By Brendon Paucek, UWEC Sports Information
WHITEWATER, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire men's cross country team competed at the WIAC Championships this past weekend, earning a third place finish. The men's top five runners scored 81 points, behind UW-Stout's 64 points and UW-La Crosse's 35 points.
Darin Lau (Sr. – Eau Claire, WI/Immanuel Lutheran) captured his first individual WIAC title. Lau separated from the rest of the field early, and finished the 8,000m course in a record time of 24:38.
Earning second team all-conference honors in his best race so far this season was Riley Huffman (Sr. – Oshkosh, WI/North). Huffman finished 14th in a time of 25:43.
The rest of the Blugolds finished in quick succession. Brendon Paucek (Sr. – Sullivan, WI/Jefferson), Sam Kuhlmann (Jr. – Shorewood, WI/Shorewood), Anthony Dupont (Jr. – Mendota Heights/Henry Sibley), Patrick Treacy (Jr. – Fall Creek, WI/Memorial), Wyatt Elmer (Jr. – Mankato, MN/Loyola), and Alex Winn (So. –Kingston, WA/Kingston) all finished in the top 30.
Although the Blugolds had won the Conference Championship the previous three seasons, Coach Dan Schwamberger thought this year's third place performance still had some positive takeaways.
"It's the best we packed up all season, but I think our 3, 4, and 5 runners lost connection early which hurt us in the finish," said Schwamberger. "Overall, I thought it was our best race to date but we definitely have more work to do."
In addition, the Blugolds were the first team to finish all 12 of their conference runners—proving they're oe of the deepest teams in the conference.
With only a few weeks left in the season, the Blugold runners know it's time to race to their full potential. The top eight runners will rest for the NCAA Midwest Regional meet on November 11; however, the rest of the team will travel to Luther College this Friday, November 3 to compete in the Saga Cup Cross Country Challenge.
