Pioneer men's and women's cross country teams finish in top 10 in the NCAA Midwest Region Championships
Colfax, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville men's and women's cross country teams competed at the 2018 NCAA Midwest Region Cross Country Championships on Saturday, Nov. 10. The championships were hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. The course, gleaming white with fresh snow, offered many successful runs to the Pioneer men and women despite frigid temperatures.
A total of 36 teams competed in the women's 6,000m race. The UW-Platteville women's cross country team finished in 9th place, outperforming fellow Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference teams UW-Whitewater and UW-River Falls. Washington University won the women's race with 58 points.
Senior Katie Wardinski and Johanna Meister once again paved the way for the Pioneers, finishing almost in unison. Wardinski finished the race with a time of 22:31.7 for 17th place in a field of 255 runners. Meister followed just seconds behind with a time of 22:33.4 for 18th place.
Scoring as the third runner was senior Janelle Ferguson, running 23:17.5 for 47th place. Caitlyn Ifft made her way to the finish line in 23:31.5, placing 60th. Senior Danielle Nelson scored as the fifth runner, running a personal best time of 25:05.4 to round off her collegiate cross country career.
Savannah Palmer, a freshman from Eau Claire, ran a personal best time as well. Palmer finished her debut season as a Pioneer running 25:29.4. Anna Drazkowski finished her race with a time of 26:02.1.
Of the 35 teams competing in the men's 8,000m race, the Pioneer men's cross country team finished in 7th place. The top five teams in the region included three teams from the WIAC; UW-La Crosse, UW-Eau Claire, and UW-Stout. North Central College won the men's race with a score of 30 points.
Among the 253 runners in the men's race, senior Zach Lee took second place running a time of 24:35.3. An exciting, downhill straightaway into the finish line took him from about seventh place into second place. Zach Klokow finished in 18th place, running a personal best time of 25:07.7.
Coming in as the Pioneers' third runner, senior Alex Clark ran a time of 25:52.5. Clark finished in 49th place. Close behind was fellow senior Kyle Herbrand. Herbrand finished 51st in the race with a time of 25:53.1. Both Clark and Herbrand punctuated their collegiate cross country careers with personal bests on the course.
Senior Nolan Wallenkamp rounded off the Pioneers' score, running a time of 26:35.0. Senior Isaac Schuetz finished with a time of 27:00.9. Following on the heels of Schuetz was freshman Jacob Harland. Harland placed 112th with a time of 27:01.2 at his first NCAA Midwest Region Cross Country Championships.
The official list of qualifiers to the NCAA DIII Cross Country Championships will be released on Sunday, Nov. 11 by 3 p.m.