Men's Cross Country Signs Three
December 06, 2005 | Men's Cross Country
The top-ranked University of Wisconsin men's cross country team has announced the signing of three runners to National Letters of Intent, coach Jerry Schumacher announced today. John Bolas from Chapel Hill, N.C., Craig Miller from Manheim, Pa., and Noah Shannon from Fort Collins, Colo., will compete with the Badgers in both cross country and track and field beginning in the fall of 2006.
'I'm very excited about Craig, John and Noah joining the Badger program,' said UW cross country coach and assistant track coach Jerry Schumacher. 'They're all very talented and hard-working athletes who will really contribute to the future of the Wisconsin cross country and track programs. We're looking forward to them being Badgers.'
Bolas was the 2005 North Carolina state 4A cross country champion, after finishing second as a junior, leading Chapel Hill High School to the team title. He was also individual runner-up at the Nike Team Nationals on Dec. 3 in Portland, Oregon, leading the Tigers to a 12th-place team finish. Bolas will compete in the Foot Locker National Championships this Saturday in San Diego, qualifying for the meet by finishing third at the South Regional. He looks to improve upon his 31st-place finish at the 2004 Foot Locker National meet.
In 2004, Bolas was the North Carolina state 4A champion in the 1600-meter run with a time of four minutes, 8.23 seconds, which ranked him ninth nationally, and second in the 3200 meters (9:21.57). Bolas also took fourth in the mile at the Nike Outdoor Nationals, and was the PAC-6 Conference champion in the 1600 and 3200 meters. As a sophomore, Bolas finished sixth in the 4A state 1600 meters in 2003 and 20th in the Foot Locker Cross Country South.
Miller is a three-time Pennsylvania Division 3 state cross country champion and three-time state champion at 1600 meters on the track. In 2005, Miller was named American Track and Field Athlete of the Week on Sept. 12 for taking first in the Gettysburg Invitational, breaking the course record by 33 seconds with a time of 14:56, which is also the fastest 5000-meter cross country time in Pennsylvania state history.
As a junior, Miller finished 15th at the Foot Locker Nationals and placed second in the mile at the Nike Nationals. He was a 2005 Track & Field News All-American in the mile with a personal best time of 4:07.19.
Shannon is part of the Fort Collins High School track team that has won the class 5A state title the last three years. As a junior, Shannon was a member of the state champion 3200-meter relay team and finished fourth in the 3200 meters in 9:39.32. Shannon was also a member of the winning the 1600-meter and 3200-meter relays at the 2005 University of Kansas Relays.
Shannon took third at state in cross country in 2005, leading the Lambkins to the state title. Fort Collins also won the state championship in 2004 with Shannon finishing fifth. He also placed eighth at the Foot Locker Midwest Regional last month and will compete in the national meet against with Bolas this Saturday. The two meet last weekend at the Nike Team National, where Shannon finished third, a little over five seconds behind Bolas, leading Fort Collins to a ninth-place team finish.
