MADISON, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville cross country teams opened the season at the Badger Classic on Friday morning hosted by the University of Wisconsin. The meet, held at the Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course, featured competition from Division I school such as Wisconsin, Marquette, Illinois-Chicago.
Men's Highlights
The Pioneers men's team placed second out of four teams in the 8K race, finishing with 65 points. Wisconsin was the top team with 15 points, with Illinois-Chicago (74) and Marquette (78) coming in behind UW-Platteville.
Junior
Zachary Sporaa was the top finisher for the men, placing seventh overall in a time of 25:31.6. Junior
Maxwell Sporaa wasn't too far behind, finishing 11th in 26:07.2.
Senior
Caden Schneider (26:19.6), senior
Joshua Stone (26:34.7), and junior
Matt Tippel (26:36.2) rounded out the top five scorers for the Pioneers. Schneider finished 14th, while Stone and Tippel crossed the line back-to-back for 16th and 17th.
Wrapping up the top seven were junior Xander Albano and senior
Elijah Wade. Albano placed 21st behind a time of 27:06.7, while Wade was 24th in 27:06.7.
Women's Highlights
Junior
Megan Hageman was the women's top finisher, finishing 17th overall in the 6K race with a time of 24:35.2.
The final four Pioneers scorers all finished within 17 seconds of each other, with sophomore
Caitlin Wirth leading the group with a 22nd-place finish in 25:19.2. Senior
Avery Brown crossed the line in 25:22.6 for 24th, while a pair of freshmen in
Alexa Leonard (25:29.3) and
Cecilia Skalsky (25:36.5) rounded out the scorers with 26th- and 27th-place finishes, respectively.
Freshman
Julianna Moran and senior
Leah Digmann wrapped up UW-Platteville's top seven runners. Moran took 28th overall behind a time of 26:02.2, with Digmann placing 29th in 26:18.9.
Overall, the women's team placed third with 83 points, behind Wisconsin (15 points) and Marquette (50).
Up Next
The Pioneers return to action in two weeks at the Blugold Invite hosted by UW-Eau Claire. The women's race begins at 4:15 p.m. with the men's to follow at the Whitetail Golf Course in Colfax, Wisconsin.
