Eagles grab second straight WIAC championship

The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Men’s Outdoor Track and Field team is the Varsity Journal Team of the Month. This past May 4, the high-flying Eagles of La Crosse captured their second consecutive WIAC Championship to add to their already impressive 2024 season.

La Crosse track teams have seen conference success not just this spring but also for the better part of the last three decades. Over the past 33 years, the UW-La Crosse Men’s team has won the WIAC an astonishing 32 times. The only time in that span that they did not finish first was in 2022, when UW-Oshkosh edged them out, winning the conference title by just one point.

This 2024 squad has etched its name in the history books once again, with the team possessing strengths both on the track and in the field.

In the conference meet, the Eagles showed why they are a premier team in the WIAC, scoring 236 team points to second-place finisher Oshkosh’s 166. To add to La Crosse’s team points, the Eagles had six first-place individual finishes and one relay team victory.

With several field events beginning on Friday, UW-La Crosse sent three athletes to the podium in pole vault, with freshman Andrew Tumminaro winning it all. A few more top-five finishes from the team in javelin, long jump, and hammer throw capped off the scoring in the field for the Eagles on the first day of the two-day tournament.

Luke Schroeder started things off on Championship Saturday, winning the 110m Hurdles title. From there, Collin Conzemius won the 400m Dash, which had four Eagles sweeping the top four spots. Cael Schoemann won the 800m Dash, Dirk Lueck took the 400m Hurdles title, and Joey Sullivan won the 5000m Run. Finally, setting a new WIAC Conference meet record was Sam Blaskowski who won the 100m Dash with a time of 10.04.

This recent conference meet was just the latest chapter in what has already been a stellar season for UW-La Crosse. 

Whether at the conference meet or in the regular season, the Eagles have shown out in their 2024 campaign, owning a perfect 7-0 conference record and 11-2 overall record. From the track to the field events, they have had contributors up and down the list.

After winning the Indoor National Title in March, they will look to add to the trophy case with their eyes set on another Division III National Title, only this time for the Outdoor season. Given how they have been competing to this point, this idea doesn’t seem too far-fetched.