The Eagles' senior pair of Boomer Creger and Nate Hoffman grabbed eighth and 10th place, respectively, among scoring runners to offset a young Calvin squad's only top-20 finish by Tim Finnegan, who placed first among scorers and third overall.

Then, Wisconsin-La Crosse's third through fifth runners rallied near the end to grab 21st, 27th and 28th place and beat Calvin by 23 points.

"We were getting beat with 1,000 meters to go," said Eagles coach Don Fritsch, who collected his second title with his team's 97-point performance. "I've never seen a team close like this team did today. All of our runners moved up in the last 1,000 meters, but our three-four-five guys really saved the day for us. They had a phenomenal finish."

Those three-four-five guys -- Kevin Oelstrom, John Heitzman and Scott Mueller -- closed within 15 seconds of each other, with Mueller placing 15 scoring positions ahead of Calvin's fourth-place finisher and 24 places ahead of its No. 5 runner.

The race, hosted by Ohio Wesleyan at Dornoch Golf Club, was run on a sunny, 50-degree day, but the course of rolling hills and turns was a little sloppy after recent rains -- in fact, the start times of the day's women's and men's races were delayed an hour to give the grounds crew additional time to treat portions of the trail.

Haverford finished in third and nearly grabbed second place, putting two runners among the top 20 scorers to finish only a point behind Calvin and improve by one place on its previous best performance at last year's championships. Nebraska Wesleyan finished fourth and Tufts placed fifth.

Last year's individual runner-up, Williams' Neal Holtschulte, outdistanced another previous second-place finisher, Macharia Yuot of Widener, for the individual title.

"He made the first surge," said Holtschulte about Yuot, who finished second as a freshman at the 2003 championships. "I went out with him, then the very last hill was where I passed him."

Holtschulte powered across the finish line 13 seconds ahead of Yuot and 15 seconds ahead of the junior Finnegan -- Calvin's most experienced runner on the course.

"We were beaten by a very experienced La Crosse team," said Calvin coach Brian Diemer. "Their seniors really wanted it. We didn't leave anything out there today; we gave it all we had."

Wisconsin-La Crosse also won the championship in 1996, two years before Phil Esten retired from coaching and made way for his assistant coach, Fritsch, to take over the reins.

"Someone asked me what the difference was between this and our title in 2001," Fritsch said. "With 1,000 meters to go in 2001, I knew we had it won. Today, I thought we had it lost. It's hard to put into words the effort they put in over a brutally tough course. The last 450 meters was all uphill, and to run people down the way they did took a supreme effort."

Team results

1. Wis.-La Crosse, 94; 2. Calvin, 117; 3. Haverford, 118; 4. Neb. Wesleyan, 132; 5. Tufts, 216; 6. Wartburg, 247; 7. Hamline, 254; 8. Carnegie Mellon, 303; 9. Chicago, 304; 10. TCNJ, 311; 11. Wis.-Oshkosh, 322; 12. North Central (Ill.), 329; 13. Wheaton (Ill.), 342; 14. Wesleyan (Conn.), 346; 15. St. John's (Minn.), 366; 16. Willamette, 394; 17. Anderson (Ind.), 407; 18. Mount Union, 410; 19. Carleton, 439; 20. (tie) Pomona-Pitzer and Geneseo St., 440; 22. Centre, 462; 23. Keene St., 520; 24. Allegheny, 525.

