May 2, 2010
Complete Results | Complete Results 
MADISON, Wis. -- While a former Badger was stealing all the headlines Saturday in Palo Alto, Calif., a number of current members of the Wisconsin men’s track team were making some noise, as well.
There was no topping Chris Solinsky’s remarkable run to the American record in the 10,000 meters, but those current Badgers accomplished plenty despite some breezy conditions at the Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational.
Senior Craig Miller led the way for Wisconsin with his performance in the fast section of the 1,500 meters, as he clocked a season-best time of 3:41.42 to take third place in a strong field.
Miller’s mark likely will move him into the top 10 among competitors in the NCAA’s West Region.
Fellow senior Jack Bolas’ return from a leg injury that’s kept him sidelined throughout the outdoor season went well, as he clocked in at 3:46.25 to claim the win in his section of the 1,500 meters.
Redshirt freshman Rob Finnerty also ran in the 1,500, and he managed an eighth-place finish in his section with a respectable time of 3:48.79 despite taking a hard fall during the race.
Fellow redshirt freshman Maverick Darling competed in the same section and notched an 11th-place finish with a time of 3:53.95.
Juniors Luke Rucks and Zach Beth both competed in the 800 meters.
Rucks, already with several races under his belt this season, finished fourth after running a personal-best time of 1:49.27.
In his first open race of the outdoor season, Beth clocked a time of 1:50.15 to grab sixth place. Beth was just a week removed from making his season debut as the 800-meter leg on the Badgers’ winning distance medley relay at the Drake Relays.
Also making a debut in his specialty event was senior Ryan Gasper, who ran his first 3,000-meter steeplechase of the season. The senior finished 15th in his section and clocked a personal-best time of 8:42.88.
The mark keeps Gasper – the two-time defending Big Ten champion in the steeplechase --- ninth on Wisconsin’s all-time list in the event. It also moves him into the top five regionally this season.
In section two of the steeplechase, freshman Drew Shields finished eighth after crossing the line in a personal-best time of 8:55.71.
The mark gives Gasper and Shields two of the Big Ten’s top three marks so far this season.
In the 5,000 meters, junior Landon Peacock placed 17th in a time of 14:03.07.
The night’s biggest show came from the trio of former Badgers that competed in the men’s 10,000 meters, however.
Making his career debut in the event, Solinsky closed in an incredible 1:55 over the race’s last 800 meters to claim victory and clock an American-record time of 26:59.60.
He finished ahead of runner-up Daniel Salel of Kenya (27:07.85), Liberty’s Sam Chelanga (27:08.39) and former Oregon star Galen Rupp (27:10.74).
Solinsky’s time smashed the previous record of 27:13.98, set by Meb Keflezighi in 2001, and made him the first person born outside the continent of Africa to break the 27-minute plateau.
His former UW and current Oregon Track Club teammate, Simon Bairu, crossed the line in fifth place and notched a time of 27:23.63 that shattered the previous Canadian national record of 27:36.01 set by Jeff Schiebler at the 2001 Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational.
The performance also cut more than 27 seconds off Bairu’s personal-best time in the event.
Tim Nelson was the third former Badger to cross the line, and he did so in a personal-best time of 27:31.56. That mark cut five seconds off Nelson’s winning time from last year’s Cardinal Invitational but, Saturday, was good for seventh place.
Solinsky, Bairu, and Nelson are all coached by former Wisconsin head cross country and assistant track and field coach Jerry Schumacher.
The Badgers return to action next weekend when they host the Wisconsin Twilight Invitational on Saturday, May 8, at the McClimon Complex in Madison. The meet begins at 1:30 p.m.
