2006 WIAC Men's Cross Country Season Headlines

2006 WIAC Men's Cross Country Season Headlines

Cross Country Teams and Individuals Earn All-Academic Honors

RELEASED: Thursday, March 8, 2007

Madison, Wis.--Six Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) women’s cross country teams and four men’s teams have been named to the 2006 NCAA Division III All-Academic Team by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. In addition, 23 WIAC individuals were also recognized.

UW-Eau Claire (3.360), UW-La Crosse (3.500), UW-Oshkosh (3.373), UW-Platteville (3.351), UW-Stout (3.278) and UW-Whitewater (3.430) were among the 121 Division III women’s teams to earn All-Academic honors, while UW-Eau Claire (3.170), UW-La Crosse (3.190), UW-Platteville (3.222) and UW-Whitewater (3.210) received recognition with 86 schools.

To be honored as an All-Academic Cross Country Team, teams needed a cumulative team grade point average of at least 3.1, while individuals must maintain at least a 3.5 grade point average.

A total of 185 student-athletes received women’s individual honors, including UW-Eau Claire’s Christina Locke, Beth Lutz and Ellie Lutz, UW-La Crosse’s Meagan Herlache, Kristen Howe, Emily Lewandowski and Kristen Painter, UW-Oshkosh’s Rosa Alvarez and Jenny Graef, UW-Platteville’s Marcia Taddy and UW-Whitewater’s Katie McCabe, Jackie Mett, Lisa Nylander, Jennifer Rogers and Heather Winum.

Among the 108 men’s student-athletes claiming recognition were UW-Eau Claire’s Kevin Hall, UW-La Crosse’s Connor Lonning and Dan Thour, UW-Stevens Point’s Travis Nechuta, Phil Richert and Brad Seeley and UW-Whitewater’s Chris Knutson and David Schneekloth.

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UW-Oshkosh Men and UW-Eau Claire Women Lead WIAC Teams at NCAA Cross Country Championships

RELEASED: Saturday, November 18, 2006

West Chester, Ohio--University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh men finished ninth and the UW-Eau Claire women placed 12th at the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships, which were held at Voice of America Park on Nov. 18. The event was hosted by Wilmington College (Ohio).

UW-Oshkosh’s men’s team compiled 310 points to finish ninth out of 32 teams at the national event. UW-La Crosse, the defending national champion, placed 11th with 319 points and UW-Platteville finished 26th with 614 points.

Calvin (Mich.) won the national title with 37 points, followed by New York University with 92 points, Allegheny College (Pa.) with 212 points, Cortland State (N.Y). with 213 points and St. John’s University (Minn.) with 234 points.

Individually, UW-Oshkosh’s Willy Kaul finished fourth out of 279 competitors, completing the 8,000-meter course in 26:50. UW-Platteville’s Tyler Sigl placed 10th with a time of 27:04. Both individuals secured All-America honors.

Macharia Yuot of Widener University (Pa.) won the national crown with a time of 26:31.

In the women’s race, UW-Eau Claire compiled 375 points to place 12th out of 32 teams, while UW-La Crosse finished 15th with 434 points.

Middlebury College (Vt.) secured the national championship with 144 points. Amherst College (Mass.) finished second with 145 points, followed by Calvin (Mich.) with 149 points, Washington University (Mo.) with 186 points and Tufts University (Mass.) with 214 points.

Individually, UW-Platteville’s Marcia Taddy placed 17th in a field of 279 runners, completing the 6,000-meter course in 23:35. UW-River Falls’ Becca Jordahl finished 19th in 23:36 and UW-Oshkosh’s Jenny Graef placed 21st in 23:37. All three individuals earned All-America recognition.

Sarah Zerzan of Willamette University (Ore.) secured the national title with a time of 22:31.

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UW-Platteville’s Sigl and Taddy Named Midwest Region Athletes of the Year

RELEASED: Thursday, November 16, 2006

Madison, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-Platteville’s Tyler Sigl and Marcia Taddy have been named the 2006 NCAA Division III Midwest Region Cross Country Male and Female Athletes of the Year by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

Sigl and Taddy both won the individual regional races on Nov. 11 in Davenport, Iowa, making UW-Platteville the only school in the country with two regional champions. The duo also claimed the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) individual titles on Oct. 28 in West Salem.

