Titans Begin Men's Cross Country Season In Mequon
The UW-Oshkosh men's cross country team races for the first time since the 2019 season when it travels to Mequon Saturday (Sept. 11) for the Concordia University Wisconsin Ken Weidt Classic.
UW-Oshkosh returns to activity this fall after its 2020 campaign was canceled due to the global coronavirus pandemic.
The Titans' itinerary for the 2021 season features nine events, including the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship on Oct. 30 and the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III North Regional on Nov. 13. The Division III Championship is scheduled for Nov. 20 at E.P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Ky.
All UW-Oshkosh's competitions are on the road this fall, as the Titans go without hosting a cross country meet for the first time since 2000.
Ninth-year UW-Oshkosh head coach Eamon McKenna and his Titans start their 2021 season with Saturday's event in Mequon. UW-Oshkosh races at the meet, which was won by St. Norbert College in 2019, for the first time since 2007.
UW-Oshkosh follows its season opener with trips to the UW-Whitewater Tom Hoffman Invitational on Sept. 18, UW-Eau Claire Blugold Invitational on Oct. 1 and the Lawrence University Gene Davis Invitational on Oct. 9. The Titans finished second at the Gene Davis Invitational and fifth at the Blugold Invitational in 2019 after placing fourth at the Tom Hoffman Invitational in 2017.
An excursion to Ohio is next for UW-Oshkosh as the Titans race at the Oberlin College Inter-Regional Rumble on Oct. 16. The event is expected to feature Division III programs from Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
The Titans then return to Wisconsin to participate at the UW-Whitewater Open on Oct. 22.
UW-Oshkosh concludes the regular season portion of its 2021 schedule at the WIAC Championship on Oct. 30 in Colfax. The Titans have won 10 WIAC titles, with the last two coming in 2011 and 2003.
UW-La Crosse scored 28 points to win its third straight WIAC title and 35th overall in 2019. The Eagles were followed in the team standings by second-place UW-Stout with 89 points, third-place UW-Eau Claire with 92 and fourth-place UW-Oshkosh with 107.
Completing the team listings from the league championship held two years ago were fifth-place UW-Whitewater with 110 points, sixth-place UW-Stevens Point with 124, seventh-place UW-Platteville with 185 and eighth-place UW-River Falls with 260.
UW-Oshkosh begins NCAA postseason competition by running at the Division III North Regional on Nov. 13 in Colfax. The newly formed regional consists of 41 programs from the states of Minnesota and Wisconsin. UW-Oshkosh was a participant at the Division III Midwest Regional from 1978-2019.
UW-Oshkosh can earn a berth to the 2021 Division III Championship on Nov. 20 in Kentucky with its performance throughout the season and at the North Regional.
UW-Oshkosh is hunting for its 24th NCAA Championship appearance and first since 2015 when it finished 13th in the country. The Titans won NCAA titles in 1988, 1989, 1990 and 2002 and were the national championship third-place finisher in 1987, 1991 and 2000.
UW-Oshkosh returns 10 former letterwinners to this year's team, including All-American Cody Chadwick who finished 21st at the 2019 Division III Championship. He also placed 67th at the 2018 national meet and eighth at the 2019 WIAC Championship.
Other letterwinners back for the Titans are Mitchell Bradford, Noah Bruehl, Jason Ford, Andrew George, Joe Kehoe, Noah O'Neill, Steven Potter, Andrew Rathkamp and Andrew Strasser. Potter finished 13th, Kehoe 27th and George 29th at the 2019 WIAC Championship.
UW-Oshkosh enters the 2021 season ranked 29th in Division III by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.