By Alanna Huggett, UWEC Sports Information
CUBA CITY, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – The University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire men's cross country team competed at the 2019 WIAC Cross Country Championship meet on Saturday. UW-Platteville hosted the meet at the Cole Acres Golf Course. The Blugold men raced to a 3rd place finish with a score of 92 points. UW-La Crosse won the meet with 28 points.
Connor Dolan (Jr. – Nekoosa, WI/Assumption) was the first Blugold to cross the line. Dolan placed 14th with a time of 26:48.5. Dolan earned 2nd team All-Conference honors. Alex Winn (Sr. – Kingston, WA) finished in 16th place with a time of 26:59.3. Winn earned All-Conference Honorable mention.
Brett Haffner (So. – Darien, IL/Hinsdale South) finished 17th running a time of 27:00.5. Haffner earned All-Conference Honorable mention. Bailey Wilson (Sr. – New Richmond, WI) placed 22nd with a time of 27:16.6.
Wilson said he enjoyed working with his teammates to continue to move up (overall place) throughout the race. As a senior running his last conference race, Wilson said it was bittersweet.
"I'm really proud to be representing our team as a senior. I think it really highlights Dan's ability to train us to perform well when it counts the most," Wilson said.
Tyler Osen (Fr. – Lakeville, MN/Lakeville North) and Zach Yengo (So. – Eau Claire, WI/Eau Claire Regis) finished right behind Wilson. Osen placed 23rd wih a time of 27:18.1. Yengo finished 24th with a time of 27:20.8.
Chad Couser (Jr. – Rochester, MN/Rochester Mayo) rounded out the top 7 for the men's cross country team. Couser placed 34th with a time of 27:44.1.
Head Coach Dan Schwamberger said going into Conference the goal of the men's team was to work together so they could finish the last 3rd of the 8k race strong.
"They did a nice job of executing this plan as evident by the top three Blugolds earning WIAC All-Conference honors and the impressively small 32 second gap between our 1st and 6th runners," said Schwamberger.
Schwamberger also said Saturday was a positive step for the Blugolds that should have them excited and confident going forward into the championship season.
The Blugolds will race again Friday, November 8 at the Luther Saga Cup. The meet, hosted by Luther College, will take place in Decorah, IA.
*All-Conference awards are as follows: 1st team all-conference are finishers 1 – 7, 2nd team all-conference are runners 8 – 14, and all-conference honorable mention are finishers 15 –20.