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Four Teams Receive NCAA Cross Country At-Large Bids

RELEASED: Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Madison, Wis.--Four Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) cross country teams have earned at-large bids into the NCAA Division III Championships, which will be held in West Chester, Ohio on Nov. 18.

UW-Eau Claire and UW-La Crosse claimed spots in the women’s race, while UW-Oshkosh and UW-Platteville secured positions in the men’s event. UW-La Crosse, the defending men’s national champion, earned an automatic bid by winning the Midwest Regional last weekend.

UW-Whitewater’s Brian Butzler will compete as individual in the men’s race after finishing third at the Midwest Regional, while UW-Platteville’s Marcia Taddy, UW-Oshkosh’s Jenny Graef and UW-River Falls’ Becca Jordahl earned spots in the women’s competition after placing first, eighth and 12th respectively at the regional event.

The top two teams from each of eight regional meets automatically qualified for nationals. The remainder of the 32-team field was selected at-large. In addition, 56 individuals, the first seven athletes from each region who are not a part of a qualifying team, were selected to participate in each championship.

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UW-La Crosse Men Earn Trip to NCAA Cross Country Championships; Four Teams Eligible for At-Large Spots

RELEASED: Saturday, November 11, 2006

Davenport, Iowa--The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse men’s cross country team automatically qualified for the NCAA Division III Championships by winning the Midwest Regional, which was hosted by Augustana College (Ill.) at Credit Island Park on Nov. 11.

UW-Oshkosh and UW-Platteville are eligible for at-large selection into the men’s national meet, while UW-Eau Claire and UW-La Crosse are eligible for at-large consideration into the women’s competition.

A total of 37 teams competed in the men’s race and 38 squads participated in the women’s event. The top two squads and top seven individuals advance to the national meet for both genders, while teams finishing third through fifth are eligible for at-large status.

UW-La Crosse won the men’s race with 65 points, while UW-Platteville finished third with 112 points, UW-Oshkosh fourth with 126 points. North Central College (Ill.) placed second with 107 points and Washington University (Mo.) rounded out the top five earning 156 points.

Additional WIAC team finishes included: UW-Stevens Point eighth with 218 points, UW-Whitewater 11th with 293 points, UW-Eau Claire 13th with 368 points, UW-River Falls 15th with 427 points, UW-Stout 22nd with 633 points and UW-Superior 23rd with 649 points.

UW-Platteville’s Tyler Sigl won the men’s competition after completing the 8,000-meter course in 24:38.7 to outdistance a field of 264 competitors.

UW-Oshkosh’s Willy Kaul finished second in 24:47.4, while UW-Whitewater’s Brian Butzler placed third in 24:56.1, UW-La Crosse’s Kevin Oelstrom finished fourth in 24:57.4 and UW-La Crosse’s Cory Hayden placed eighth in 25:00.7.

Also receiving All-Midwest Region honors for finishing in the top 35 were: UW-Oshkosh’s Brian Kelley 11th, UW-La Crosse’s Connor Lonning 14th, Paul Zdroik 17th and Dan Thour 22nd, UW-Platteville’s Kyle Stangel 23rd, UW-Stevens Point’s Mike Ormond 24th, UW-La Crosse’s Paul Moran 26th, UW-Platteville’s Aaron Whalen 27th and Russ Goessl 28th, UW-Superior’s Matt Kramer 29th, UW-Oshkosh’s Andrew McGuire 31st and Ryan Richardson 32nd and UW-Platteville’s Nick Fulton 33rd.

In the women’s race, UW-La Crosse finished third with 96 points, while UW-Eau Claire placed fourth with 129 points. Washington University (Mo.) won the women’s race with 56 points and North Central College (Ill.) took second with 92 points, while University of Chicago (Ill.) rounded out the top five with 145 points.

Additional WIAC team finishes included: UW-Platteville seventh with 223 points, UW-Oshkosh eighth with 226 points, UW-Whitewater ninth with 249 points, UW-Stout 10th with 303 points, UW-River Falls 11th with 304 points, UW-Stevens Point 13th with 451 points and UW-Superior 22nd with 633 points.

UW-Platteville’s Marcia Taddy won the women’s race after finishing the 6,000-meter course in 21:22.8 to outdistance a field of 268 runners. UW-La Crosse’s Kristen Painter placed third in 21:31.0, while UW-Oshkosh’s Jenny Graef finished eighth in 21:51.8 and UW-Eau Claire’s Molly Warner placed 10th in 21:55.7.

