hannan earning All-America honors with a 20th-place finish. 

Both cross country squads earned the 2024 USTFCCCA Scholar Team Award with the men's team earning the USTFCCCA National Scholar Team of the Year for the first time in school history. UWL has earned the USTFCCCA Scholar Team Award in 19 of the last 20 years on the women's side while the men's team has earned the honor 14 of the last 15 seasons.

Stanley was an assistant men’s cross country coach and assistant women’s and men’s track & field coach UWL in 2011-12 before being named head cross country coach.

Prior to coming to UWL, Stanley was the head coach of the women’s and men’s cross country and track & field programs at Marietta College (Ohio), a position he held from 2004 to 2011.  Stanley took the reins of a program near the bottom of the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) and moved it progressively higher.  The women’s cross country team finished last at the OAC Championships in Stanley’s first year, but improved to fifth by 2008. The Pioneer women also recorded three sixth-place showings (2006, 2007, 2009) under Stanley. 
 
On the men’s side, the team improved from a ninth-place finish at the OAC Championships during Stanley’s first year to consecutive sixth-place finishes during his last two years.  During Stanley’s tenure at Marietta (Ohio), the cross country teams earned nine All-OAC and two all-region honors.  The women’s squad earned the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Academic All-America award for eight straight years while the men’s team earned the honor in 2010.
 
While at Marietta (Ohio), Stanley also built a solid record as the head coach of the Pioneers’ track & field programs.  He was named the USTFCCCA Great Lakes Region Women’s Indoor Track & Field Coach of the Year in 2009.  He was also selected the USTFCCCA Great Lakes Region Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Coach of the Year in 2010.  Marietta’s (Ohio) women’s coaching staff was named the 2010 OAC Indoor Track & Field Staff of the Year.  The track & field programs fielded 98 all-conference athletes under Stanley’s tutelage, including 26 conference champions.  Marietta (Ohio) also had 23 NCAA Division III qualifiers and five All-Americas.
 
Stanley recruited and coached Caleb Muller at Marietta (Ohio), a national qualifier in the 10,000-meters at the outdoor national championships.  Muller competed at the 2010 NCAA III Cross Country Championships under Stanley, Marietta’s first national qualifier in 30 years.  He was also a national qualifier in 2011.  Muller became the first male in school history to win an OAC cross country title in 2011.
 
Before becoming head coach at Marietta (Ohio), Stanley was the head women’s and men’s cross country and track & field coach at Bluffton University (Ohio) from 2001 to 2003.  He also served as the head men’s cross country and assistant men’s track & field coach at Tiffin University (Ohio) from 1999-2001. 

Stanley earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in marketing from Tiffin (Ohio) in 1999.  Later, in 2002, he obtained his master’s of education from Bowling Green State University (Ohio).