2004 WIAC Men's Cross Country Headlines

2004 WIAC Men's Cross Country Headlines

UW-Eau Claire's Schuna and UW-Stevens Point's LaLonde Named To Academic All-America Men's Track and Field/Cross Country Team

RELEASED: Tuesday, June 21, 2005

Madison, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire's John Schuna and UW-Stevens Point's Mark LaLonde have been named to the 2005 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America College Division Men's Track and Field/Cross Country Second Team.

The Academic All-America Team is comprised of all NCAA Division II, Division III and NAIA athletes from around the country.

Schuna, a senior from Hudson, Wis., is majoring in exercise management and posts a 3.84 grade point average. He was the recipient of UW-Eau Claire's Super Six Award and also claimed the WIAC Max Sparger Indoor Track and Field Scholar-Athlete Award this year. Schuna is a nine-time All-American (indoor and outdoor) and claimed the indoor national title in the shot put in 2002. He is also a two-time outdoor conference champion in the shot put, winning the event in 2002 and 2004.

LaLonde, a senior from Park Falls, Wis., carries a 3.79 grade point average and is majoring in business administration. He was named UW-Stevens Point's Male Athlete of the Year this season and also received the 2004 WIAC Max Sparger Cross Country Scholar-Athlete Award. LaLonde is a five-time All-American (indoor and outdoor) and a two-time All-American in cross country. He is also a three-time conference champion with titles in the 5,000-meter run, 10,000-meter run and steeplechase.

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Three Named To Academic All-District Men's Track and Field/Cross Country Team

RELEASED: Friday, June 3, 2005

Madison, Wis.--Three Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) individuals have been named to the 2005 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Five College Division Men's Track and Field/Cross Country Team. UW-Eau Claire's John Schuna and UW-Stevens Point's Mark LaLonde were selected to the first team, while UW-Oshkosh's Kevin Deering was a second team choice.

Deering, a senior from Mukwonago, Wis., is majoring in broadfield natural science and maintains a 3.58 grade point average. He received the WIAC Max Sparger Outdoor Track and Field Scholar-Athlete Award earlier this year and also was the recipient of his school's Outstanding Senior Student-Athlete Award. Deering recently captured the outdoor national title in the decathlon to secure All-America honors for the third time in his career (indoor and outdoor). He was named the conference's Outdoor Outstanding Field Athlete of the Meet after claiming titles in the decathlon, high jump and javelin earlier this season.

The academic all-district team is comprised of all NCAA Division II, Division III and NAIA student-athletes from Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Minnesota and is voted on by members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

Schuna and LaLonde are now eligible for the Academic All-America squad, which will be announced on June 21.

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Conference Puts Three Women's Teams In Top 10, Two Men's Teams In Top 11 At NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships

Colfax, Wis.--Three Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) women's cross country teams finished in the top 10 and two men's squads placed in the top 11 at the NCAA Division III Championships, which were held Saturday, November 20 at Whitetail Golf Course and hosted by UW-Eau Claire.

UW-Oshkosh was the top league women's team, placing fourth with 174 points, while UW-Stevens Point placed sixth with 224 points and UW-La Crosse finished 10th with 297 points. UW-Oshkosh's top-four finish at the national meet was the 13th in school history, while UW-La Crosse's top 10 placement was the 19th in school annals.

Williams (Mass.) claimed the women's national title with 110 points. Defending champion Middlebury (Vt.) finished second in the 24-team competition with 129 points, while Washington (Mo.) finished third with 149 points, UW-Oshkosh fourth with 174 points and Colby (Me.) fifth with 202 points.

Missy Butry of Wartburg (Iowa) won the women's race for the second-straight season with a time of 20:22.0. UW-Oshkosh's Liz Woodworth finished second for the second-consecutive year and completed the 6,000-meter course in a time of 20:46.5. UW-Platteville's Jackie Mulrooney finished ninth (21:58.3) and Marcia Taddy placed 13th (22:06.8), while UW-Stevens Point's Jenna Mitchler finished 23rd (22:17.9) and UW-Oshkosh's Kristy Giljohann placed 32nd (22:22.2). All five WIAC finishers claimed All-America honors.