Also claiming All-Midwest Region status for finishing in the top 35 were: UW-River Falls’ Becca Jordahl 12th, UW-La Crosse’s Meagan Herlache 13th, UW-Eau Claire’s Beth Lutz 20th and Cassandra Haak 23rd, UW-La Crosse’s Jena Gerten 24th, UW-Stout’s Krista Jahimiak 25th, UW-La Crosse’s Kristen Howe 26th, UW-Platteville’s Emma Dreis 28th, UW-La Crosse’s Megan Johnson 30th, UW-Eau Claire’s Christina Locke 32nd, UW-Whitewater’s Lisa Nylander 33rd, UW-Stevens Point’s Hannah Dieringer 34th and UW-River Falls’ Amanda Kozicky 35th.

The NCAA Division III Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships will be held Nov. 18 at Voice of America Park in West Chester, Ohio.

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UW-La Crosse’s Fritsch Named Men’s Cross Country Coach of the Year

RELEASED: Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Madison, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-La Crosse head men’s cross country coach Don Fritsch has been named the 2006 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Coach of the Year, which was determined by a vote among the league coaches.

This marks the third straight season that Fritsch has received the honor and sixth time in his career. He also won the award in 1999, 2000 and 2002.

Fritsch’s three straight prizes is the longest streak in the conference since UW-Oshkosh’s John Zupanc won four consecutive awards from 1987-1990.

Fritsch is in his ninth season at UW-La Crosse and directed the team to its third straight WIAC championship. The Eagles also placed fourth or better at all seven meets this season, including first-place finishes at the All-American Invitational, St. Olaf (Minn.) Invitational and Luther (Iowa) dual.

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UW-La Crosse’s Oelstrom Named Men’s Cross Country Scholar-Athlete

RELEASED: Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Madison, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-La Crosse’s Kevin Oelstrom has been named the 2006 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Max Sparger Men’s Cross Country Scholar-Athlete.

Oelstrom, a senior from Hales Corners, Wis. (Whitnall H.S.), carries a 3.31 grade point average and is majoring in biochemistry with a minor in biology. He is a three-time member of the WIAC Scholastic Honor Roll and has been named to UW-La Crosse’s Dean’s List numerous semesters.

Serving as a team captain this season, Oelstrom helped UW-La Crosse to its third straight WIAC championship. He earned all-WIAC first team honors for the second straight year after finishing fourth overall at the league meet. Oelstrom claimed all-Midwest Region honors in 2005 after placing ninth at the regional competition and was a member of UW-La Crosse’s national championship squad.

Oelstrom has received a physics scholarship from his institution and performed research in nanotechnology.

He becomes the eighth student-athlete from UW-La Crosse to claim the conference’s men’s cross country scholar-athlete award, joining Bill Walkowicz (2005), Dan Sutton (2003), Jason Karls (1999), Dan Murphy (1996-97), Bob Jacobs (1994), Brad Bayer (1993) and Jim Batchelor (1988).

Also nominated for this year’s scholar-athlete award were: UW-Eau Claire’s Ted Lillie, UW-Oshkosh’s Brian Kelley and Jesse Sanchez and UW-River Falls’ Jeremy Olson.

The WIAC Scholar-Athlete Award is named after Max Sparger, who served as commissioner of the Wisconsin State University Conference from July, 1971 - July, 1993.

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 Wins Third Straight Men’s Cross Country Championship

RELEASED: Saturday, October 28, 2006

West Salem, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-La Crosse won its third straight league title at the 2006 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Men’s Cross Country Championship on Oct. 28 at Maple Grove Golf Course.

The conference title for the Eagles is their sixth in the last nine seasons and league-best 28th in school history. UW-La Crosse’s string of three straight titles is the longest in WIAC history since they won four consecutive crowns from 1991-94 (the Eagles shared the 1992 title with UW-Oshkosh).

UW-La Crosse totaled 35 points en route to the conference crown to outdistance UW-Oshkosh for the second consecutive season. The Titans compiled 58 points and were followed by UW-Platteville in third with 76 points, UW-Stevens Point in fourth with 90 points, UW-Whitewater in fifth with 126 points, UW-Eau Claire in sixth with 180 points, UW-River Falls in seventh with 194 points, UW-Stout in eighth with 248 points and UW-Superior in ninth with 256 points.

