UW-Whitewater Cross-Country Team takes on UW-Eau Claire

University of Wisconsin-Whitewater cross-country team attended the Blugold Invitational in Colfax, Wisconsin on Friday, September 28. The men’s team placed 18 out of 20 and the women’s team 18 out of 25.

UW-Stout won the men’s 8k course with a score of 75, with St. Olaf taking second and UW-Eau Claire placing third. On the women’s side, UW-Eau won the 6k course scoring 80 points. Carleton came in as a close second with 82 points and Wheaton in third.

Sophomore David Fassbender led the UW-Whitewater team with a time of 24:52.9. Fassbender placed in the overall top five in the men’s 8k course.

Placing third for Whitewater was sophomore Kyle Neouth. Neuroth expressed his excitement on Fassbender’s accomplishment. “David finishing in the top five in the race is amazing,” said Neuroth, “He’s a kid that will never give up and will never back down from a difficult race.”

Fassbender is on his way to set a new record at UW-Whitewater in the men’s 8k course. The rest of the men’s team members hope to follow close behind. “I think the meet was a good step in the right direction to our top potential, and that’s to make Nationals,” said Neuroth.

Jessie Braun finished first for UW-Whitewater scoring 65 points with a time of 23:56.4 in the women’s 6k course. The Colfax Golf Course was comprised of an uneven terrain with many hills, but overall both teams seemed to really enjoy the course.

“Overall I think that the meet went very well,” said Braun, “There was a very competitive field of runners and lot of conference schools competing in preparation for the conference meet.”

The men’s and women’s cross-country coaching staff includes head coach Jeff Miller and two assistant coaches, RJ Soderman and Amanda Brom. This fall season is Brom’s first year as an assistant coach.

“It was a great day for a meet, the weather was awesome and we had some great competition,” said Brom. Brom wants the team to focus on conference competition and pushing other teammates. Brom’s biggest focus this season to get her athletes healthy.

The men’s and women’s cross-country teams will compete at the Kollege Town Sports Invitational. The invitational will be hosted by UW-Oshkosh on October 10, 2018 in Winneconne, Wisconsin.