By Brendon Paucek, UWEC Sports Information
STEVENS POINT, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire men's cross country team won its third consecutive title at the 2016 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Men's Cross Country Championship (Presented by Culver's) at Wisconsin River Golf Club on Saturday.
"It was one of a better conference races we've had as a whole, said Head Coach Dan Schwamberger. "For the most part we ran smart. I thought they got in good position and really finished strong."
The Blugolds secured the fourth championship in program history with 41 points to beat University of Wisconsin-La Crosse's second-place total of 50 points. UW-Platteville finished third with 100 points, UW-Oshkosh fourth with 129, UW-Stevens Point fifth with 144, UW-Stout sixth with 152, UW-River Falls seventh with 175 and UW-Whitewater eighth with 179.
Darin Lau (Jr. - Eau Claire, WI/Immanuel Lutheran) finished second with a time of 24:19.2 to lead the Blugolds.
"It was cool looking at the splits and seeing that most people were very even," said Lau. "It's a great indicator that we are a team that races smart. It's especially cool knowing that we have been winning with different people each year. It shows a winning culture has been established here."
Nick Petersson (Sr. - Brookfield, WI/Central), Patrick Treacy (So. - Fall Creek, WI/Memorial), and Matt Cyra (Sr. - Eagle, WI/Mukwonago) finished seventh, eighth and ninth in 24:39.9, 24:43.6, and 24.56.4, respectively.
UW-Platteville's Ian LaMere claimed the individual title for the second straight year, completing the 8,000-meter course in 23:55.2. His time established a conference meet record, surpassing the mark of 24:07.26 that he set a year ago.
Lau and Petersson earned First Team All-WIAC honors, while Treacy and Cyra and made the Second Team. Sam Kuhlmann (So. –Shorewood, WI) and Riley Huffman (Jr. – Oshkosh, WI/North) also earned Honorable Mention honors for the Blugolds, finishing 15th (25:14.8) and 19th (25.23.9), respectively.
"I felt very good about how my race ended up," said Huffman, who after a slow start to the season due to illness and injury in the summer, found his stride and ran a personal best by an incredible 90 seconds. "I think my improvement can be contributed mostly to more mental preparation for this race compared to others this year."
Looking forward, the team is prepared for the heart of championship season.
"Coach Schwamberger has a great way of building our confidence throughout the season," said Petersson. As long as we keep up the routine we will do great things."
The Blugold's national team will rest and begin tapering for their final meets, but the JV squad will race one last time this year at the Gender Equity invite hosted by UW-Platteville this Saturday, November 5.