Individual results

1. Neal Holtschulte, Williams, 25:13.8; 2. Macharia Yuot, Widener, 25:26.5; 3. Tim Finnegan, Calvin, 25:28.9; 4. Tyler Sigl, Wis.-Platteville, 25:29.4; 5. Dana Irrer, Carnegie Mellon, 25:39.9; 6. Mike Sawicki, Otterbein, 25:42.6; 7. Levi Ashley, Neb. Wesleyan, 25:44.0; 8. Crosby Freeman, Pomona-Pitzer, 25:44.2; 9. Hany Abdallah, New York U., 25:45.2; 10. Stephen Harris, Carleton, 25:52.0; 11. Charles Joslyn, Cortland St., 25:52.5; 12. Owen Kiely, Wesleyan (Conn.), 25:54.3; 13. Dan Johnson, Bates, 25:55.0; 14. Grant Scott, Haverford, 25:55.8; 15. Boomer Creger, Wis.-La Crosse, 25:56.3; 16. Stephen Cohen, Anderson (Ind.), 26:00.1; 17. Nate Hoffman, Wis.-La Crosse, 26:03.9; 18. Matt Deshane, Plattsburgh St., 26:04.4; 19. Tomas Morrissey, Amherst, 26:07.7; 20. Craig Dye, Neb. Wesleyan, 26:08.6.

(For complete individual results, see The NCAA News Online at www.ncaa.org.)

Team results

1. Wis.-La Crosse, 94; 2. Calvin, 117; 3. Haverford, 118; 4. Neb. Wesleyan, 132; 5. Tufts, 216; 6. Wartburg, 247; 7. Hamline, 254; 8. Carnegie Mellon, 303; 9. Chicago, 304; 10. TCNJ, 311; 11. Wis.-Oshkosh, 322; 12. North Central (Ill.), 329; 13. Wheaton (Ill.), 342; 14. Wesleyan (Conn.), 346; 15. St. John's (Minn.), 366; 16. Willamette, 394; 17. Anderson (Ind.), 407; 18. Mount Union, 410; 19. Carleton, 439; 20. (tie) Pomona-Pitzer and Geneseo St., 440; 22. Centre, 462; 23. Keene St., 520; 24. Allegheny, 525.

Individual results

1. Neal Holtschulte, Williams, 25:13.8; 2. Macharia Yuot, Widener, 25:26.5; 3. Tim Finnegan, Calvin, 25:28.9; 4. Tyler Sigl, Wis.-Platteville, 25:29.4; 5. Dana Irrer, Carnegie Mellon, 25:39.9; 6. Mike Sawicki, Otterbein, 25:42.6; 7. Levi Ashley, Neb. Wesleyan, 25:44.0; 8. Crosby Freeman, Pomona-Pitzer, 25:44.2; 9. Hany Abdallah, New York U., 25:45.2; 10. Stephen Harris, Carleton, 25:52.0.

11. Charles Joslyn, Cortland St., 25:52.5; 12. Owen Kiely, Wesleyan (Conn.), 25:54.3; 13. Dan Johnson, Bates, 25:55.0; 14. Grant Scott, Haverford, 25:55.8; 15. Boomer Creger, Wis.-La Crosse, 25:56.3; 16. Stephen Cohen, Anderson (Ind.), 26:00.1; 17. Nate Hoffman, Wis.-La Crosse, 26:03.9; 18. Matt Deshane, Plattsburgh St., 26:04.4; 19. Tomas Morrissey, Amherst, 26:07.7; 20. Craig Dye, Neb. Wesleyan, 26:08.6.

21. Keith Solverson, Wartburg, 26:12.1; 22. Joshua Kennedy, Tufts, 26:13.0; 23. Jeff Metzdorff, Hamline, 26:14.9; 24. Chad Bennett, DePauw, 26:15.1; 25. Cal Kromm, Wis.-Oshkosh, 26:15.2; 26. Nick Boehlke, Wis.-Oshkosh, 26:15.4; 27. Julian Boggs, Colorado Col., 26:15.6; 28. Chris Bosworth, North Central (Ill.), 26:15.9; 29. Ian Ramsey-North, Haverford, 26:15.9; 30. Stephen Wills, Williams, 26:18.0.