In the men's race, Calvin (Mich.) claimed the team title for the second straight season with 107 points. North Central (Ill.) placed second in the 24-team meet with 137 points, while UW-La Crosse finished third with 148 points, Haverford (Pa.) fourth with 196 points and Williamette (Ore.) fifth with 209 points. UW-Stevens Point tied for 11th with 309 points and UW-Platteville placed 17th with 374 points. UW-La Crosse recorded its eighth top-three finish in school history.

Josh Moen of Wartburg (Iowa) won the men's title for the second consecutive year with a time of 24:28.7.
UW-Stevens Point's Mark LaLonde was the top conference finisher, placing sixth overall with a time of 24:49.3 on the 8,000-meter course. UW-Whitewater's Gary Garcia finished ninth with a time of 24:54.1, while UW-Platteville's Tyler Sigl placed 14th (25:04.9) and UW-La Crosse's Andy Grupa finished 35th (25:16.8). All four league individuals received All-America status for their efforts.

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Six League Teams Qualify For NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships

Madison, Wis.--Six Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) cross country teams have qualified to the NCAA Division III Championship following regional competition on November 13 in Rock Island, Ill. UW-La Crosse, UW-Platteville and UW-Stevens Point will compete on the men's side, while UW-La Crosse, UW-Oshkosh and UW-Stevens Point will represent the conference in the women's race.

Conference champion UW-La Crosse won the men's race with 73 team points, while North Central (Ill.) finished second with 99 points, Chicago (Ill.) third with 128 points, UW-Stevens Point fourth with 151 points and UW-Platteville fifth with 176 points. Additional WIAC team finishes included: UW-Oshkosh ninth (214), UW-Eau Claire 11th (296), UW-Whitewater 16th (464), UW-River Falls 17th (477), UW-Stout 19th (570) and UW-Superior 24th (713). A total of 30 teams competed in the men's race with the top five squads and top six individuals advancing to the NCAA Division III Championship.

UW-Oshkosh's John LeRoy claimed the individual title with a time of 24:23.3 over the 8,000-meter course. UW-Stevens Point's Mark LaLonde finished second in 24:25.0, while UW-La Crosse's Andy Grupa placed fourth in 24:29.1, UW-Whitewater's Gary Garcia seventh in 24:30.5 and UW-Platteville's Tyler Sigl eighth in 24:30.8.

LeRoy and Garcia both qualified individually for the national meet.

In the women's race, league champion UW-Stevens Point claimed the team title with 76 points, while Washington (Mo.) finished second with 93 points, UW-Oshkosh third with 96 points and UW-La Crosse fourth with 119 points. Additional WIAC team finishes included: UW-Eau Claire seventh with 234 points, UW-Platteville eighth with 276 points, UW-Whitewater ninth with 278 points, UW-Stout 12th with 381 points, UW-River Falls 18th with 512 points and UW-Superior 28th with 772 points. A total of 37 teams competed in the women's event with the top four squads and six individuals advancing to the national meet.

UW-Oshkosh's Liz Woodworth claimed the individual title for the second straight year, completing the 6,000-meter course in 20:40.3. UW-Stevens Point's Megan Craig placed second in 21:13.6, UW-Platteville's Jackie Mulrooney fourth in 21:18.9, UW-Oshkosh's Kristy Giljohann sixth in 21:25.5, UW-Stevens Point's Leah Herlache seventh in 21:27.9, UW-Platteville's Marcia Taddy eighth in 21:29.0 and UW-Stevens Point's Jenna Mitchler 10th in 21:39.8.

Mulrooney and Taddy both qualified as individuals for the national meet, along with UW-Whitewater's Megan Kielar, who finished 14th in 21:54.0.

The NCAA Division III Championships will be held on Saturday, November 20 at Whitetail Golf Course in Colfax, Wis. The event will be hosted by UW-Eau Claire with the men's race beginning at 11:00 a.m. and the women's race starting at noon.

