Chippewa Valley Times

The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire men's cross country team made a notable return to the national stage at the 2024 NCAA Division III Championships, held in Terre Haute, Indiana. Competing as a team for the first time since 2021, the Blugolds finished 19th out of 32 teams.

Leading the team's efforts was Mason Shea from River Falls, Wisconsin. The senior runner earned All-America honors for the second year in a row by finishing 39th with a time of 24:44.7. This performance was an improvement of 25 seconds over his previous All-America qualifying run.

Shea's achievement marks him as the seventh runner in the history of Blugold men's cross country to become a two-time All-American.

Following Shea, Jack Hesse-Withbroe from Stillwater, Minnesota placed 108th overall with a time of 25:14.9. Other contributors included Sam Verkerke from White Bear Lake, Minnesota who finished in 159th place at 25:32.1; Eric Kordus from Mosinee, Wisconsin who placed 183rd with a time of 25:41.3; and Trevor LaMirande from Dresser, Wisconsin/St. Croix Falls who rounded out the scoring for UW-Eau Claire by finishing in 188th place at 25:43.5.

Additional participants were Carl Lundgren from Auburndale, Wisconsin placing 199th with a time of 25:47.2 and Jesse Peterson from St. Paul, Minnesota/Highland Park coming in at 223rd with a time of 25:56.9.

This year's finish marked UW-Eau Claire's best placement since their 11th-place result at nationals in 2018.

The national championship was won by UW-La Crosse with a total score of 77 team points.