For the 35th time in UW-La Crosse history, the men’s cross country team competes in the NCAA championships.
The meet begins at 11 a.m. Saturday at Forest Akers Golf Course in Lansing, Mich.
In the final 2022 pre-championships poll by the USTFCCCA, the Eagles were ranked eighth.
The Eagles have won three Division III titles (1996, 2001, 2005) and finished in the Top 3 14 times, including runners-up in 2017.
Running for UW-L will be juniors Reed Anderson, Ethan Gregg, Parker Huhn and Isaac Wegner; sophomores Luke Chaffin, Corey Fairchild and Elias Ritzke; and freshman Aidan Matthai and Grant Matthai.
This will be Gregg’s third NCAA championships. He was an All-American last year, finishing 11th.
Teammates Huhn, Wegner and Fairchild all made their first appearance last year.
The only individual title for UW-L came back in 1997 with Brett Altergott. He also took eighth the year before.
Jim Bachelor placed second in 1986 and third in 1987, while Mike Junig was fourth in 1987.
UW-L earned an automatic bid, after placing second at the North Regional on Nov. 12 at the St. Olaf College (Minn.).
TOP PHOTO: The UW-La Crosse men’s cross country team qualified for the DIII NCAA championships in 2022. (PHOTO: Bob Mulock, UWLAthletics.com)