Bairu Named Big Ten Runner of the Week
September 29, 2005 | Men's Cross Country
Wisconsin senior Simon Bairu was named Big Ten Runner of the Week after finishing first of 225 runners at the 20th annual Roy Griak Invitational Sept. 24 in Minneapolis, Minn.
Bairu, a Regina, Saskatchewan native, competed in his first race of the 2005 season at the Griak. In 2004, Bairu won the NCAA and Big Ten titles and earned All-America as well as Big Ten Athlete of the Year honors.
At the Griak, Bairu ran the 8000-meters in 23:34, more than 30 seconds faster than the second-place finisher, Kansas's Benson Chesang (24:05). Bairu helped the Badgers earn a second-place finish with 151 points. Brigham Young won the Griak with 117 points.
This marks the third consecutive year a Badger has won Big Ten Runner of the Week honors following the Griak. Last year, then-senior Matt Tegenkemp claimed the Griak title with a time of 24:02 and earned the title the following week. In 2003, Bairu earned his first Runner of the Week honors after a third-place finish at the Griak with a time of 24:01. Bairu also competed at the Griak in 2004 and placed second behind Tegenkemp with a time of 24:07.
Bairu also earned Big Ten Track Athlete of the Week March 30, 2004.
The Wisconsin men's cross country team is back in action Friday as it heads to South Bend, Ind. for the Notre Dame Invitational. The Badgers will compete in the Blue Division against 24 other Division I schools, including host No. 6 Notre Dame, No. 7 Arizona, No. 18 Florida State, No. 26 Colorado State and No. 30 Butler. The race starts at 5:00 p.m. and will be run on the Notre Dame Golf Course.