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UW-Stevens Point's LaLonde Named Men's Cross Country Scholar-Athlete

RELEASED: Monday, November 1, 2004

Madison, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point's Mark LaLonde has been named the 2004 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Max Sparger Men's Cross Country Scholar-Athlete, it was announced recently by WIAC Commissioner Gary Karner.

LaLonde, a senior from Park Falls, Wis., is majoring in business administration and economics and maintains a 3.78 grade point average. He has been recognized on UW-Stevens Point's Dean's List seven semesters and is a three-time member of the WIAC Scholastic Honor Roll. LaLonde has also been the recipient of an American Production and Inventory Control Society Scholarship.

LaLonde helped UW-Stevens Point to a third-place finish at this year's WIAC championship by placing fourth overall. He finished eighth at last year's conference meet after finishing sixth in 2001. LaLonde secured All-America honors last season after placing 12th at the NCAA Division III Championship and helped the Pointers to a school-best second-place national finish.

LaLonde is a member of the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society and also works as a student grounds technician at UW-Stevens Point.

LaLonde becomes the fourth men's cross country student-athlete from UW-Stevens Point to receive the conference scholar-athlete award. He joins Curt Johnson (2003), Dan Schwamberger (1999) and Jeremie Johnson (1994).

Also nominated for this year's scholar-athlete award were: UW-Eau Claire's Adam Condit, Micah Hernandez and Ben Schmiege, UW-La Crosse's Andy Grupa and UW-Oshkosh's Michael Wehrley.

The WIAC Scholar-Athlete Award is sponsored by Culver's. In order to be nominated for the scholar-athlete award, a student-athlete must have a minimum 3.25 grade point average, be in their last year of competition, or on schedule to graduate this academic year, and have competed for a minimum of two years.

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UW-La Crosse Claims Men's Cross Country Championship

River Falls, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-La Crosse claimed the 2004 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) men's cross country championship, which was hosted by UW-River Falls on Saturday, October 30.

The Eagles claimed the 26th men's cross country title in school history, and first since 2001, with 36 team points to surpass UW-Platteville, which finished second with 82 points. The margin of victory by UW-La Crosse (46 points) is the largest at the league meet since 1985 when the Eagles outdistanced UW-Oshkosh by 50 points (22-72).

UW-Stevens Point finished third at the 2004 conference championship with 84 points, followed by UW-Oshkosh with 85, UW-Eau Claire with 119, UW-Whitewater with 186, UW-River Falls with 196, UW-Stout with 199 and UW-Superior with 234.

Junior Nate Hoffman led the strong Eagle effort with a fifth-place finish over the 8,000-meter course in a time of 25:42.2, while senior Andy Grupa placed sixth in 25:50.7, senior Phil Skiba finished seventh in 25:52.3, junior Mark Creger finished eighth in 25:53.4, freshman Scott Mueller finished 10th in 25:56.0, sophomore Jake Sheldon finished 11th in 25:59.1 and junior Mike Herlihy finished 12th in 26:00.0.

UW-Whitewater junior Gary Garcia claimed the individual title with a time of 25:14.6, becoming the first Warhawk since 1968 to claim the individual conference title.

UW-Oshkosh senior John LeRoy finished second in 25:19.6, while UW-Platteville freshman Tyler Sigl finished third in 25:28.0 and UW-Stevens Point senior Mark LaLonde placed fourth in 25:33.0.

UW-Platteville sophomore Kyle Stangel finished ninth in 25:54.3 and UW-Oshkosh freshman Willy Kaul placed 13th in 26:02.0 followed by UW-Stevens Point senior Andrew Bednarek in 14th with a time of 26:12.2 to round out the top 14 individual finishers.

The top seven individuals received all-WIAC first team recognition, while competitors placing 8-14 earned all-WIAC second team accolades.

UW-Stevens Point's LaLonde received the Max Sparger Scholar-Athlete Award, while UW-La Crosse head coach Don Fritsch was voted the Coach of the Year.

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