2002 Cross Country Review
Posted 11/23/02
Kleimenhagen 2nd, Stelljes 8th at nationals
UW-Platteville's Ryan Kleimenhagen and Corey Stelljes turned in all-America performances for the second straight year by placing second and eighth, respectively, in the NCAA Division III national championship Saturday at St. Olaf College.
Only national champion UW-Oshkosh had a comparable one-two punch, with runners in fifth and seventh place. The Pioneer pair were individual qualifiers and both proved to be among the very best runners in the country.
Kleimenhagen, a junior from Oak Creek, completed the 8,000-meter course in 25:08. Trinity College senior Ryan Bak won the meet in 25:01 and became the only runner to finish ahead of Kleimenhagen this year. Stelljes, a senior from Fall Creek (Altoona High School), finished in 25:28.6 to place eighth.
The Pioneer pair were making their third trip to nationals and each improved their showings from last year, when they were also all-Americans. Kleimenhagen was ninth last year and Stelljes 17th.
NCAA Nationals
Posted 11/17/02
Kleimenhagen, Stelljes advance to nationals
UW-Platteville's Ryan Kleimenhagen remained undefeated on the year by winning the NCAA Division III cross country regional championship, while Pioneer teammate Corey Stelljes placed 12th to also qualify for the national championships.
The Pioneer pair will run at nationals Saturday, Nov. 23, at St. Olaf College, a place both athletes ran Sept. 21.
Kleimenhagen, who won the St. Olaf Invitational back in September, captured his fifth straight individual title in the nation's strongest region. He covered the 8,000-meters at Peoria's Detweiler Park in 24:28.90, more than 17 seconds ahead of UW-La Crosse's Dan Sutton, who was runner-up. Stelljes raced in with a time of 25:02, earning his spot at nationals.
Both runners are well experienced at nationals, as this will be the third straight year they have been to the championships. Last year, Kleimenhagen was ninth and Stelljes 17th to earn all-America honors.
The Pioneers just missed sending their entire team for the third straight year. Coach Tom Antczak's charges scored 124 points to place fifth among 33 schools. UW-Oshkosh won the meet with 51 points, followed by North Central with 81, UW-Stevens Point 91 and UW-La Crosse nailing down the final qualifying spot with 102.
Joe Marks turned in a 27th-place finish for UWP, while Nick Meis was 36th and Adam Christnovich 38th.
Amanda Troy concluded her standout career by placing 17th to pace the women's efforts. She ran the 6,000 meters in 22:18.27, but missed the national qualifying places. Carla Kegel was the next best Pioneer, placing 143rd.
Posted 11/2/02
Kleimenhagen wins WIAC title
Ryan Kleimenhagen became the first UW-Platteville runner to win the individual conference title since 1963 when he crossed the finish line first at the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championships Saturday at UWP's Memorial Park.
Kleimenhagen, who has not been beaten in four races this season, won by a six-second margin over UW-La Crosse's Dan Sutton. The junior from Oak Creek won in 25:33, helping the Pioneers place third.
UW-Oshkosh won the men's race with 38 points, followed by UW-La Crosse at 48, UWP 59, UW-Stevens Point 75, UW-Whitewater 136, UW-Eau Claire 178, UW-Stout 240, UW-Superior 244 and UW-River Falls 273.
UW-La Crosse, led by individual champion Julia Rudd, successfully defended its women's title with 45 points. UW-Stevens Point was second with 72, followed by UW-Oshkosh 88, UW-Eau Claire 101, UW-River Falls 138, UW-Whitewater 164, UW-Stout 179, UW-Superior 197 and UWP 235.
Kleimenhagen's title was the third in school history. Amos Stephen won in 1961, and Tom Wieman was a champion in 1963. Kleimenhagen won his by hanging with the pack through about two-thirds of the race, then surging ahead of the leaders. He maintained his lead through the final loop of the hills and came across the bridge with a lead and the home crowd to spur him on through the stretch run.
The Pioneers were more than just Kleimenhagen, however, as a solid team effort led to the third-place finish. Corey Stelljes earned his second straight all-conference accolades, this time grabbing first team honors. Stelljes, a reigning all-American, was seventh in 25:52. Luke Boehnlein earned second team all-WIAC honors by finishing 14th in 26:18. Nick Meis was 16th in 26:20, and Joe Marks 21st in 26:26 to round out the scoring.
Amanda Troy concluded her outstanding career by placing ninth in the women's race in 24:03. She earned all-WIAC second team honors and then learned at the banquet in Williams Fieldhouse that she was the league's Scholar-Athlete. Troy is a senior from Benton, majoring in education.
Posted 10/26/02Pioneers win another meet
Showing off its depth, the 25th-ranked UW-Platteville Pioneer men's cross country team won the seven-team Lawrence Invitational Saturday in Appleton.
The Pioneers withheld the runners who will compete in the WIAC championships next Saturday in Platteville, but still placed 10 runners in the top 20 to run away with the title. The Pioneers scored 23 points, easily out-distancing runner-up St. Norbert, who had 55.
Kevin Riederer and Bob Dillis led the Pioneer onslaught, finishing second and third, respectively, in 28:37 and 28:49. Brian Scott (29:04), Nate Richardson (29:05) and Dan Schneider (29:16) capped the team scoring by playing 5-6-7.
Justin Shireman was 10th in 29:30, Todd Degler 11th in 29:41, Jesse Spankowski 12th in 29:48, John Lueck 16th in 30:09 and Kyle Udovich 20th in 30:33 to bring home t-shirts given to the top 20 runners.
