Sophomores Cameron Cullen and Paul Proteau represented the UW Oshkosh cross-country team at the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships, with Cullen finishing 135th and Proteau finishing 91st in the men’s 8,000-meter race held Nov. 18 in Newville, Pennsylvania.
Proteau finished inside the top 100 after coming in at a time of 25:38.5 while Cullen claimed a time of 25:56.0.
UW-La Crosse’s Ethan Gregg took the individual title, winning the race with a time of 24:02.4. Following closely behind was Christian Patzka from UW-Whitewater, who claimed second place with a time of 24:20.07.
Cullen said running at the national meet was a surreal experience.
“Being able to represent not only myself but also my whole team, and my family, who were supporting and cheering me on, was super exciting,” he said. “Competing against the best runners from around the country has helped to enhance my drive and desire to chase even greater performances and achievements as my career progresses.”
Proteau said running at the national championship meet was one of the most intense things he’s ever done.
“There was a unique thrill to [the meet] that made it fun and really challenging,” he said. “It reminded me of my first state meet in high school which is a race I really hadn’t thought of in a while. The environment of it all was completely foreign, but I knew Cameron and I had to go out there and just give it the best effort we could.”
Pomona-Pitzer College (California) edged out UW-La Crosse for the team title, finishing with 158 points to UWL’s 159. North Central College (Illinois) finished in third place with 169 points, Williams College (Massachusetts) took fourth place with 212 points and Wartburg College (Iowa) claimed fifth place with 232 points.
Cullen said qualifying for Nationals is the highlight of his running career so far.
“Although our team was unable to qualify, my teammate (and roommate) also qualified as well, which made the excitement even greater,” Cullen said. “I was overfilled with joy and gratitude to all who have helped me along my running journey including my teammates, coaches, and my family. Above all, I gave my thanks and praise to the Lord, because without him I wouldn’t have the ability to run and compete at this high of a level.”
“There’s a lot of work to do if we want to qualify as a team,” Proteau said. “There’s also a lot of work to do if we want to improve individually at the national level.”
Cullen said his goal for next season is to make it back to nationals with the entire team.
“It was an extremely fun experience, and one I will never forget, but definitely would be a lot more fun racing next to all the people who helped push me day in and day out throughout the whole season.”
