EAU CLAIRE, Wis. — The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire men's and women's cross country teams have announced their 2024 team award winners. The team celebrated its 2024 campaign at a year-end banquet last Sunday.
The focus this fall was on staying positive through the ups and downs of practice and the semester with the goal of maintaining this mindset in races. The team executed this objective successfully as evident by their performance during the championship portion of the season. The women placed fourth of 31 teams at regionals and
Keeley Behr advanced to nationals as an individual qualifier. The men's team qualified for the national meet for the first time since 2021 where they finished 19th of 32 teams.
The team award winners were selected based on team voting.
Jack Nelson (Fr. - Plymouth, Minn./West Lutheran) and
Bella Hooker (Fr. - Kewaskum, Wis.) were selected as the Most Valuable Newcomers. Nelson was in the top 10 every race this season and his 8K PR of 26:12 at the WIAC Championship ranks 16th on the Blugold all-time freshmen list. Hooker was the top freshman finisher at both the WIAC and North Regional Championships, earning second team All-WIAC and All-Region honors. Her 6K PR of 22:07 ranks third on the Blugold all-time freshmen list.
Derrick Chute (Fr. - Amery, Wis.) and
Molly Heidorn (So. - Colfax, Wis.) were picked as the teams' Most Improved Runners. Chute didn't make the cross country or track & field team during the 2023-24 academic year, his first year in school. Despite this setback, he kept training and his hard work paid off with a roster spot on this year's cross country team and an 8K PR of 27:16, which is over a three-minute improvement from last year. Heidorn raced her best at the end of the season finishing as the Blugolds' second runner at the WIAC and North Regional Championships and earning second team All-WIAC and All-Region honors in the process. Her 6K PR of 22:06 at Conference ranks 21st on the Blugold all-time 6K list and is a 2:51 improvement from last season.
Mason Shea (Sr. - River Falls, Wis.) and
Keeley Behr (Jr. - Aurora, Ill./Metea Valley) were selected as the teams' Most Valuable Runners. Shea was the Blugold men's top runner in every race this season. He won the Blugold Invitational, was first team All-WIAC, All-Region, and All-American with a 39th of 294 finish at nationals. It was Shea's second cross country All-American award in addition to All-American awards in the 2024 indoor mile and 2024 outdoor steeplechase. Behr was the Blugold women's top runner in every race this season and progressed nicely compared to last year as evident by these results: WIAC place = sixth in 2024 / ninth in 2023; Regionals = ninth in 2024 / 14th in 2023, and Nationals = 72nd in 2024 / 135th in 2023. Keeley earned first team All-WIAC and All-Region honors, and her 6K PR of 21:42 at conference ranks 15th on the Blugold all-time 6K list.
Joey Thaler (Sr. - Chippewa Falls, Wis./McDonell Central) and
Marika Kisgen (Sr. - Des Moines, Iowa/Ankeny) are this season's Blugold Award winners. The award is given to an incredible teammate. Thaler had a successful season running a 33 second 8K PR at conference and arguably the best race of his career at Luther. These accomplishments are impressive but what Thaler did leading the team was more impressive. He was instrumental in helping our freshmen crew of 14 student athletes successfully transition to UW-Eau Claire and the team, and his positive attitude kept our team dynamic strong even on the most challenging days. In addition to being on the team, Kisgen is an assistant hall director on campus. This combination made her an incredible resource for the Blugolds' freshmen student-athletes navigating dorm life for the first time. Her great listening skills and caring nature helped this year's team grow closer and race their best at the end of the season when it mattered most.
