Badgers Win Cross Country Awards
November 01, 2001 | Women's Cross Country
The University of Wisconsin picked up three awards following the 2001 Big Ten Conference Cross Country Championship. Wisconsin's Bethany Brewster was named the cross country athlete of the year for women while Matt Tegenkamp was named the men's freshman of the year. Badger coach Jerry Schumacher was named the men's coach of the Year. The awards, which were determined in a vote amongst Big Ten head coaches, were announced by the Conference Office.
Brewster, a senior from Freeland, Mich., won the women's crown at the Big Ten Championships on Sunday, October 28, by completing the 5,000-meter course in 17:02.7. Her victory marked the third consecutive year that a Wisconsin runner had captured the race. Brewster joins current teammate Erica Palmer and 1995 champion Kathy Butler on the list of Badgers who have received the Athlete of the Year honor.
Tegenkamp, from Lee's Summit, Mo., took freshman of the year honors on the men's side after his runner-up finish led Wisconsin to its third consecutive conference title, and its seventh in the last 10 years. After winning the 2000 U.S.Junior Cross Country Championship during a red-shirt season, Tegenkamp posted an outstanding freshman campaign for the Badgers that included an individual title at the prestigious Roy Griak Invitational.
The men's coach of the year laurel goes to Wisconsin's Schumacher for the second time. His Badgers dominated the Big Ten men's race by packing four runners in the top 10 in Sunday's championship, two of whom were freshmen. Wisconsin is currently rated fourth in the Mondo/NCAA Division I Men's Cross Country Poll.
Former Badger All-American Jim Stintzi was named the women's coach of the year after leading Michigan State to its first Big Ten title since 1981. Stintzi was a four-year UW letterwinner in track and cross country from 1976-80.
The Wisconsin squads will compete in the Great Lakes Regional Qualifying Meet on Nov. 10 in Terre Haute, Ind., in an attempt to qualify for the 2001 NCAA Cross Country Championships. The top two teams in the region will automatically qualify for this year's championship, which will be held at Furman University in Greenville, S.C., on Nov. 19.
