By Brendon Paucek, UWEC Sports Information
Winneconne, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – In their toughest competition this season, the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire men's cross country team placed second out of 37 teams at the Oshkosh Invitational. Only No. 2-ranked North Central could best the Blugolds.
In partially damp conditions among over 500 other runners, a good start meant everything to the Blugolds.
"We wanted to be a little bit more aggressive off the line for the first 40-45 seconds or so," said Coach Dan Schwamberger. "Other than that, we wanted to focus on good position."
Darin Lau (Jr. - Eau Claire, WI/Immanuel Lutheran) had another impressive performance, placing second overall and battling with the meet champion Zach Plank of North Central. Lau finished the 8,000m course in 24:56, just nine seconds behind Plank.
Not too far behind were Blugold's reliable trio of Nick Petersson (Sr. - Brookfield, WI/Central), Matt Cyra (Sr. - Eagle, WI/Mukwonago), and Patrick Treacy (So. - Fall Creek, WI/Memorial), who finished in 12th (25:16), 19th (25:28), and 20th (25:28), respectively.
Rounding out the Blugold's top seven were Ryan Graham (Sr. - Maple Grove, MN/Maple Grove), Matt Cooper (Sr. - Ashwaubenon, WI/Ashwaubenon), Wyatt Elmer (Jr. - Mankato, MN/Loyola, who each ran intelligent races.
Graham placed 33rd (25:47), and Cooper and Elmer finished together in 45th and 46th (25:59). Graham and Elmer each ran career best times.
"North Central is clearly a team to beat come Nationals," said Cooper. "I still think our team is in a very good place right now and if we keep sticking to the plan, we'll see improved results when championship season rolls around."
"Later in the season, they're a team I hope we can match up with," added Schwamberger. "But they're definitely a team to key off of at regionals."
Half of the Blugold team will rest in preparation for Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Championship in two weeks. The other half, however, will run at the UW-Eau Claire Lowe's Creek 5k this Friday, October 16; the 5k has been relocated this year to Lowe's Creek from the City Wells.
