Cross Country Teams Prepare for Big Ten Championships
October 28, 2004 | Men's Cross Country
The University of Wisconsin men's and women's cross country teams head to Iowa City, Iowa, for the 2004 Big Ten Championships this Sunday. The championships will be run on the new Ashton Cross Country Course, which will be dedicated this weekend, prior to the race. The women's race begins at 10:45 a.m. while the men will run at 11:30 a.m.
The men are looking to capture their sixth consecutive title under head coach Jerry Schumacher. Last season the Badgers won the conference crown with a team total of 40 points. Junior Simon Bairu became the second consecutive UW runner to win the individual Big Ten title, running a time of 23:58. Senior Matt Tegenkamp captured the title in 2002, finishing in 24:01.9. A UW runner has won the individual title in five of the last six years.
In addition to Bairu, sophomore Chris Solinsky and senior Tim Keller placed among the top five overall last year. Solinsky, the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, was third in 24:20.3 while Keller was fifth in 24:24.0. The trio of runners earned first-team All-Big Ten recognition for their performances.
In 2003 the women finished fifth, with seniors Maggie Guiney and Hilary Edmodson leading the way. Both earned second-team All-Big Ten honors as Guiney finished 11th and Edmondson placed 13th. As a team, Wisconsin finished with 167 points while Michigan won the event with a score of 31.
The Badger women ended the regular season with a strong showing at the Penn State National meet, finishing in 10th place on Oct. 16, at the Penn State Blue-White Golf Courses in University Park, Pa. The Badgers were lead by sophomore Katrina Rundhaug who finished the race in 22nd place with a time of 21:32. Junior `A Havahla Haynes finished in 45th with a time of 22:07, while classmate Heidi Lane placed 64th at 22:26 in her first race of the season.
On the men's side, UW won the Jim Drews Invitational for the third year in a row on Oct. 16, winning the title with 30 team points. Five Wisconsin runners placed in the top-10, with Bairu finishing first for Wisconsin, fourth overall. Tegenkamp, who won the Jim Drews individual title in 2001, came in fifth, second overall. Keller was next to cross the line, coming in sixth, followed by Bobby Lockhart in seventh and Solinsky in eighth.