The WIAC championships will be contested Saturday at Memorial Park, beginning at 11 a.m.
Posted 10/22/02
Kleimenhagen honored again
UW-Platteville's Ryan Kleimenhagen, a junior from Oak Creek, was the WIAC cross country athlete of the week. Kleimenhagen remained undefeated on the year, winning the individual title and leading the Pioneers to the team championship at the 25-team UW-Parkside Invitational Saturday. He was the top collegiate runner with a time of 25:01.
The Pioneers scored 85 points, finishing 29 ahead of runner-up DePaul, a Division I school.
Posted 10/5/02
Pioneers win 25-team race!
The UW-Platteville men's cross country team won the 25-team UW-Parkside Invitational, beating several Division I and II schools along the way. The Pioneers scored 85 points, finishing 29 ahead of DePaul University. Aquinas and DePauw tied with 129 points, while UW-Whitewater rounded out the top five with 133 points. Ryan Kleimenhagen remained undefeated on the year with his third consecutive individual title. He was the top collegiate runner at 25:01 over the 8,000-meter course. Corey Stelljes also turned in a top 10 finish with a run of 25;37, while three other Pioneers finished in the top 35. Adam Christnovich was 15th in 26;09, Luke Boehnlein 27th in 26:19, and Jordan Williams 35th in 26;32 to round out the impressive scoring totals. Nick Meis added a 37th-place finish in 26:33, and Andy Tatar was 45th in 26:46. Ben Schleicher, Nate Warnberg and Joe Marks were also among the top 60 runners. The Pioneer women were 26th among 30 teams, with Amanda Troy turning in the top finish at 19:36 to place 59th in the 5k race.Posted 10/5/02
Pioneer men 3rd at home course
By Andres Young, student assistant The UW-Platteville men's cross country team placed 3rd out of 8 teams at the Pioneer Invite on Saturday at Memorial Park. UW-La Crosse finished first with 29 points, finishing with nine runners in the top 15. Adam Christnovich was first to finish for the Pioneers with a strong second place and a time of 26:52, a personal best for Adam. Finishing just ahead of Christnovich was P.J. Lantzy from LaCrosse, with a winning time of 26:49. Luke Boehnlein finished fifth with a time of 27:14. Andy Tatar was 20th in 27:55, Nate Warnberg 32nd in 28:36 and Nate Richardson 43rd in 29:05. The Pioneer women were fifth of seven teams. UW-Oshkosh won the women's title. Amanda Troy lead the pioneer women with a 10th place finish in 25:41. Carla Kegel finished 17th in 26:34, Michelle Manteufel 35th in 28:17, Meredith Yager 38th in 28:36 and Anne Lucas 47th in 29:57.Pioneer Invitational
The UW-Platteville cross country teams host the Pioneer Invitational Saturday. The results will be posted at the following links upon completion of the races. Posted 9/27/02Pioneer men 2nd of 23 teams
The 18th-ranked UW-Platteville men's cross country team placed four runners in the top 15 and finished a strong second out of 23 teams at the Augustana Invitational Friday in Davenport, Iowa. Ryan Kleimenhagen captured his second straight individual title, beating more than 300 other runners to win the 8K race in 24:45. Corey Stelljes was eighth in 25:37, Nick Meis 10th in 25:45 and Jordan Williams 15th in 25:54 to lead the Pioneers to the impressive team showing. The University of Chicago won the team title with 86 points, while the Pioneers were second with 91, Augustana third with 97, Grinnell fourth with 101 and Loras fifth with 124. The Pioneer women were 17th of 22 teams,led by Amanda Troy's 33rd-place finish. She finished the 6K course in 24:54. Carla Kege added a 63rd-place run. The Pioneers are host to the UW-Platteville Invitational next Saturday at Memorial Park. The racing begins at 11:15 a.m. on the course where the WIAC championships will be contested on Nov. 2.Posted 9/24/02
Kleimenhagen earns honors
UW-Platteville's Ryan Kleimenhagen earned the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference cross country runner of the week award. Kleimenhagen, a junior from Oak Creek High School, won the 32nd annual St. Olaf (Minn.) Invitational, beating 231 other runners, and lifting UW-Platteville to a fourth-place finish among 18 teams Saturday. He completed the 8,000-meter course in 25:21 becoming the first Pioneer individual to win a race of this magnitude in head coach Tom Antczak's 11 years.Posted 9/21/02
Kleimenhagen wins St. Olaf race
UW-Platteville's Ryan Kleimenhagen won the 32nd annual St. Olaf Invite, beating 231 other runners, and lifting UW-Platteville to a fourth-place finish among 18 teams Saturday. Kleimenhagen, who earned all-America honors in cross country, indoor track and outdoor track last year as a sophomore, completed the course in 25:21. Senior teammate Corey Stelljes, also a cross country all-American last year, was ninth in 25:58. Luke Boehnlein finished 32nd (26:27), Nick Meis 34th (27:02), Jordon Williams 37th (27:10), Adam Christnovich 38th (also in 27:10) and Joe Marks 40th (27:12). North Central won the meet with 27 points, followed by UW-Stevens Point with 79, MIT with 100 and UW-Platteville with 113. Washington University of St. Louis won the women's title. The Pioneers finished 13th and were led by Amanda Troy's 22nd-place finish at 24:14 and Carla Kegel's 40th at 24:51.Posted 9/12/02