Men’s Cross Country finishes second at WIAC Championships

Photo by Dan Schwamberger
Photo by Dan Schwamberger

By Alanna Huggett, UWEC Sports Information

COLFAX, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – Weather conditions were perfect on Saturday for the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire men's cross country team as they competed at the WIAC Championships (presented by Culver's). The meet took place at Whitetail Golf Course in Colfax, WI, and the Blugolds hosted the championships.

Results | Photos

The men's team finished 2nd with 69 points. UW-La Crosse won the meet. The men had an impressive time spread of 52.1 seconds for their top 5 runners.

Patrick Treacy (Sr. – Fall Creek, WI/Eau Claire Memorial) led the Blugolds to their second-place finish, placing 4th with a time of 25:01.9. Treacy earned 1st team all-conference honors.

Following Treacy were teammates Wyatt Elmer (Sr. – Mankato, MN/ Mankato Loyola) and Anthony Dupont (Sr. – Mendota Heights, MN/Henry Sbiley). Elmer finished 10th with a time of 25:24.1 and earned 2nd team all-conference honors. Dupont placed 13th with a time of 25:35.1 and earned 2nd team all-conference honors as well.

Connor Dolan (So. – Nekoosa, WI/Assumption) was the next Blugold to finish placing 17th with a time of 25:35.1 and earned all-conference honorable mention.

Sam Kuhlmann (Sr. – Shorewood, WI/Shorewood) placed 26th with a time of 25:54. Following Kuhlmann was David Bachmeier (Jr. – Long Prairie, MN/Long Prairie-Grey Eagle) who placed 34th with a time of 26:13.8.

Bachmeier had a great performance on Saturday, breaking his previous PR by over a minute.

"I think it was just like feeling confident and knowing that I'm ready to race fast," Bachmeier said.

Bachmeier also commented on the team's performance, he felt the race was a strong showing for the Blugolds.

"I think we did really well – I think it really helps our spot for like regionals and getting to nationals," Bachmeier said. "Obviously Stout's a really good team and beating them shows that we're ready to run fast too."

Rounding out the top 7 for the team was Jace Bartz (Fr. – White Bear Lake, MN/White Bear Lake) who placed 35th with a time of 26:19.9

Bailey Wilson (Jr. New Richmond, WI/New Richmond) also received an all-conference award and was named to the WIAC Sportsmanship team.

Head Coach Dan Schwamberger thought the Blugolds' performance on Saturday was great and the team ran a strong race.

"The men finishing second, I was proud of them and that's what I thought they were capable of – It's just nice to kind of see it start to come together," Schwamberger said.

Overall it was a great day to be a Blugold.

The men's cross country team will be racing again this upcoming weekend, at the Luther Saga Cup Friday, November 2nd at Luther College in Decorah, IA.