31. Cyril Pinchak, John Carroll, 26:18.4; 32. Matt Liebal, Dickinson, 26:19.3; 33. Gary Garcia, Wis.-Whitewater, 26:20.2; 34. Jed Christiansen, Calvin, 26:20.7; 35. Harrison Jorritsma, Calvin, 26:20.7; 36. Kevin Oelstrom, Wis.-La Crosse, 26:30.6; 37. Wes Fuhrman, Wesleyan (Conn.), 26:30.9; 38. Michael Cauley, Otterbein, 26:32.1; 39. Chris Dunker, Neb. Wesleyan, 26:32.8; 40. Ryan Gough, Keene St., 26:37.0.

41. Tim Smit, St. John's (Minn.), 26:37.9; 42. Donald Letts, Haverford, 26:38.6; 43. Mark Stevens, Rochester, 26:41.4; 44. Dan Hayman, Claremont-M-S, 26:42.1; 45. Doug Blackburn, Whitworth, 26:42.3; 46. John Heitzman, Wis.-La Crosse, 26:42.4; 47. James Butcher, Middlebury, 26:44.0; 48. David Borner, Bethel (Minn.), 26:44.4; 49. Scott Mueller, Wis.-La Crosse, 26:45.5; 50. Nick End, Carnegie Mellon, 26:46.5.

51. Sam Hauck, St. Olaf, 26:46.8; 52. Matt Field, Wheaton (Ill.), 26:48.2; 53. Tim McKenna, Wartburg, 26:48.7; 54. Zachary Vaslow, Haverford, 26:48.7; 55. Jon Gries, Calvin, 26:49.2; 56. Teage O'Connor, Chicago, 26:50.2; 57. Brian Scott, Haverford, 26:50.7; 58. Sean Hudson, Anderson (Ind.), 26:51.0; 59. Pat Hogan, Chicago, 26:51.4; 60. Jeremy Velliquette, Mount Union, 26:51.9.

61. Brandon Mull, Wheaton (Ill.), 26:52.5; 62. Nathan Johnson, Wash. & Lee, 26:53.0; 63. Brad Ruffo, Penn St.-Behrend, 26:53.2; 64. Mike Flint, Coast Guard, 26:53.9; 65. Tony Klappa, Hamline, 26:54.8; 66. Jeffrey Zodda, TCNJ, 26:55.0; 67. Brennan Bonner, Washington-St. Louis, 26:55.1; 68. Tom Rhodes, Dickinson, 26:55.6; 69. Avery Bouchard, Bridgewater St., 26:56.8; 70. Kevin Gale, Washington-St. Louis, 26:57.5.

71. Christopher Guerriero, TCNJ, 26:57.8; 72. Justin Chung, Tufts, 26:57.8; 73. Bill Reynolds, Calvin, 26:57.9; 74. Travis Bristow, Hamline, 26:58.6; 75. Vince Sickler, Neb. Wesleyan, 26:58.9; 76. Nick Hird, North Central (Ill.), 27:00.9; 77. Brad Schroeder, Ohio Northern, 27:01.2; 78. Ross Hunkovic, Geneseo St., 27:02.7; 79. Greg Timblin, Neb. Wesleyan, 27:03.0; 80. Kevin Balster, Wartburg, 27:03.3.

81. Matthew Fortin, Tufts, 27:03.6; 82. Tyler Zwagerman, Calvin, 27:03.6; 83. Chris Kantos, Tufts, 27:04.6; 84. Chris Erichsen, St. John's (Minn.), 27:05.1; 85. Emil Bojanov, Chicago, 27:06.3; 86. Joe Francisco, Widener, 27:06.5; 87. Daniel Castaneda, Colorado Col., 27:08.2; 88. Matthew Lacey, Tufts, 27:08.5; 89. Eric Hack, Centre, 27:10.2; 90. Will Leer, Pomona-Pitzer, 27:10.4.

