Edmondson Finishes Fourth in NCAA Mile
March 13, 2004 | Women's Track & Field
Led by three scorers in the 3000 meters, the University of Wisconsin men's track and field team tied for 10th at the NCAA Indoor Championships. The UW women 's team tied for 33rd thanks to Hilary Edmondson's fourth-place finish in the mile.
'We thought if we had a great meet, we could be top 10, ' said UW men's coach Ed Nuttycombe. 'We brought eight individuals (to the meet) and are bringing back seven individuals who earned 10 All-America honors. That pretty much says it all. We're very pleased.'
The finish is the highest for the UW men since the 1979 team tied for eighth. The Badgers scored 19 points, which is the highest point total for a Wisocnsin team at an NCAA meet.
The women's team improved from their tie for 43rd last season, scoring five points.
Junior Matt Tegenkamp finished third in a tactical 3000-meter race. The Lee's Summit, Mo., native was the top UW finisher in 8:02.82 and earned his second All-America honor of the meet. Arkansas' Alastair Cragg edged Michigan 's Nick Willis for the title. Cragg, the collegiate record holder, crossed in 7:55.29 while Willis, the Big Ten Indoor Athlete of the Year, finished in 7:56.44.
Freshman Chris Solinsky and sophomore Simon Bairu also earned their second All-America honors of the meet. Solinsky finished sixth in the 3000 in 8:04.70 while Bairu was eighth in 8:06.80.
'The guys were feeling a litte shot heading into the race because they raced so hard yesterday,' said Nuttycombe of his distance runners. 'They were very patient, ran a very smart race. Chris and Simon were closing hard and were almost higher places than they finished.'
Senior Ashraf Fadel also scored for the Badgers in the heptathlon. The Big Ten Indoor champion finished eighth with 5,501 points. Fadel finished third in the heptathlon pole vault, tying his personal best of 15-9. He also recorded a personal best of 2:52.56 in the 1000 meters to finish 11th. He was only 17 points out of sixth place, which was less than two seconds in the 1000 meters.
Sophomore Alonzo Moore finished 11th in the triple jump with a leap of 50-11 '.
For the Badger women, Edmondson crossed in 4:39.21 for fourth place in the mile. Tiffany McWilliams of Mississippi State won the race in 4:32.24.
