Christian Patzka was named the 2024 NCAA DIII Men’s Cross Country National Athlete of the Year. Patzka, who hails from Black Earth, Wisconsin, captured the individual title at the 2024 NCAA DIII Cross Country Championships in Terre Haute, Indiana. The UW-Whitewater standout traversed the 8k tract of the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in 24:01.6, more than two seconds faster than the rest of the field. Earlier in the season, Patzka took top individual honors at the Augustana (Ill.) Interregional Invitational and posted three different runner-up finishes.