91. John Nowinski, Carleton, 27:10.9; 92. Patrick Johnson, Wartburg, 27:11.7; 93. Nick Symmonds, Willamette, 27:12.2; 94. William McGuire, Haverford, 27:12.4; 95. Dave Dos Santos, TCNJ, 27:12.7; 96. Ian Batch, Willamette, 27:13.3; 97. Ricky Flynn, Lynchburg, 27:13.7; 98. Kyle Alpaugh, TCNJ, 27:13.8; 99. Kyle Triggs, St. John's (Minn.), 27:14.4; 100. Mike Bridenbaugh, Carnegie Mellon, 27:14.8.

101. Rob Hruska, Neb. Wesleyan, 27:15.4; 102. Scott Overby, Willamette, 27:15.5; 103. Kota Reichert, Puget Sound, 27:15.8; 104. Roland Hopkins, North Central (Ill.), 27:16.0; 105. Jason Sigmund, Mount Union, 27:16.4; 106. Tyson Evensen, Elizabethtown, 27:16.8; 107. Chris Carrier, Allegheny, 27:17.4; 108. Dan Steinbrecher, Hamline, 27:18.1; 109. Adam Bohach, Luther, 27:19.0; 110. Joe Hegarty, Keene St., 27:19.4.

111. Brian Kelley, Wis.-Oshkosh, 27:19.5; 112. Josh Martsolf, Greenville, 27:19.9; 113. John Mercuri, Scranton, 27:20.1; 114. Greg Wetzel, Elizabethtown, 27:20.3; 115. Stephen Hrinda, Case Reserve, 27:20.6; 116. Jason Theobald, Elizabethtown, 27:21.3; 117. Kyle Weller, Anderson (Ind.), 27:25.2; 118. Tad Hulst, Calvin, 27:25.9; 119. Jon King, Wesleyan (Conn.), 27:26.1; 120. Tim Henry, Wheaton (Ill.), 27:27.6.

121. Ryan McCarl, Chicago, 27:27.7; 122. Dan Moore, Geneseo St., 27:28.3; 123. Chris Lutz, Hamline, 27:29.3; 124. Dave Billings, Ripon, 27:30.0; 125. Daniel Ball, Wheaton (Ill.), 27:31.2; 126. Nate Blank, Centre, 27:31.6; 127. Kyle Doran, Tufts, 27:32.3; 128. Brandon Gleason, Hamline, 27:32.8; 129. Andy Hubner, North Central (Ill.), 27:32.8; 130. Mike McGrath, Geneseo St., 27:32.9.

131. Jim Tillapaugh, Geneseo St., 27:33.3; 132. Dustin Ford, Mount Union, 27:33.4; 133. Mark Noll, Centre, 27:33.5; 134. Marco Dozzi, Allegheny, 27:34.6; 135. Chris Yotter, Hamline, 27:34.9; 136. Ben Carlson, Wartburg, 27:35.4; 137. Brian Harvey, Carnegie Mellon, 27:35.5; 138. Travis Harris, Willamette, 27:36.2; 139. Sean McCarron, Pomona-Pitzer, 27:37.4; 140. Ben Grant, Loras, 27:37.6.

141. Brian Hague, Chicago, 27:37.7; 142. Adam Williamson, Carleton, 27:37.9; 143. Brian Kopnicki, TCNJ, 27:39.0; 144. Mike Herlihy, Wis.-La Crosse, 27:39.3; 145. Matthew Manning, Mississippi Col., 27:40.5; 146. Chris Corkins, Allegheny, 27:41.0; 147. Nate Boehlke, Wis.-Oshkosh, 27:41.2; 148. Josh Clough, Willamette, 27:41.4; 149. Chris Paulett, Mount Union, 27:45.1; 150. Brian Bernard, Mount Union, 27:45.3.

