Nov. 22, 2010
2010 NCAA Championship
LaVerne Gibson Championship Course • Terre Haute, Ind.
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| | Team Results
| | 1. | Oklahoma State
| 73
| | 2. | Florida State
| 193
| 3.
| Wisconsin
| 223
| 4.
| Stanford
| 237
| 5.
| Oklahoma
| 281
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• Team Results | Complete Results 
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- Three All-America finishes by sophomores Mohammed Ahmed and Maverick Darling and senior Landon Peacock led the Wisconsin men's cross country team to a third-place finish at the 2010 NCAA Championship on Monday.
Wisconsin secured its NCAA-record 23rd trophy finish (top four), and also extended its consecutive top-10 finish streak to an NCAA-best 15 straight years. Wisconsin now owns a record 42 top-10 finishes all-time at the NCAA meet.
UW's performance also broke a tie with Arkansas to make the Badgers the lone team to finish in the top 15 for a 30th-consecutive season. The Badgers' streak began in 1981.
Ahmed finished in 12th place, crossing the line in 30:03.4, to earn All-America honors for the second-consecutive year. To date, the sophomore has earned two first-team All-Big Ten and All-Great Lakes Region honors, in addition to his All-America accolades.
A mere four seconds behind Ahmed was Darling, whose 13th-place performance was a significant improved over last year's 144th-place effort. Darling adds an All-America honor to his 2010 first-team All-Big Ten and first-team All-Region awards.
Senior Landon Peacock took home All-America hardware for the second time after finishing 20th in a time of 30:15.3. Peacock, who was 20th in 2008, also boasts Big Ten Athlete of the Year accolades from the 2010 Big Ten Championship.
Junior Elliot Krause was running with his three teammates in All-America territory at the front of the pack before collapsing just before the finish. He fell several times but courageously fought to the finish line.
Oklahoma State won the team race for the second-consecutive year with 73 points. The Cowboys were followed by Florida State's second-place team showing, with 193 points.
Wisconsin took home third place with 223 points, followed by Stanford with 237 points. Oklahoma rounded out the top five team scores with 281 points.
Liberty's Samuel Chelanga took home the individual title for the second-consecutive year, clocking in at 29:22.2.
Also racing for UW was sophomore Reed Connor, who took 95th in a time of 31:07.3. Connor's season was highlighted by his second-place overall finish at the 2010 NCAA Great Lakes Regional.
Junior Phil Thomas took 128th in a time of 31:25.9. Krause earned 137th place with his time of 31:30.4. His performance tops off his successful 2010 season that consists of first-team All-Region and first-team All-Big Ten honors. Freshman Drew Shields rounded out UW's effort in 185th in a time of 32:01.6.
Having three All-America performances at the national meet is something head coach Mick Byrne and his team are proud of.
"Finishing top 20 definitely is a confidence boost for those guys," Byrne said. "It shows that, especially our younger runners like Mo (Mohammed Ahmed) and Maverick (Darling), that they can run with the top runners in the nation.
"Their performances showed great leadership."
In the third season under Byrne, Wisconsin won its 12th-straight Big Ten Championship and eighth-straight NCAA Great Lakes Regional title.
Byrne also claimed the Big Ten Coach of the Year award and Great Lakes Regional Coach of the Year honors while coaching his athletes to four first-team All-Big Ten honors, one second-team All-Big ten honor, six first-team All-Region awards, a Big Ten Freshman of the Year honor and a Big Ten Athlete of the Year laurel in 2010.
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Monique Hughes
UW Athletic Communications
