Withrow, Schumacher Honored by Big Ten
October 31, 2007 | Men's Cross Country
University of Wisconsin junior Matt Withrow was named the Big Ten Conference Men 's Cross Country Athlete of the Year and Jerry Schumacher was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year, the conference office announced today.
Withrow became the eighth Wisconsin harrier to win the Big Ten men's individual championship in the past 10 years. His time from last year's event improved by nearly a full minute to register 23:44.37 in 2007 and his place advanced eight spots for the victory. The Tinley Park, Ill., native also earned first-team All-Big Ten Honors after second-team honors last season.
Wisconsin's Schumacher earns his record-setting seventh consecutive Big Ten Coach of the Year award and his eighth in the last nine seasons. His career total surpasses former Badger coach Martin Smith, who was honored with the award on six occasions (1989-91-92-94-95-96). Wisconsin, currently ranked No. 4 in the nation, claimed a 32-point victory over Minnesota last Sunday, recording 33 points and boasting all five scored runners in the top 10 overall. This year's team title was Wisconsin's 41st overall ' a total that almost triples the next highest team total.
The conference office also announced honorees from each of the 21 cross country squads for the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award. The student-athletes chosen are individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. In addition, the student-athletes must be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting. UW honorees were sophomore Brandon Bethke for men and senior Amanda Ganser for women.
These 21 student-athletes are now candidates for the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award, as the conference office will honor one male and one female student-athlete from each institution at the end of the academic year.
First-team and second-team All-Big Ten honors were awarded at the Championships to the first seven and second seven finishers, respectively, for both men and women.