The Eagles had five individuals finish in the top 11, led by senior Kevin Oelstrom who finished fourth after completing the 8,000-meter course in a time of 25:30.34. Senior Cory Hayden placed fifth in 25:33.88, junior Paul Zdroik seventh in 25:52.37, freshman Paul Moran eighth in 25:55.33 and junior Dan Thour 11th in 26:00.38.

UW-Platteville senior Tyler Sigl won the individual race for the second consecutive season with a time of 25:09.71 to top the field of 100 competitors. He becomes the second individual in school history to win back-to-back league titles after Ryan Kleimenhagen accomplished the feat in 2002 and 2003.

UW-Oshkosh junior Willy Kaul finished second in this year’s race with a time of 25:17.00, UW-Whitewater junior Brian Butzler placed third in 25:22.82, UW-Stevens Point sophomore Travis Nechuta finished sixth in 25:45.77, UW-Oshkosh senior Brian Kelley placed ninth in 25:58.10, UW-Oshkosh sophomore Andrew McGuire finished 10th in 25:58.51, UW-La Crosse freshman Connor Lonning placed 12th in 26:06.11, UW-Stevens Point sophomore Dominick Meyer finished 13th in 26:06.12 and UW-La Crosse sophomore Ben Herdeman placed 14th in 26:08.73.

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

UW-La Crosse head coach Don Fritsch was named the Coach of the Year, while the Eagles’ Kevin Oelstrom received the Max Sparger Scholar-Athlete Award.

League teams will participate in the NCAA Division III Midwest Regional on Saturday, Nov. 11 at Credit Island in Rock Island, Illinois, while the NCAA III Championships are Saturday, Nov. 18 at Voice of America Park in West Chester, Ohio.

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UW-Eau Claire Cross Country/Track & Field Make Coaching Changes

RELEASED: Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Eau Claire, Wis.--The resignation of Tracy Yengo as the UW-Eau Claire head women's cross country and track & field coaches has triggered some changes in the staffing of the men's and women's programs, according to Director of Athletics Scott Kilgallon.

Yengo stepped down after 10 years as the Blugold women's cross country and track & field coaches to accept a fulltime teaching position in the university's Department of Kinesiology.

As a result, Kilgallon has named men's cross country and track coach Chip Schneider as Director of Operations for both the men's and women's cross country and track & field programs. He also has named Brian Falk as the head cross country coach and assistant track & field coach for the men's and women's programs.

During Yengo's tenure, the Blugolds were the NCAA Division III cross country runner-up in 1997 when she was also named the WIAC Coach of the Year. She has taken three teams to the NCAA nationals and coached two All-Americans. In track, the past decade, the Blugolds have had 30 All-American finishes with 11 individuals and a relay team. The most decorated athletes during her regime were hurdlers Breanna McMullen and Jen Stafslien and pole vaulter Steph Barnes. The Blugolds finished as high as eighth in the NCAA outdoor meet in 2005 and 13th in the NCAA indoor meet this past season.

Schneider, a conference and national champion while competing at UW-Platteville, has been the Blugold men's track coach since 2002-03 and the men's cross country coach since 2003-04.

Falk has been a teacher for 16 years and a coach for 19 years, most recently at Dickinson College in Pennsylvania. As the primary distance coach in the track and field program for nine seasons at Dickinson, Falk has had 11 individual Centennial Conference champions, nine NCAA championship qualifiers and seven All-Americans. Since 2001, he has also served as an assistant in a women's cross country program that has won all five Centennial Conference titles, three Mid-East regional titles and finished three times in the top ten at the NCAA meet.

Falk has been a health/physical education teacher at Susquehanna Township High School in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania since 1990. He was the head cross country coach from 1991-2000, rejuvenating a boys' program that had only three athletes when he started and reviving the girls' cross country program as a team sport in 1995.

He is currently involved as an assistant coach, clinician and conference organizer for an online service that provides personal coaching to adult recreational runners.

Falk earned his undergraduate degree in Physical Education and Teacher Education from Temple University in 1988 and his master's in Exercise Science from McDaniel College, formerly Western Maryland College, in 2003.

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