Badgers make a statement by winning Paul Short Invitational
October 03, 2008 | Men's Cross Country
With up to 300 runners and 45 colleges competing in a single race, the Badgers only had one thing in mind at the Paul Short Invitational on Friday morning- winning. In the first true test of the fall season, the UW men's cross country team brought their A game and won the 34th annual invitational. The team placed five runners in the top 21 spots and took the trophy away from Villanova's two-time reign in the Badgers' first appearance in the race.
Wisconsin finished with a final score of 52 points, beating second-place Syracuse by 44 points. Rounding out the next three spots were Villanova, Iona, and Cornell. Head coach Mick Byrne was more than pleased with the team's efforts as he was able to knock off a strong Syracuse team along with placing ahead of Iona College, where Byrne coached the last 24 seasons.
Leading the way for the Badgers was sophomore Landon Peacock, placing third with a time of 23:46. First place finisher Sam Chelanga from Liberty University (Lynchburg, VA) set a new course record with a time of 23:05, more than a half minute ahead of the competition. Finishing only two seconds behind Peacock was senior Christian Wagner, who continues to play a vital role in leading the pack for Wisconsin. While the sophomore and senior were impressive in the outing, junior Craig Miller was the story of the day. After keeping pace the entire race with the top runners, Miller slipped at the 5K mark and ruined his pace, falling behind his brother who finished as the top runner for Syracuse and No. 5 overall by three seconds. Instead of giving up, the junior from Lancaster, PA battled back in the race and finished at No. 7.
'It was really exciting to see such a performance from these runners' Byrne said. 'To see Peacock and Wagner run under 24 minutes at this point in the season showed me a lot about their personal character and determination to win. Had Miller not of fallen and lost his momentum, he would have been right with those guys and I applaud his will to battle back in the race.'
Rounding out the final two spots of competition were junior Ryan Gasper with 24:15 and freshman Elliot Krause with 24:18. Making his second appearance in the top five spots in his second meet, freshman Elliot Krause continues to brighten the future for men's cross country.
'After the race, Ryan Gasper turned to me and said that it was Krause who stepped up as the leader in the last mile of the course' Byrne said. 'To see a freshman inspiring the older runners, keeping them honest, and practicing great team running is all you can ask for as a coach.'
After today's results, an elated Mick Byrne described the team's future as being 'exactly where we want to be.' With only six weeks until the NCAA Championships, Wisconsin's next competition will be the Jim Drew's Invitational in La Crosse, Wisconsin on Saturday, October 18th. For complete results from the Paul Short Invitational, click here or look below.
