MASON, Ohio (blugolds.com) – The UW-Eau Claire men's cross country team took seventh at the NCAA Division III Nationals Championships on Saturday at the Golf Center at Kings Island.

Josh Thorson (So.-Plymouth, MN) was the top Blugold finisher, taking third overall with season-best time of 23:57.1, 12 seconds behind champion Grant Wintheiser of St. Olaf. Thorson shaved 13 seconds off his regional time from a week ago (24:10), where he also finished third.

Ryan Mugan (Jr.-Howards, Grove, WI) was the next Blugold to cross the finish line, clocking in at 24:09.6, finishing in 10^th.  Mugan also ran his best race of the season and cut 10 seconds off his regional time (24:20).

Freshman Darin Lau (Fr.-Eau Claire, WI) finished at 24:35.4, good enough for 31^st, rounding out the top finishers for the Blugolds. Lau cut an impressive 29 seconds off his regional finish (25:04) and ran under 25 minutes for the second time this season, setting a new personal record.

Matt Cooper (So,-Ashwaubenon, WI) finished 119^th with a time of 25:28.8 followed by Christian Leitner (Jr.-Red Wing, MN)  (132^nd) at 25:33.5, Adam Moline (Sr.-Maple Grove, MN) (192^nd) at 25:52.1 and Erik Rosvold (Sr. Apple Valley, MN) (195^th) at 25:53.0.

North Central took home the national championship with a team score of 130 while St. Olaf took second (143) and UW-La Crosse was in third (188).

-JM-