Wisconsin earns Big Ten freshman and coach of the year
November 04, 2009 | Men's Cross Country
Nov. 4, 2009
MADISON, Wisc. -- After earning four first-team All-Big Ten honors and two second-team All-Big Ten honors, Wisconsin adds more accolades to their 11th-straight Big Ten championship. This was the third year in a row that the Badgers had five or more runners recognized by the Big Ten during the championship.
Redshirt freshman Maverick Darling earned the Big Ten Freshman of the Year award and head coach Mick Byrne achieved his second-straight Big Ten Coach of the Year award.
Darling was the second Badger runner to cross the finish line at the Big Tens, claiming a fourth-place finish in a time of 25:16.4 and first-team All-Big Ten honors. Darling has finished among the top seven runners in all three races he has competed in during the 2009 season.
Wisconsin has now won its third Big Ten Freshman of the Year award in the last five years and its seventh overall. The last Wisconsin freshman to win the award was Brandon Bethke in 2006.
In his second season as the UW cross country head coach, Byrne picked up his second-straight Big Ten Coach of the Year award. However, Byrne is familiar with winning coaching accolades. He was named NCAA Northeast Regional Coach of the Year on six different occasions as the head coach at Iona. This is the ninth-consecutive year in which Wisconsin has taken home Coach of Year honors. Former head coach Jerry Schumacher earned the title eight times during his career at UW.
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Justin Mozer
Athletic Communications
