Striving for history, Schrobilgen has no shortage of support
October 30, 2015 | Men's Cross Country, Andy Baggot
Family, friends plan to turn out in force for junior's run at third-straight Big Ten title
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BY ANDY BAGGOT
UWBadgers.com Insider
MADISON, Wis. -- A series of rare opportunities await Malachy Schrobilgen this weekend, not the least of which is doing what he loves in the embrace of family and friends.
Schrobilgen, a junior standout with the Wisconsin men's cross country team, will race in his own backyard Sunday morning when the Big Ten Conference meet is staged in Chicago.
The 8-kilometer event is being held at the Sydney R. Marovitz Golf Course, which is located along the shores of Lake Michigan and is roughly a 45-minute drive – depending on traffic – from the Schrobilgen residence in suburban Oak Park.
It's uncommon to see the Big Ten meet being held in the Windy City – the last time was 1976 – and it's even more unusual to see someone win the individual title three straight years. It's happened eight times since the race debuted in Chicago in 1908 and Schrobilgen is the two-time defending champion.
But don't expect the rareness of the moment to weigh on Schrobilgen, unless, of course, he overindulges on the chicken parmesan or homemade pumpkin bars his mother, Kathleen, will serve as part of a casual get-together of the Wisconsin men's and women's teams at the Schrobilgen home Saturday.
Relatives are flying in from Maryland and Louisiana to join family, friends and classmates from the Oak Park-River Forest areas for the meet. Greg Schrobilgen jokingly guesstimated that hundreds of acquaintances will be on hand to see if his son can help the Badgers secure their 48th Big Ten championship going back to 1910.
"I don't think I've thought about it that much," Malachy Schrobilgen said of his home-based entourage. "But it's pretty awesome."
Schrobilgen said he has never raced on the course in question, but he's familiar with its scenic location and is looking forward to having so many familiar, supportive faces looking on.
"I've always been very appreciative of the people that have supported me," he said. "Knowing I'll get a chance to see them there and hear them out there at the course is kind of special."
The Badgers have an extraordinary legacy in this meet. In addition to the nearly 50 championships, they have won 15 of the last 16 team trophies. In all, 22 Wisconsin runners have captured 30 individual championships.
Schrobilgen is looking to add his name to two elite lists.
Seven competitors have won three or more Big Ten titles, and two of them ran for the Badgers: Tim Hacker in 1981, '84 and '85 and Simon Bairu in 2003, '04 and '05.
Three Big Ten runners finished their careers with four individual championships: Craig Virgin of Illinois in 1973, '74, '75 and '76; Bob Kennedy of Indiana in 1988, '89, '90 and '92; and Kevin Sullivan of Michigan in 1993, '94, '95 and '97.
"I've done a good job of pushing that to the back of my mind," Schrobilgen said with a small smile.
Don't interpret that as a bow to pressure, though. Schrobilgen said repeating last year – essentially proving the first wasn't a fluke – was more difficult.
"This year I think I'm a little more confident and calm about it," he said. "It's not that I don't feel the pressure. I just feel I have a little more experience with that now."
To review: Schrobilgen is well aware of the emotions and the history of the moment, but he doesn't see them as distractions.
"At this point I think he's run enough that I don't think that's the type of thing that will happen," Kathleen Schrobilgen said of her son. "He wants to do well for everyone, but he just wants to do well and he wants the team to do well.
"I think he's beyond that. He knows how to focus for a race regardless of who's watching."
Wisconsin enters the meet with four of its top five scorers from the NCAA meet last November – it finished 10th – but Michigan is regarded as the favorite in both the men's and women's races.
On the women's side, the Badgers will try and make do without their top two runners and arguably their top newcomer. A leg injury to All-Big Ten first team performer Molly Hanson prompted Mick Byrne, the director of men's and women's cross country and track and field, to redshirt NCAA runner-up Sarah Disanza and freshman Amy Davis.
Byrne said Schrobilgen is focused on one thing.
"That's defending his individual title," Byrne said.
But just as important is how the Badgers perform, especially after a lackluster showing in the Wisconsin adidas Invitational on Oct. 16 when they finished 17th in the men's race. Those instincts date back to Schrobilgen's days in youth baseball and high school soccer.
"He's always been a team person," said his mother, a former small-college basketball player and coach. "It's still about the team. It always is."
Greg Schrobilgen said his son is pretty low-key, but once he gets locked onto a project he won't let go.
"He's pretty focused," the father said. "It means a lot to him that he has teammates that are very focused and very invested in the whole process. He takes his leadership role very seriously."
The same goes for school. Schrobilgen is working on a double major in history and political science while seeking a certificate in educational policy. He's also volunteering at the Goodman Center on the east side of Madison, working once a week with a group of eight teenagers who may have fallen behind in their high school settings.
The son of two high school teachers, Schrobilgen sought out the opportunity to help and mentor kids.
"I wanted to find something else to get involved in," he said. "It helps me take my mind off school and running for a couple hours each week."
According to his parents, Schrobilgen seems to mention the youth center experience whenever they Skype with him. Â
"He feels there's a lot that he's learned that he can offer as a teacher or a coach," Kathleen said.
Overall, Malachy is a three-time All-American and three-time Big Ten champion. He's also a four-time Academic All-Big Ten selection and a 2015 Big Ten Distinguished Scholar. His accomplishments don't surprise his parents.
"Just amazed," Greg said.
"I'm amazed, too, but not surprised," Kathleen said.
"When you know Malachy and his approach to things, it shouldn't be surprising. But on the other hand, it's just kind of incredible. He has done so well that he can reach this level (of running).
"If you know Malachy, he can be pretty single-minded in his devotion to something when he decides that, 'I know I can do this and I want to do this and I want to do it well.'
"I think he has the same level of devotion to whatever he's committed to," she said. "He's not really a halfway kind of guy."
More proof of that should come Sunday.
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