By Chris Lindeke, Assistant Athletic Director, Strategic Communications and Branding, U-WW
Saturday, November 20, 2021
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater men’s cross country team moved up three spots in the standings over the final three kilometers Saturday to place fifth at the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships at the E.P. “Tom” Sawyer State Park Course in Louisville, Ky.
The Warhawks equaled their highest finish in program history (1999) after totaling 201 points at the 32-team meet.
David Fassbender, Christian Patzka and Gunner Schlender all finished among the top 30 to earn All-America honors.
Fassbender finished his career as a three-time All-American with a personal-record time of 23:57.1, good for a sixth-place finish, equaling his previous top finish from 2019.
Patzka placed 23rd with his career-best time of 24:09.4, and Schlender collected a PR of 24:13.7. Both were competing at their first-ever national cross country meet.
Justin Krause recorded a career-best 24:48.7, good for 94th place out of 289 competitors. Kyle Neuroth cracked 25 minutes in his final collegiate race, finishing 104th in a PR of 24:53.4.
Christian Seagren and Conner Hackett also represented UW-Whitewater in the race. Seagren earned a spot in the top half of the field with at 25:01.2, good for 134th overall, and Hackett finished 265th in a season-best 26:08.1.
UW-Whitewater punched its ticket to the national meet as a team for the first time since 2003 by winning the NCAA North Regional title last week. UW-W finished second at the WIAC Championship.
