By Brendon Paucek, UWEC Sports Information
Colfax, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire men's cross country team looked fast and strong on Friday, winning their home meet, the Blugold Invitational.
On a sunny Friday afternoon, the Blugolds entire top seven earned top 20 honors, scoring just 29 points and beating UW-La Crosse by a distant 32 points.
Once again, junior standout Darin Lau (Jr. - Eau Claire, WI/Immanuel Lutheran) was at the the front of the field.
"I was just looking to mix it up in the front pack again," said Lau. "I pretty much fought with Kevin Tree from Lakehead up until 7K, but he just had that extra gear that I didn't quite have. All in all, I'm happy with how I raced."
The All-American finished the 8,000m course in 24:54, just 11 seconds behind meet champion Kevin Tree.
In pursuit were Blugolds Patrick Treacy (So. - Fall Creek, WI/Memorial), Matt Cyra (Sr. - Eagle, WI/Mukwonago), and Nick Petersson (Sr. - Brookfield, WI/Central), who worked together for the duration of the race.
"Our goal was to repeat as meet champions and defend our title at our home meet," said Cyra. "Obviously, it went well and sticking with our pack mentality was effective."
The group of Blugolds finished fourth (25:17), fifth (25:22), and sixth (25:25), respectively, and for the second consecutive meet, Treacy and Cyra ran career bests.
Also running in a pack were fellow Blugolds Ryan Graham (Sr. - Maple Grove, MN/Maple Grove), Sam Kuhlmann (So. - Shorewood, WI/Shorewood), and Wyatt Elmer (Jr. - Mankato, MN/Loyola), finishing 12th (25:52), 14th (25:58), and 19th (26:07).
"Ryan Graham continues to impress, and Sam and Wyatt had huge races," said Coach Dan Schwamberger.
Moving forward, the men plan to remain focused and confident.
"I expect the same training groups to stick together and run even faster," said Lau. "I think Blugold further emphasized that are dream goals are right there for the taking."
The Blugold men will take the next week off from competition and continue to train for the UW-Oshkosh Invitational at Lake Breeze Golf Course on Saturday, October 15.
