Coaches' Preview of the Wisconsin adidas Invitational
September 29, 2010 | Women's Cross Country
Sept. 29, 2010
MADISON, Wis.--With the second-annual Wisconsin adidas Invitational coming up this Saturday, Oct. 2, UW's Zimmer Championship Course finds itself playing host to some of the nation's top collegiate teams for the second time, after previously hosting the 2009 Wisconsin adidas Invitational.
After its inception one year ago, the course has been providing spectators outstanding elevated views of the entire course, in addition to high-quality competition.
"One of the best parts about the course is the spectator lanes," men's head coach Mick Byrne said. "It's always great to have spectators cheering on our guys throughout the race at different points, especially in the inner loops."
Named after Thomas Zimmer, a longtime Badgers supporter, the course holds an exterior loop of 2,500 meters and an interior loop of 1,000 meters. The Zimmer Championship Course accommodates racing distances of 4k, 5k, 8k and 10k, and will be featuring the women's 6-kilometer and men's 8-kilometer races at this Saturday's meet.
"The Zimmer Course really cannot be compared to other courses," women's head coach Jim Stintzi said. "It is a unique facility and there is nothing like it in the country."
"The footing is different than any other course in the country, and it's a beautiful, competitive venue for the adidas Invite."
On the men's side, No. 6 Wisconsin finds itself competing against 20 teams in the Wisconsin adidas Invitational, with a fair share of teams ranked in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) national poll, released on Sept. 28.
Wisconsin leads the way with a No. 6 ranking in the USTFCCCA poll, followed by No. 11 Syracuse, 15th-ranked Oklahoma and Michigan State in 18th. Following Michigan State is 20th-ranked Providence and No. 23 Princeton.
Among those competing in this Saturday's meet, Byrne states that Syracuse (11), Oklahoma (15), Providence (20) and Princeton (23) will be particularly tough, and emphasizes that the teams are all coming out in hopes of getting points for at-large bids for the NCAA Championship.
"There's a lot at stake this weekend and the points are a large majority of what is important," Byrne said.
Syracuse comes into the Wisconsin adidas Invitational with a reputation to uphold, after capturing first place at the 2009 Wisconsin adidas Invitational. In the 2010 season, the Orange have already captured two first-place finishes at the Big EAST Preview and Colgate Invitational.
The Wisconsin men will run 10 athletes this Saturday, including one of the team's most decorated -- Mohammed Ahmed. A 2009 All-American, Ahmed makes his first appearance of the season.
Despite the hype around Ahmed, Byrne is quick to point out that there are certainly other Badger runners to be watching for, especially junior Elliot Krause.
"Elliot Krause is coming off of a great four months of training and a great 2009 outdoor season," Byrne said. "He will be tough to beat."
Senior Landon Peacock, sophomore Maverick Darling and sophomore Reed Connor also are expected to perform well for the Badgers this weekend, but what Byrne is most excited for is to see which of the supporting cast will emerge.
"The most exciting part for us is to see who is going to step up," Byrne said. "Drew Shields, Alex Brill, Michael Brice and Phil Thomas will be able to show us if they have the capability to play that supporting role, which is important to our team."
Although this Saturday's meet has a lot at stake, Byrne is asking his runners not to focus too much on the other teams, but to focus on themselves and the end goal for the season.
"In terms of who we are and what we focus on, our main goal is to win the Big Ten Championships," Byrne said. "This Saturday's meet is still important, but we try not to get too caught up in it and lose sight of our goal."
That goal no doubt includes capturing their 12th-straight Big Ten Championship on Oct. 31st, which will also be held at the Zimmer Championship Course.
 Head coach Jim Stintzi looks to young runners like Theresa Selestow to step up.  | |
On the women's side, Wisconsin will be one of 20 teams competing to claim the victory at the Wisconsin adidas Invitational, and one of five of those teams ranked in the USTFCCCA national poll.
Aside from Wisconsin, who comes in ranked 26th, the teams in the national poll are No. 7 Florida, 11th-ranked Syracuse, No. 20 Michigan State and Michigan checking in at 22nd.
Despite these rankings, Stintzi believes that all 20 teams are in contention for the title.
"It's a really competitive meet with a good field of teams, so we will have to be on our A-game to be competitive," Stintzi said.
With Syracuse capturing a second-place finish in the 2009 Wisconsin adidas Invitational and both Syracuse and Florida having great finishes last year at the NCAA Tournament, the competition will be high-quality this Saturday.
"Florida (7) and Syracuse (11) are definitely favorites going in, but a lot of other teams could still be a factor," Stintzi explained.
Like the men, the Orange women's team is coming into the Wisconsin adidas Invitational with first-place finishes in the Big EAST Preview and Colgate Invitational, while the Gators captured their sixth-consecutive title at the Mountain Dew Invitational.
Among the 26 student-athletes running in this Saturday's meet, junior Caitlin Comfort and freshman Emily Sisson are expected to set the pace for Wisconsin.
"After Comfort's finish in last year's adidas Invite, we expect her to finish near the top with Sisson," Stintzi said.
Stintzi still expects other runners to step up in the meet, and looks to freshmen Lavinia Jurkiewicz, Liga Blyholder and Theresa Selestow to contribute based on their finishes thus far. Jurkiewicz finished second overall at the Northern Illinois Huskie Open, leading her team to a first-place finish in a time of 18:45. Selestow and Blyholder took third and fifth, respectively, clocking in at 18:48 and 18:59.
Additionally, the Badgers will be running seniors Karlye Wolff and Karen Greuel. Greuel was one of Wisconsin's top runners from 2009 and is expected to make a veteran contribution.
This Saturday's meet will begin with the women's 6-kilometer race at 11 a.m., followed by the men's 8-kilometer race at 11:45 a.m. The high school boy's race will start at 12:30 p.m. and the girls will take off at 1:10 p.m.
After the Wisconsin adidas Invitational, the women will be heading to Terre Haute, Ind. for the Pre-NCAA Invitational on Oct. 16, beginning at 11 a.m. The men will be traveling to the Bill Dellinger Invitational in Eugene, Ore on Oct. 16 as well.
---
Monique Hughes
UW Athletic Communications
