LOUISVILLE, KY — For the second straight season, UW–Platteville’s Ian La Mere claimed the individual title at the NCAA Division III Men’s Cross Country Championship that was held at E.P. “Tom” Sawyer State Parker on Nov. 19.

La Mere posted a time of 23:40.4 on the 8,000-meter course to beat the field of 278 runners. Ernie Pitone of Widener University (Pa.) finished second with a time of 24:09.0.

La Mere is just the fourth individual in NCAA Division III history to win back-to-back titles, joining Dale Kramer of Carleton College (Minn.) (1976-77), David Terronez of Augustana College (Ill.) (1988-89) and Josh Moen of Wartburg College (Iowa) (2003-04).

He is the fifth runner from the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference to win the national crown, joining UW–Stevens Point’s Arnie Schrader (1986), UW–La Crosse’s Brett Altergott (1997), UW–Platteville’s Tyler Sigl (2007) and UW–Stout’s Tim Nelson (2012).

North Central College (Ill.) secured its 17th national championship with 60 points, while State University of New York–Geneseo was second with 204. UW–Eau Claire, the defending champion, finished third in the team standings with 209 points and UW–La Crosse was sixth with 295.

Runners from the WIAC joining La Mere on the All-America squad for finishing in the top 35 included: UW–Eau Claire’s Darin Lau (sixth in 24:22.9); UW–Eau Claire’s Nick Petersson (31st in 24:52.0); UW–Whitewater’s Brett Harms (32nd in 24:53.2) and UW–Eau Claire’s Patrick Treacy (34th in 24:54.1).