UW Earns Near Flawless Victory at Jim Drews Invitational
October 18, 2003 | Men's Cross Country
If Wisconsin's near flawless victory Saturday at the Jim Drews Invitational in La Crosse, Wis., is a prelude to its performance at the Big Ten Championships in two weeks, then the Badgers have to like their chances. In their third consecutive first-place finish of the season, Wisconsin swept the 17-team competition with 19 points and a 69-point victory over UW-La Crosse, their nearest competitor with 88 points.
UW captured five of the top six places, with junior Josh Spiker capturing the individual title in a time of 24:41. Following closely behind was freshman Tim Nelson, who made his first appearance for UW, finishing third overall in 24:46. Simon Bairu, Chris Solinsky and Bobby Lockhart rounded out Wisconsin's scorecard with a near photo-finish by capturing the fourth through sixth-place positions, respectively. The three runners finished with less than a second separating their final times.
Senior Joe Eckerly was able to crack the top 10 with an eighth place finish in 25:22. Completing the Badger pack in 12th place was freshman Teddy O'Reilly who crossed the finish line with a time of 25:40.
The Badgers have two weeks to prepare for their fifth consecutive Big Ten Championship title in East Lansing, Mich. on Nov. 2.
