Women’s Recap: De La Cerda Represents UWW at National Meet

Ari De La Cerda (Pewaukee, Wis./) from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women’s cross country team represented the Warhawks in the 2024 NCAA Division III Cross Country National Championship.

De La Cerda started out strong with a first half, moving up almost 30 places from 1K to 3K marks. Over the last 3K, De La Cerda worked her way to the finish line.

De La Cerda crossed with a time of 22:55.1 to finish 188th overall in the meet.

Men’s Recap: Patzka Claims National Title, Warhawks Highest Team Finish in History

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater men’s cross country team finished fourth overall as a team. Christian Patzka (Black Earth, Wis./Wisconsin Heights) secured the National Championship Crown.

The Warhawks finished fourth overall with 219 points with three runners in the top 20 for team scoring. The fourth place finish is the highest finish in Warhawk Men’s Cross Country history.

Patzka, the national runner-up in both 2022 and 2023, crossed the line with a time of 24:01.6. In the last 200m, the 2024 North Regional Champion, Augsburg’s Mohammed Bati, led the pack of runners. Patzka made his move to pass on the final stretch, quickly gaining the lead he needed to finish with a national title. Patzka is the first Warhawk Cross Country runner to win the national title.

Gunner Schlender (Brillion, Wis./) kept pace with Patzka, as they were sitting just a second apart after the 5.6K mark. Schlender finished 12th overall, scoring 10 team points, with a time of 24:22.1.

Dan Anderson (Eau Claire, Wis./McDonell) was the next Warhawk to cross, finishing 22nd overall with a time of 24:32.9. In the last 1.5K, Anderson jumped up 9 spots to secure 19 team points for the Warhawks.

The fourth and fifth Warhawk scorers finished less than five seconds apart. Chris Allen (Downers Grove, Ill./North) finished 112th overall (90 team points) with a time of 25:15.6. Dan Anderson (Eau Claire, Wis./McDonell) crossed at 25:19.7 for 122th overall (99 team points).

Alex Metko (Brillion, Wis./) and Conner Murphy also represented on the National Championship Scene. Metko crossed with a time of 26:21.5 and Murphy finished with 26:39.1.