Men's cross country announces 2010 schedule
August 19, 2010 | Men's Cross Country
Aug. 19, 2010
• 2010 Printable Schedule 
| 2010 adidas Invitational Central
MADISON, Wis. -- What is more impressive than 11 consecutive Big Ten championships? Twelve straight Big Ten championships.
That is the mission for the 2010 Wisconsin men’s cross country team, and the journey steps off on Aug. 24 when the team begins training camp in Door County, Wis.
The competitive schedule for head coach Mick Byrne’s squad originates at home at the Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course with the second-annual Wisconsin Classic on Friday, Sept. 3. The Badgers will run against local competition and use the meet as an audition of sorts for younger members on the team.
“The meet on 9/3 will give some guys an opportunity to demonstrate how much progress they've made over the summer,” Byrne said. “We have some guys on the bubble of making the travel squad, plus some very young guys and this race will give them an opportunity to compete over an 8k course at home on the Zimmer Course.”
The first major test of the year will come during the adidas Invitational when Wisconsin hosts some of the nation’s top programs in what is quickly becoming an elite event. After the success of last season’s inaugural adidas Invitational, the 2010 incarnation is scheduled to include five teams that qualified for the 2009 NCAA Championship.
“I believe that we've assemble a very competitive field for the adidas meet,” the 2008 and 2009 Big Ten Coach of the Year said. “It is exactly what Coach Stintzi and I were looking for at this time of year. This meet kicks it up a few notches in terms of the competition, but we still need to be conscious of the fact that it is only the first weekend in October.”
Last season’s adidas Invitational champion Syracuse will return again this year, as will runner-up Georgetown. Wisconsin placed third in the 2009 adidas Invitational.
“Our expectations going into the adidas meet will be to perform well at home in front of our Badger fans,” Byrne added. “In saying this, we will not change our training or approach to the meet because we still have a long way to go to the championship meets. Hopefully, our guys will come off the heavy part of our training in good form and we can put on a good show on October 2nd.”
Byrne also explains that Wisconsin is looking to add another top-caliber meet to round out the 2010 schedule and give the athletes another test prior to the championships season.
“We were trying to put together a meet in Central Park in New York City with Iona and some other teams,” Byrne explained. “Unfortunately, this didn't happen, so we needed to look elsewhere for a meet. Once it is approved, the plan right now is for us to go to the Dellinger Invite out in Oregon on October 16th instead of the Pre-National meet. The Central Park meet will go ahead next year and I believe it will be an awesome setting for a cross country meet and should be a fantastic experience for our athletes.”
The championship season begins with Wisconsin’s defense of its record-setting 11 consecutive Big Ten championships. For the first time since 2000, the Badgers will have a home-course advantage in that title defense as the Zimmer Course will play host to its first championship event on Oct. 31.
“Hosting the Big Ten meet here in Madison will get our guys fired up,” Byrne said of the 2010 Big Ten Championship. “They love running at home and I believe that we'll get a huge Badger crowd out there to support us. Keeping ‘the streak’ alive is very important to us and no team will sit back and hand us a Big Ten title. Our guys respect the Badger history at the Big Ten meet and I expect it to motivate them to perform well.”
The Big Ten championship meet has not been held in Madison since Yahara Hills Golf Course hosted the event in 2000. The Badgers won that Big Ten championship for their second title of the current streak of 11 straight. The 2010 Big Ten championship will mark the eighth time Madison has hosted the event, with Wisconsin winning four of the first seven.
The NCAA Great Lakes Regional on Nov. 13 in Rochester, Mich., will serve as a precursor to the NCAA championship two weeks later. Wisconsin will take aim at its seventh-consecutive Regional championship, but have eyes on the season’s final meet on Nov. 22.
“After the Big Ten meet, our goal is to improve on last year's performance at nationals,” Byrne said of UW’s seventh-place finish in 2009. “Last year we were young and lacked experience. The guys I expect to be in a scoring position for us in November all have at least one National meet under their belt and hopefully, that'll mean something when we get to Terre Haute.”
Last season snapped UW’s streak of 10 consecutive top-five finishes at the NCAA championship and Byrne’s squad has its aim set squarely on returning to Wisconsin’s traditional spot on the national podium.
| 2010 Men's Cross Country Schedule | |||
| Day | Date | Event | Time |
| Friday | Sept. 3 | Wisconsin Classic (Madison, Wis.) | 5:30 p.m. |
| Saturday | Oct. 2 | Wisconsin adidas Invitational (Madison, Wis.) | 11:45 a.m. |
| Saturday | Oct. 16 | at Jim Drews Invitational | 11:00 a.m. |
| Sunday | Oct. 31 | Big Ten Championship (Madison, Wis.) | 11:00 a.m. |
| Saturday | Nov. 13 | at NCAA Great Lakes Regional (Rochester, Mich.) | 12:00 p.m. |
| Monday | Nov. 22 | at NCAA Championship (Terre Haute, Ind.) | 12:00 p.m. |
