Men's Cross County Prepares to Defend Title
November 17, 2006 | Men's Cross Country
The No. 1-ranked Wisconsin men's cross country team closes out its season at the NCAA championships Monday in Terre Haute, Ind. Wisconsin enters the meet as the defending champion and will be looking for the fifth team title in school history. The 31-team men's 10,000-meter race is slated to begin at 12:15 CT on the LaVern Gibson Cross Country Course.
After three consecutive second-place finishes at the national meet, the Badgers broke through last season in convincing fashion by scoring 37 points to best Arkansas by 68 points. It was Wisconsin's first NCAA title since 1988.
Then-senior Simon Bairu led the way for Wisconsin, bringing home his second consecutive NCAA individual national title in 29 minutes and 15.9 seconds. Along with Tim Hacker (1985) and Walter Mehl (1939), Bairu is one of just three Badgers to win the individual title.
Besides Bairu, Wisconsin placed five other runners in the top 20 to garner a total of six All-America honors. Senior Chris Solinsky came in third with a time of 29:27.8 and 2005 Big Ten Freshman of the Year Matt Withrow finished ninth overall in 29:50.7 to lead all freshmen at the meet. Then-senior Antony Ford (29:55.2) finished 14th, sophomore Stu Eagon (30:05.3) placed 17th and senior Tim Nelson (30:06.4) finished 18th to round out the scoring. Sophomore Christian Wagner also ran for UW, finishing 58th in a time of 30:35.7.
With five of their top-seven runners returning, the Badgers have been ranked No. 1 all season and head into the NCAA meet as the team favorite. Solinsky is also the top returning individual finisher.
'Last year being third and this year, he'll stick his nose in it for the individual win, I'm sure,' head coach Jerry Schumacher. 'He 's done a great job. And we'll be sad to lose him, from all the things that he's brought to the table the last four years.
While the Badgers top-five runners are solidly in place, Wisconsin's sixth, seventh and eighth runners (all freshmen) have been fluctuating on weekly basis. With the Badgers only able to run seven at the meet, Schumacher noted the difficulty in keeping one of the freshman out of the race.
'Every week I think it's someone different who's going to be in there, and they just keep one person runs well one weekend and the next weekend the other guy finds a way to beat that person,' Schumacher said. 'So the hard part will be that one of them won't be lining up on the line on Monday, but the good part is that all of them have three more years beyond this year.'
This season, Wisconsin will be facing many of the same teams it outdueled for the title last year. Colorado comes in ranked No. 2 in the country after a fifth-place finish last year while runner-up Arkansas currently ranks No. 3. Traditional powers Iona (No. 4), Oregon (No. 5) and Stanford (No. 6) are also expected to compete for the title.
The Badgers qualified for their 35th-straight trip to the NCAA Championships by winning the NCAA Great Lakes Regional title in Bowling Green, Ohio, Nov. 11. Wisconsin placed four runners in the top 10 and posted a team score of 52 points in the effort. Eagon led the way for Wisconsin, covering the 10,000-meter course in 31:7.65 to place fifth.
Solinsky finished only a step behind Eagon, placing sixth in 31:07.67. Next for the Badgers were a trio of freshmen, led by true freshman Craig Miller, who finished ninth in 31:25.71. Following close behind was Big Ten Freshman of the Year Brandon Bethke, who placed 10th in 31:25.71. Rounding out the scoring for Wisconsin was freshman Andrew Lacy, who crossed the line in 31:49.52 to finish 22nd. All five UW runners earned all-region honors.
'If we can race with that type of intensity and hopefully have improved a little bit, because I think we will have needed to improve since then, I think we 'll find ourselves in a good place on Monday,' Schumacher said.
The 31-team men's race is slated to begin at 12:15 CT on the LaVern Gibson Cross Country Course.
For information on the 2006 NCAA Cross Country Championships, visit the Indiana State Athletics website at http://www.indstate.edu/athletic/cross/championship/2006ncaa.html
Check back to uwbadgers.com for results upon completion of the meet.
