The UW Oshkosh men’s and women’s cross-country teams competed at the WIAC Championship on Saturday in Cuba City. The Titan women took third place at the tournament while the men took fourth place in the last meet before the NCAA Division III Midwest Regional meet on Nov. 16.

The Titans braved the cold and the snowfall from the earlier week but fell just short as UW-Eau Claire took home the women’s title while UW-La Crosse cruised to the men’s title.

“The conditions in terms of temperature did not affect the competitors very much,” coach Eamon McKenna said. “The temps were in the high 30s, which is pretty decent weather for distance running, although ideally it would be high 40s. The wind ended up not being much of a factor, either. The worst part of the course was that the melting snow the previous two days produced course conditions that were very muddy and slippery. The footing was subpar, and it was difficult to get the push to which the athletes are accustomed.”

Following Saturday’s meet, there will be a select group of Titans competing at the NCAA D-III Midwest Regional Meet at Lake Breeze Golf Course in Winneconne.

“This week the team will get in two high-quality, hard workouts and will recover and rest on the other days,” McKenna said. “We will look to freshen up a bit before the Regional Championship.”

Those that aren’t running will continue to work hard and prepare for a long break. Some will even be running distance events during the upcoming track and field season.

“For those who have completed their season, we must evaluate the pros and cons of the season that has finished for them,” McKenna said. “What did they do well? What can they build upon? What didn’t work? Where do they have room for improvement? Can they be more consistent and aggressive in their off-season training? These are the types of things they will be asked to evaluate as the move forward and look to improve in future seasons.”