Titans Place Third At WIAC Championship

University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point claimed its second title in the last three seasons at the 2010 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Men’s Cross Country Championship held at Whitetail Golf Course on Oct. 30.

The league crown for the Pointers is the fifth in program history. UW-Stevens Point totaled 60 team points to nip the second-place sum of 63 points by UW-Platteville. UW-Oshkosh finished third with 84, UW-Whitewater fourth with 98, defending champion UW-La Crosse fifth with 103, UW-Eau Claire sixth with 117, UW-Stout seventh with 167 and UW-River Falls eighth with 219. UW-Superior also competed in the event, but did not accumulate a team score.

The three-point margin of victory by the Pointers is the second-closest in the 50-year history of the meet and was also achieved in 2001 and 2008.

UW-Platteville’s Jason Garvens captured the individual title, completing the 8,000-meter course in 24:44.88. A total of 100 runners finished the race. The Pioneers have had an individual win the conference crown six of the last nine seasons.

UW-Stevens Point’s Terry Witkowski finished second at this year's championship with a time of 24:51.97. UW-Platteville’s Patrick Klein took third in 24:54.36, UW-Stout’s Peter Johnston fourth in 25:00.94, UW-Oshkosh’s Nate Stymiest fifth in 25:05.54, UW-Stevens Point’s Joel Heroux sixth in 25:14.75, UW-Stevens Point’s Tim Thornburg seventh in 25:26.15, UW-Stout’s Tim Nelson eighth in 25:26.82, UW-Whitewater’s David Schneekloth ninth in 25:27.25, UW-Stevens Point’s Sean Hasenstein 10th in 25:30.91, UW-Platteville’s Nate Petesch 11th in 25:31.69, UW-Oshkosh’s John Dewitt 12th in 25:33.16, UW-La Crosse’s Sean Harrington 13th in 25:36.79, UW-Eau Claire’s Aric Runzheimer 14th in 25:40.74, UW-Eau Claire’s Max Renner 15th in 25:46.85, UW-Whitewater’s Aron Kehoe 16th in 25:49.90, UW-La Crosse’s Zach Wilhelmy 17th in 25:53.05, UW-Oshkosh’s Jordan King 18th in 25:53.57, UW-Platteville’s Anthony Swimm 19th in 25:55.83 and UW-La Crosse’s Brian Shonat 20th in 25:57.67.

The top seven runners in the race received All-WIAC first team recognition, while runners placing eight through 14 earned All-WIAC second team accolades. Individuals finishing 15 through 20 claimed honorable mention laurels.

UW-Platteville’s Jason Garvens received the Max Sparger Scholar-Athlete Award.

An All-Sportsmanship Team was chosen for individuals that displayed exemplary sportsmanship throughout the season. It included one member from each school. Named to the squad were: UW-Eau Claire’s Max Renner, UW-La Crosse’s Mike Miller, UW-Oshkosh’s William Koepp, UW-Platteville’s Greg Alleman, UW-River Falls’ Kevin Rengo, UW-Stevens Point’s Joel Heroux, UW-Stout’s Peter Johnston, UW-Superior’s Brent Ystad and UW-Whitewater’s Jarrod Schwichtenberg.

All nine WIAC teams will return to action Nov. 13, and participate in the NCAA Division III Midwest Regional in Rock Island, Ill. The regional event will be hosted by Augustana College. The NCAA Division III Championship is scheduled for Nov. 20, in Waverly, Iowa, and will be hosted by Wartburg College.