MADISON, WIS. — The Bulldog men completed another spectacular season at the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships on Saturday morning. 

William Zegarski led the way in 17th earning All-American honors with a mark of 29:09.8. He was the first Bulldog to earn All-American honors since Barry Keane in 2022.

As a team, the Bulldogs placed 20th with a score of 481 points.

"I'm incredibly proud of how we ran today and throughout the whole season," said coach Matt Roe. "We met serious adversity losing Jesse Hamlin to injury and this group rallied and formed an unbreakable bond. We saw that bond in the way they rallied in every race.

"Will is proving to be one of the top rising American-born athletes in the NCAA. He is a lion of a competitor. To be the third sophomore finisher with only older upperclassmen in front of him shows how quickly he has risen in our system."

The men's 10K took place on the Zimmer Championship Course in 35-degree weather and was hosted by the University of Wisconsin.

Butler entered the race ranked 21st in the country in the latest USTFCCCA national poll. They competed against 30 of the top programs in the country along with qualifying individuals from each of the nine regions.

BYU became the first team since 2004 to sweep both the men's and women's championships. The Cougars took home the crown in the men's race with a total score of 124 points. Iowa State (137) and Arkansas (202) rounded out the podium finishes.

Harvard's Graham Blanks won the race with a mark of 28:37.2 followed by New Mexico's Habtom Samuel (28:38.9) and Furman's Dylan Schubert (28:39.6).

BUTLER MEN (10K)
17) William Zegarski - 29:09.8
68) Austin Gabay - 29:40.4
108) Florian Le Pallec - 29:57.8
183) Luke Henseler - 30:33.2
198) Sean Byrnes - 30:45.8
209) Martin Kovacech - 30:56.5
226) David Slapak - 31:11.8

This is the fifth consecutive appearance by the Bulldogs in the national meet. Butler's men have also taken home three of the last four individual titles at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional.

The team clinched their spot in the NCAA Championships on Nov. 15 after placing third at the regional. Butler edged out Michigan State in the meet winning the tiebreaker over them to have a chance to compete on the national stage.

UP NEXT
The Bulldogs will regroup and prepare for the upcoming indoor track and field season beginning with Blue & Gold Invitational on Dec. 6 in South Bend, Ind.