151. Mitch VanBruggen, St. John's (Minn.), 27:45.8; 152. Paul Rollet, North Central (Ill.), 27:46.4; 153. John Thompson, Centre, 27:47.6; 154. Matt Kramer, Wis.-Superior, 27:48.3; 155. Bill Lordan, Carnegie Mellon, 27:48.5; 156. Jeff Goertz, Wheaton (Ill.), 27:48.7; 157. Bernard Muller, Haverford, 27:49.2; 158. Patrick O'Brien, Wis.-Oshkosh, 27:49.3; 159. Kelly Fermoyle, St. John's (Minn.), 27:49.9; 160. Mike Brady, Wesleyan (Conn.), 27:50.6.

161. Matthew Haley, Keene St., 27:51.4; 162. Carlos Ruiz, Willamette, 27:52.5; 163. Matt Hoy, Allegheny, 27:52.6; 164. Micah Danielson, Wheaton (Ill.), 27:54.3; 165. Jon Ascolese, Chicago, 27:56.6; 166. Anthony Lippert, Centre, 27:57.2; 167. Andy Hodge, Wartburg, 27:57.5; 168. Geiff Misek, Carnegie Mellon, 27:57.9; 169. Chase Wilson, Centre, 27:58.0; 170. Anda Greeney, Wesleyan (Conn.), 27:58.7.

171. Kevin Chaves, Occidental, 27:59.5; 172. Brandon Lewis, Wheaton (Ill.), 28:01.7; 173. Tristan Knutson-Lombardo, Willamette, 28:03.4; 174. Breck Fresen, Carnegie Mellon, 28:03.6; 175. Matthew Randal, TCNJ, 28:04.5; 176. Neil Orfield, Tufts, 28:04.9; 177. Eric Nelsen, St. John's (Minn.), 28:05.5; 178. Galen Johnson, TCNJ, 28:06.6; 179. Quentin Kennedy, Carleton, 28:07.1; 180. Billy Holl, Geneseo St., 28:07.4.

181. Derek Reiff, Anderson (Ind.), 28:10.9; 182. Zach Hunter, St. John's (Minn.), 28:11.2; 183. Nik Hlady, Pomona-Pitzer, 28:12.6; 184. Jeff Briggs, Centre, 28:13.1; 185. Andrew McCarthy, Geneseo St., 28:14.0; 186. Matt Oberly, Mount Union, 28:14.1; 187. Garret Piispanen, Allegheny, 28:15.0; 188. Sean Watson, Wesleyan (Conn.), 28:19.8; 189. Joe Sepe, Carleton, 28:20.5; 190. Maas David, Pomona-Pitzer, 28:21.7.

191. Scott Cross, Wartburg, 28:23.6; 192. Justin Meeson, Mount Union, 28:52.2; 193. Will Haskell, Geneseo St., 28:27.2; 194. Patrick Ard, Keene St., 28:27.7; 195. Reuben Woodruff, Carleton, 28:27.8; 196. Dan Raleigh, Chicago, 28:29.5; 197. Matt Ingalls, Anderson (Ind.), 28:33.0; 198. Bill Walkowicz, Wis.-La Crosse, 28:34.8; 199. Eamon Monaghan, Carleton, 28:36.1; 200. Steve Albanese, North Central (Ill.), 28:38.0.

201. Cody Waite, Neb. Wesleyan, 28:39.7; 202. Rich Cannon, Pomona-Pitzer, 28:41.3; 203. Dan Rodriguez, North Central (Ill.), 28:41.9; 204. Joe Reynolds, Keene St., 28:58.4; 205. Derek O'Connell, Wis.-Oshkosh, 29:00.0; 206. Devon Flynnperrault, Allegheny, 29:00.2; 207. Willy Kaul, Wis.-Oshkosh, 29:00.3; 208. Sheridan Welch, Keene St., 29:13.5; 209. Matt Shea, Wesleyan (Conn.), 29:28.4; 210. Will Swanson, Pomona-Pitzer, 29:45.9.

211. Dan Timm-Zimmerman, Anderson (Ind.), 31:03.8.