Cross country still in the race
Women take first in NCAA Midwest Regionals, earn bid in national competition next week.
Nick Gourdoux
Issue date: 11/12/09 Section: Campus News
Women
The UW-Eau Claire women's cross country team improved its national ranking to No. 3 in the country with a first place finish in Saturday's NCAA Midwest Regional Championship, held in Oshkosh. Last year, the Blugolds also took first out of 39 teams in the regional.
With the win, the Blugolds became automatic qualifiers in the NCAA Division III Championships, held Saturday, Nov. 21, in Highland Hills, Ohio.
"(We're) basically just trying to get in (a position) to have all our hard work pay off and just have fun and compete," sophomore Alyssa Sybilrud said.
Eau Claire leapfrogged MIT in the most recent release of the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association poll. Eau Claire currently sits only 17 voting points behind top-ranked Calvin College (Mich.). The team's success this season is something Sybilrud attributes to the team's coach, Dan Schwamberger.
"Coaching is a (has a) lot to do with our success," she said. "Our coach is really smart about our workouts and what we're doing at the time. All the girls on our team are really competitive and smart."
Sybilrud wasn't the only one who thought Schwamberger deserved recognition for the team's successful campaign. The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association named him the NCAA Division III Midwest Region Coach of the Year.
"He really deserves it," Sybilrud said. "He's a really smart coach and really focuses on his athletes' individual needs and really tailors the workouts towards them as an individual and how they are feeling"
In his three years as coach of Eau Claire's women's Track and Field team, Schwamberger was won three WIAC titles and two NCAA Regional titles - the most recent of which came on Saturday.
In the race, the women finished with 52 points - 20 more than second-place Washington University (Mo.) - and an average time of 21 minutes and 25 seconds.
The Blugolds had three runners finish in the top 10. Junior Beth Easker too sixth place overall with a time of 21:42 while sophomore Alyssa Sybilrud crossed the finish line a second later for an eighth place finish. Rounding out the top 10 for Eau Claire was junior Margaret Ho, who took tenth place with a time of 21:47.
All seven Eau Claire competitors in the race earned All-Region honors for top-35 place finishes.
Men
Eau Claire's men's cross country team has made its way into the national ranking as well, taking No. 25 in the most recent poll. The improved ranking comes after a fifth place finish in the men's NCAA Midwest Regional Championships, also held on Saturday in Oshkosh.
Senior Chris Wirtz took ninth place overall with a 24:46 time, tops for the team. Junior Tom Breitbach was the only other Blugold to finish within the top-20, taking No. 19 overall with a time of 24:56.
Because the team failed to finish within the top two, they were forced to wait an additional day to find out whether or not they received an at-large selection into the national tournament.
On Sunday, the Blugolds found out that they, along with 15 other teams from around the nation, had received an at-large bid into the tournament, and would live to fight another day.
The UW-Eau Claire women's cross country team improved its national ranking to No. 3 in the country with a first place finish in Saturday's NCAA Midwest Regional Championship, held in Oshkosh. Last year, the Blugolds also took first out of 39 teams in the regional.
With the win, the Blugolds became automatic qualifiers in the NCAA Division III Championships, held Saturday, Nov. 21, in Highland Hills, Ohio.
"(We're) basically just trying to get in (a position) to have all our hard work pay off and just have fun and compete," sophomore Alyssa Sybilrud said.
Eau Claire leapfrogged MIT in the most recent release of the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association poll. Eau Claire currently sits only 17 voting points behind top-ranked Calvin College (Mich.). The team's success this season is something Sybilrud attributes to the team's coach, Dan Schwamberger.
"Coaching is a (has a) lot to do with our success," she said. "Our coach is really smart about our workouts and what we're doing at the time. All the girls on our team are really competitive and smart."
Sybilrud wasn't the only one who thought Schwamberger deserved recognition for the team's successful campaign. The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association named him the NCAA Division III Midwest Region Coach of the Year.
"He really deserves it," Sybilrud said. "He's a really smart coach and really focuses on his athletes' individual needs and really tailors the workouts towards them as an individual and how they are feeling"
In his three years as coach of Eau Claire's women's Track and Field team, Schwamberger was won three WIAC titles and two NCAA Regional titles - the most recent of which came on Saturday.
In the race, the women finished with 52 points - 20 more than second-place Washington University (Mo.) - and an average time of 21 minutes and 25 seconds.
The Blugolds had three runners finish in the top 10. Junior Beth Easker too sixth place overall with a time of 21:42 while sophomore Alyssa Sybilrud crossed the finish line a second later for an eighth place finish. Rounding out the top 10 for Eau Claire was junior Margaret Ho, who took tenth place with a time of 21:47.
All seven Eau Claire competitors in the race earned All-Region honors for top-35 place finishes.
Men
Eau Claire's men's cross country team has made its way into the national ranking as well, taking No. 25 in the most recent poll. The improved ranking comes after a fifth place finish in the men's NCAA Midwest Regional Championships, also held on Saturday in Oshkosh.
Senior Chris Wirtz took ninth place overall with a 24:46 time, tops for the team. Junior Tom Breitbach was the only other Blugold to finish within the top-20, taking No. 19 overall with a time of 24:56.
Because the team failed to finish within the top two, they were forced to wait an additional day to find out whether or not they received an at-large selection into the national tournament.
On Sunday, the Blugolds found out that they, along with 15 other teams from around the nation, had received an at-large bid into the tournament, and would live to fight another day.
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