NORTHFIELD, Minn. -- Recording the eighth-lowest score in the 32-year history of the event, the UW-Oshkosh men\'s cross country team easily won the NCAA Division III Championship held Saturday (Nov. 23) in Northfield, Minn. The national title was the fourth for UW-Oshkosh, which previously claimed NCAA Division III championships in 1988 (66 points), 1989 (55 points) and 1990 (87 points).
UW-Oshkosh entered the meet as the top-ranked team in the country, and proved the pollsters right by finishing first with a score of 66 points. The Titans, who finished sixth a year ago and third in 2000, had a comfortable 56-point margin over second-place Calvin College (Mich.). The Knights counted 122 points to finish second for the second straight year.
North Central College (Ill.) placed third in the 24-team meet with 146 points, while Nebraska Wesleyan University finished fourth with 178 points and Willamette University (Ore.) fifth with 190.
The top-10 teams were rounded out by sixth-place UW-La Crosse with 231 points, seventh-place Williams College (Mass.) with 256 points, eighth-place Bowdoin College (Maine) with 267 points, ninth-place The College of New Jersey with 289 points and 10th-place Wartburg College (Iowa) with 302.
UW-Oshkosh, which was competing at the NCAA Division III Championship for the 14th time in 15 years, had all five of its scorers place in the top-45 individual finishes.
David Cisewski (Jr. • Stevens Point) led UW-Oshkosh by finishing fifth with a time of 25:22 on the 8,000-meter terrain, while his teammates Nick Boehlke (So. • Eagle River) and Eamon McKenna (Sr. • Ashippun) placed seventh in 25:26 and 25th in 25:40, respectively. The Titans\' scoring also featured Phil Keskinen (Sr. • Oshkosh) finishing 27th with a time of 25:41 and Pat Seger (Jr. • Oshkosh) 45th in 25:55. UW-Oshkosh was the only team to have two runners in the top-seven individual finishes.
Other competitors for UW-Oshkosh at this year\'s national meet were Matt Groose (Jr. • Watertown) and Jason Fast (Jr. • Menasha). Groose finished 59th with a time of 26:01, while Fast placed 122nd in 26:36.
Ryan Bak of Trinity College (Conn.) was the individual champion, posting a winning time of 25:01. A total of 213 runners completed the race.
NORTHFIELD, Minn. -- Recording the eighth-lowest score in the 32-year history of the event, the UW-Oshkosh men\'s cross country team easily won the NCAA Division III Championship held Saturday (Nov. 23) in Northfield, Minn. The national title was the fourth for UW-Oshkosh, which previously claimed NCAA Division III championships in 1988 (66 points), 1989 (55 points) and 1990 (87 points).
UW-Oshkosh entered the meet as the top-ranked team in the country, and proved the pollsters right by finishing first with a score of 66 points. The Titans, who finished sixth a year ago and third in 2000, had a comfortable 56-point margin over second-place Calvin College (Mich.). The Knights counted 122 points to finish second for the second straight year.
North Central College (Ill.) placed third in the 24-team meet with 146 points, while Nebraska Wesleyan University finished fourth with 178 points and Willamette University (Ore.) fifth with 190.
The top-10 teams were rounded out by sixth-place UW-La Crosse with 231 points, seventh-place Williams College (Mass.) with 256 points, eighth-place Bowdoin College (Maine) with 267 points, ninth-place The College of New Jersey with 289 points and 10th-place Wartburg College (Iowa) with 302.