NCAA Division III Championships

La Crosse, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse men's cross country team will compete at the NCAA III Championships Saturday, November 17, at LaVern Gibson Course in Terre Haute, Indiana. The men's race begins at 10 a.m. (Central Time). Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology is the host of the championships.

The Eagles will be represented at the NCAA III Championships by senior Josh Kaul of Stillwater, Minn. (H.S.), juniors Josh Dedering of Neenah (H.S.), Jacob Peterson of Nekoosa (H.S.) and Sam Simones of La Crosse (Aquinas); sophomores Nathan Routhier of Mequon (Homestead) and Garrett Kerska of Prairie du Sac (Sauk Prairie) and freshman Tom Linner of Stillwater, Minn. (H.S.). Junior Gerald Kerska of Prairie du Sac (Sauk Prairie) is listed as the alternate for the Eagles.

The Eagles have won three NCAA Division III titles (1996, 2001, 2005). UW-L has 21 top-six finishes in school history at the national meet, including 10 in the top-three. The Eagles were 14th last season in Winneconne, Wisconsin.

UW-L has had 12 top-10 individual finishes in school history at the NCAA III Championships. Brett Altergott captured the national title in 1997 and was eighth in 1996. Jim Bachelor placed second in 1986 and third in 1987 while Mike Junig was fourth in 1987.

Other top-10 finishes include: Mahdi Omar (4th) in 1993; Brad Wilson (7th) in 1996 and 1997 (4th); Dan Peso (6th) in 1999; Tyler Foos (3rd) and Ross Substad (7th) in 2001 and Paul Zdroik (5th)?in 2007.

UW-L earned an automatic bid to the 2012 NCAA Division III Championships after placing second at the NCAA Division III Midwest Regional November 10 at Lake Breeze Golf Course in Winneconne, Wisconsin. The Eagles finished with 114 team points while North Central College (Ill.) won the regional title with 58. North Central also earned an automatic bid to the national meet. A total of 39 teams competed.

Kaul was UW-L's top finisher, placing 14th (24:55.91) on the 8,000-meter course. Dedering was 19th (25:05.05) and Routhier placed 20th (25:05.07).

Peterson finished 30th (25:12.07) while Simones was 31st (25:12.54), Linner 33rd (25:13.05) and Garrett Kerska 45th (25:33.34).

Kaul, Dedering, Routhier, Peterson, Simones and Linner each earned NCAA Division III All-Region honors.

UW-Stout's Tim Nelson won the individual title (24:24.67). A total of 271 runners competed.

The Eagles captured the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) championship October 27 at Cole Acres Golf Course in Cuba City, Wisconsin.  The Eagles finished with 30 team points while UW-Eau Claire was second with 89 and UW-Platteville third with 92. It is UW-L's league-best 31st title in school history and first since 2009.

UW-L had eight runners place in the top-20, including five in the top-10. Dedering was second overall (24:59.7) while Garrett Kerska placed fifth (25:09.03), Kaul sixth (25:10.6), Routhier seventh (25:14.4) and Simones 10th (25:22.0).

Linner placed 14th (25:27.4) while Justin Lauria-Banta finished 18th (25:35.1) and Peterson was 19th (25:38.1). Dedering, Kerska, Kaul and Routhier earned All-WIAC First Team honors while Simones and Linner were second team selections. Lauria-Banta and Peterson were All-WIAC Honorable Mention.

Gerald Kerska finished 24th (25:44.4), Eric Lauria-Banta 48th (26:29.5), Mark Punzenberger 65th (26:56.8) and Andrew Rohlman 85th (27:41.4). 

Nelson won the individual title (24:34.2). A total of 105 runners competed.

In the final regular season poll by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) released November 12, UW-L is ranked sixth in NCAA?Division III. Haverford College (Pa.) is ranked first followed by North Central College (Ill.), Calvin College (Mich.), Middlebury College (Vt.) and New York University to round-out the top-five.

UW-Eau Claire is 14th, UW-Stout 25th, UW-Platteville 29th and UW-Stevens Point 34th.

Five UW-L runners have competed in the NCAA Division III Championships entering this year's meet. Kaul will be appearing in his third national meet after placing 260th in 2008 and 91st in 2011.

Dedering (182nd-place), Peterson (141st) and Simones (78th) along with Routhier (59th) all competed in the last year's NCAA III Championships. Routhier was UW-L's top finisher in 2011.

Garrett Kerska and Linner are both making their first career appearance at the national championships.

Derek Stanley is in his first season as the head coach of the UW-L men's and women's cross country teams in 2012. He was an assistant men's cross country coach and assistant women's and men's track & field coach for the Eagles in 2011-12.

Prior to coming to UW-L, Stanley was the head coach of the women's and men's cross country and track & field programs at Marietta College (Ohio), a position he held from 2004-11.

Stanley was the head women's and men's cross country and track & field coach at Bluffton University (Ohio) from 2001-03.  He also served as the head men's cross country and assistant men's track & field coach at Tiffin University (Ohio) from 1999-2001.

He earned his bachelor's degree in business administration with a concentration in marketing from Tiffin in 1999.  Later, in 2002, he obtained his master's of education from Bowling Green State University (Ohio).

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