Wisconsin Men Remain on Top
November 18, 2004 | Men's Cross Country
The Wisconsin men's cross country remains No. 1 in the final Mondo Men 's Cross Country poll released Nov. 16, 2004. The Badgers have held down the No. 1 position the entire season and this week was given 12 first-place votes. Arkansas, who jumped into second place, received the other two votes. The Razorbacks moved ahead of the defending national champions, Stanford. Colorado and Notre Dame remained No. 4 and No. 5 respectively.
UW has had a very solid season this year, winning their 20th NCAA Great Lakes regional title and sixth consecutive Big Ten Title. At the Great Lakes regional, Wisconsin finished with 47 team points and placed six runners in the top 25 to earn all-region honors. Senior Matt Tegenkamp led the way for UW placing sixth overall (30:24.7). Chris Solinsky followed in seventh (30:25.1), with Simon Bairu finishing 10th (30:25.7). Senior Josh Spiker was close behind finishing 11th (30:26.0), followed by Bobby Lockhart in 13th (30:29.2). Tim Nelson and Tim Keller also ran for the Badgers finishing 18th (30:33.1) and 29th (31:01.9), respectively.
At the Big Tens Wisconsin swept the top three places to win with 23 points, the fourth-lowest point total in championship history. The win earned junior Simon Bairu his second consecutive Big Ten Athlete of the Year honor, and Coach Schumacher 's fifth Big Ten Coach of the Year award.
The Badgers will test their ranking on Monday, Nov. 22 when they compete in the NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, Ind. The top-ranked Badgers are looking to capture their fourth championship in the program's history. Check uwbadgers.com for the latest updates and results.
