Pioneer men are 4th in the nation

The 2010 UW-Platteville men's cross country team cemented its place as one of the best in school history Saturday, racing to a Pioneer-record fourth place in the NCAA Division III national championships at Wartburg College.

The Pioneers bested their previous top placing, which was ninth last year. UW-Platteville came into the championships ranked sixth in the final regular-season poll, but finished only behind national champion Haverford (87 points), North Central (104), and St. Lawrence (137). The Pioneers scored 198 points, the fewest for a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference school since UW-La Crosse won the 2005 title with 98.

Jason Garvens earned a spot of the national podium for the second straight year, placing 12th with a time of 24:41 over 8,000 meters. Patrick Klein was 20th in 24:48; Nathan Petesch 32nd in 25:03; Anthony Swimm, 51st in 25:16; Bill Clift, 83rd in 25:32; Scott Clark, 159th in 26:14; and Matt Borneman, 174th in 26:23.

Thirty-two teams and 279 runners toed the line on the Wartburg campus course in Waverly, Iowa.

In the women's race, UW-Platteville's Gina Smith was 81st out of 279 competitors with a time of 22:17, her second-best time ever. Smith ran a 22:11 over 6K at the Midwest Regionals the previous Saturday, earning her the right to compete at the nationals.

Coach Tom Antczak's men made their seventh trip to nationals as a team.