WINNECONNE, Wis. (blugolds.com) – The UW-Eau Claire men's cross country team finished second overall at the NCAA Regional Meet at the Lake Breeze Golf Club in Winneconne on Saturday, securing a spot in the NCAA National Championships.
North Central took home the regional team title scoring 51 points while the Blugolds scored 108. Andrew Padgett of Washington University was the individual champion, clocking in with a time of 23:56.50.
Josh Thorson (So.-Plymouth, MN) led the Blugolds by finishing third overall, clocking in with a time of 24:09.90. Teammate Ryan Mugan's (Jr.-Howards Grove, WI) time of 24:19.20 also placed him in the top 10, finishing at eighth overall and set a new personal record.
Christian Leitner (Jr.-Red Wing, MN) took 12th with a time of 24:27.80, followed by Darin Lau (Fr.-Eau Claire, WI) at 25:32.20 (29th), Matt Cooper (So.-Ashwaubenon, WI) at 25:32.40 (56th), Erik Rosvold (Sr.-Apple Valley, MN) at 25:52.40 (75th) and Steven Schimmel (Jr.-Stewartville, MN) at 26:14.20 (87th).
A season ago, the Blugolds finished with 128 points and took fourth in the regional meet, the program's best regional finish since 1998.
At last year's national meet the Blugolds took ninth in the nation, tallying 305 points.
The Blugolds will compete for a national title in Mason, Ohio on November 22. The race begins at 11 a.m.
-JM-
