The UW-Eau Claire men and women’s cross country teams both competed at the Augustana Interregional Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 19 in Rock Island, Illinois.
Both Blugolds teams had some tough competition, including several nationally ranked teams.
The men’s cross-country team finished with 166 team points overall. They placed fourth out of 40 teams, following behind Wartburg College, North Central and UW-Whitewater.
Jack Hesse-Withbroe, a third-year runner for the team, set a personal record with a time of 24:59.4 in the 8k. He finished 31st overall.
“I was very happy with how I performed,” Hesse-Withbroe said. “I felt that I worked together with my workout group very well throughout the race. It ended up being a pretty good day for me and everyone else.”
Men’s cross country has placed in the top four at all three meets they have participated in so far this season.
“I was pretty nervous going into it just because we’re up against a lot of teams from outside of our region who are ranked and a lot of teams from inside of our region who are ranked, so looking for a wild card bid to nationals, this race can kind of make or break your chances,” Hesse-Withbroe said.
The team is hopeful to continue working on their goals regarding consistency and teamwork, as well as focusing on what they do outside of races such as training, sleep and recovery.
“Our men’s team definitely stepped up and showed that they are a very good team and will hopefully be nationally competitive,” said Connor Dolan, assistant coach and Blugold alum.
The women’s cross-country team finished with 293 team points overall. They placed ninth out of 35 teams. Colorado College took first place with 56 points.
“We were able to race against some good competition and gauge where we are at. I’m hoping that what we can take away is focusing on being in the race and (being) competitive with the people around us instead of being worried about the clock. I’m excited to see what they can do in the upcoming weeks,” Dolan said.
Ryann Wagner, a third-year runner for the team, also set a personal record for the season during this meet. Her time was 22:43.01 in the 6k and she finished 60th overall.
“It’s definitely a tougher mental race than I was expecting, and I think that I didn’t execute it the best way that I could have, but I think it was a great learning opportunity that I can kind of use to help me in the future,” Wagner said.
“I was really proud of our team. We’re a very young team this year, and this was our first big race like that.”
The Blugolds will continue with their season at the WIAC Championships on Saturday, Nov. 2. UW-Eau Claire’s women’s team placed second place at the WIAC event one year prior, also producing the individual champion.
Jochum can be reached at [email protected]
