Sept. 3, 2010

• Men's Results  |  Printable   |  Women's Results |  Printable   |  Photos

VERONA, Wis. -- Led by redshirt freshman Michael Brice’s season-opening win, the No. 7 Wisconsin men’s cross country team swept the top five spots en route to winning its own Badger Classic at the Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course on Friday.

Both the UW men’s and women’s teams hosted the second-annual Badger Classic, and both showed promise for the upcoming season.

The Wisconsin men started off their campaign by tallying a perfect team score of 15 on the way to a first-place finish in the 8-kilometer race.

Brice led the charge in a personal-best time of 25 minutes, 5 seconds, with a pack of his teammates not far back at the front of the field.

Junior Phil Thomas finished second with a time of 25:16, followed by redshirt freshman Drew Shields in 25:19. Neal Berman and Alex Brill took fourth and fifth, respectively, with Berman finishing in 25:22 and Brill clocking in at 25:24.

“It was a great start to the season,” Brice said. “We’ve only had two weeks of training, including our camp in Door County, but I thought everyone ran well.

“To get a perfect score is about all you can hope for.”

Brice led a pack of Badger runners that set the pace early despite having many of the team’s more seasoned athletes – including returning All-Big Ten performers Elliot Krause, Maverick Darling and Mohammed Ahmed – watching from along the course.

“It’s great to have those guys here cheering us on,” Brice said.  

Head coach Mick Byrne was impressed by Brice’s ability to run to the front this early in the season.

“It was his first race in a Wisconsin uniform and anytime a kid goes out and does that it’s a positive for him,” Byrne said.

With the Badger men having a month off until the Wisconsin adidas Invitational on Oct. 3, the race also was important in terms of helping Byrne develop his roster that will compete at the 2010 Big Ten Championship.

“This is exactly what we wanted to see today,” Byrne said. “We wanted these runners to compete to get their spot and step up to the next level.”

Women take third
The UW women started off their season with a third-place team finish in their 4-kilometer race, and it was true freshmen leading the charge as four of the team’s top five finishers.

Freshman Megan Stenz led the way with an 11th-placing showing in 15:04. Fellow freshman teammate Theresa Selestow was just behind in 12th at 15:04, and Lauren Mauel took 20th in a time of 15:10.

Freshman Rebecca Stoebe finished fourth-fastest for UW in 15:21, and junior Megan Beers rounded out UW’s scoring with a time of 15:22.

“This is certainly a good starting point for us,” head coach Jim Stintzi said. “It’s great to be able to start out the season at home and get some experience for a number of the newcomers we’ve brought in this season.”

Unlike the men’s team, the Badger women jump right back into competition by heading next weekend to the Northern Illinois Huskie Open. The meet is set for Saturday, Sept. 11, in DeKalb Ill.