Sophomore Paul Proteau and freshman Gracie Buchinger led the men’s and women’s UW Oshkosh cross-country team with first-place and third-place individual finishes at the UW-Platteville Gender Equity Invitational. Proteau finished the men’s 8,000m with a time of 25:14.0, and Buchinger finished the women’s 6,000 in 23:34.6. Both finishes spearheaded numerous top 20 finishes and first place team finishes for both the women’s and men’s teams in the race.
Furthermore, this race was unique because the men’s race began and was quickly followed by the women’s race precisely two minutes and 40 seconds, meaning that both races were run alongside each other which allowed for the Titan cross-country teams to run together.
Proteau described the race as challenging for some of the team but also a unique experience.
“The course itself was found challenging by a considerable amount of our team,” said Proteau. “The heat was also a huge challenge for some people on both the men’s and women’s teams. I’m not sure if the course exactly added anything new to the team, but I think it was a race that reminded us about the importance of meet prep. I think most people on the team did enjoy the uniqueness of the race. It was neat to have both the men’s and women’s teams work together to secure a team victory, which is something we don’t do at a normal race.”
The women’s team had four Titans finish in the top 10. Buchinger ran a season best 23:34.6 for third place, junior Cyna Madigan right behind her with a time of 23:41.1 in fourth place, followed by sophomore Jamie Catania in seventh with a time of 24:08.6 and sophomore Josie Makurat in eighth with a time of 24:12.7
On the men’s side, four Titans made it into the top 10. Proteau placed first with a time of 25:14; senior Joe Kehoe placed second for the second time straight with a time of 25:28; sophomore Cameron Cullen placed third with a time of 25:44; and senior Jason Ford rounded out the top 10 with a time of 26:19.4
Coach Eamon McKenna commented saying it was a good competitive effort overall.
“I think our athletes did a nice job of competing overall,” McKenna said. “Our top group on both sides ran well and attacked the front. We would have liked to have five in the top 15 of each gender, and we ended up with four of each gender. Those athletes won individual awards and really had solid days. We can continue to work on sticking together and we can trust our training and abilities more when the race gets difficult in the middle and later sections.”
Along, with the awards for placing both runners Buchinger and Proteau earned honors as Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Kwik Trip cross-country athletes of the week for their performances the week of Sept. 18-24.
Proteau said it was a big step forward for the future of the season for him.
“I personally thought it was a solid individual performance. I have bigger ambitions in terms of times this season, but this certainly was a big step forward. Considering it felt smooth for the most part, I’d like to think there is a lot more to give in future races.”
The next race for the Titans will be the UW-Eau Claire Blugold Invitational on Sept. 29. This race will be held at the Whitetail Golf Course in Colfax with the men starting at 4:15 p.m. followed by the women at 5:15 p.m.
