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The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater men’s and women’s cross country teams each placed among the top half of the field Saturday at the 2024 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships (presented by Culver’s) at Wisconsin River Golf Club in Stevens Point, Wis.
The Warhawk men placed second for the fourth consecutive season, while the women finished fourth for their second straight finish in the top half of the conference.
Christian Patzka also reset the men’s school record for the second straight meet, and Gunner Schlender established the second-best time in program history.
Women
Four women earned all-conference honors – the most in one season in program history – by placing among the top 20 individually in the 6-kilometer race as the Warhawks totaled 94 points.
Ari De La Cerda garnered all-conference accolades for the third time in her career with a 10th-place showing. She crossed the finish line in 21:53.5, shattering her personal record by nearly 30 seconds and posting the second-best PR in program history.
Payton Scoggin, Renee Forystek and Ella Hansen claimed spots on the honorable mention All-WIAC team by placing 16th, 18th, and 20th, respectively. Scoggin, now a two-time all-conference honoree, established a new career best with a time of 22:10.8, good for third in the program record book. Forystek and Hansen also entered the top 10 in the school record book. Forystek finished the race in 22:18.2, and Hansen clocked a 22:19.0 – both personal records.
Katie Erb, Abbie Wedwick and Carleen Snow rounded out UW-Whitewater’s top seven. Erb tallied a 22:44.6, Wedwick collected a personal-best 23:01.2, and Snow completed the race in a PR of 23:07.9.
Other Warhawks who completed the race include (PR = personal record):
- Nicole Brown – 23:36.6, PR (56th)
- Marlee Nichols – 23:38.9, PR (57th)
- Jocelyn Ramirez – 23:40.1 (61st)
- Brinley Everson – 23:45.7, PR (64th)
- Emma Henningfeld – 23:59.6, PR (67th)
Men
The nationally-ranked Warhawk men continued their strong 2024 campaign with three runners among the top 10 of finishers.
Christian Patzka and Gunner Schlender placed second and third, respectively, to round out their careers with their fourth all-conference accolades. Patzka crossed the finish line in 23:48.7, besting his previous program record by four seconds, while Schlender was just behind, completing the 8K in a personal-best 23:49.5, the No. 2 PR in the program record book.
Patzka and Schlender are the second and third UW-Whitewater student-athletes to be four timeall-conference runners in the last 50 years, joining former teammate Justin Krause (2019-23).
Dan Anderson picked up his second all-conference medal, finishing ninth overall with a time of 24:19.0, good for a career record and No. 8 in the program record book.
Chris Allen finished just outside of All-WIAC status in 21st place with a 24:48.1, topping his previous PR by more than five seconds and entering the top 20 in the team record book.
Alex Metko, Tucker Johnson and Keegan Bratt finished out the team’s top seven. Metko ran a PR of 25:00.7 to place 29th overall and earn a spot among the top 25 in program history. Johnson moved into the program’s top 30 with a 25:05.1, good for 32nd, and Bratt crossed the finish line in a career-best 25:11.3, good for 37th.
Other men’s finishers included (PR = personal record):
- Conner Murphy – 25:11.7, PR (38th)
- Brandon Gang – 25:14.8, PR (42nd)
- Jonah Block – 25:31.6, PR (55th)
- Bryce Faith – 25:51.9, PR (67th)
- Tommy Conklin – 26:00.4 (73rd)
Following the conclusion of the race, Schlender was named the WIAC Max Sparger Scholar-Athlete for men’s cross country. A formal announcement will be posted on uwwsports.com early next week.
Murphy (men) and Ramirez (women) are UW-Whitewater’s representatives on the WIAC All-Sportsmanship Teams.
The Warhawks travel to Northfield, Minn., on Saturday, Nov. 16, for the NCAA Division III North Regional. The women’s 6K race begins at 11 a.m. at Bill Huyck Course, followed by the men’s 8K event at noon.
Editor’s note: The image on the homepage is from a previous meet.
