Photo by: Eric Miller
No. 12 Badgers ready for NCAA battle
November 17, 2016 | Men's Cross Country
Wisconsin makes its 55th appearance at national championship Saturday
MADISON, Wis. – With the NCAA Great Lakes Regional victory still fresh on the mind from last weekend, the men's team is preparing for the NCAA Cross Country Championship on Saturday in Terre Haute, Indiana. This appearance marks the 55th time in school history that the Badgers will be competing for a national title, including 44 in the last 45 years.
Wisconsin dominated the field at the Regional meet, besting second-place Michigan State by 30 points behind the one-two punch of Malachy Schrobilgen and Morgan McDonald. With the title, UW won its record-30th Great Lakes Regional crown in the 47 years of the meet's history. The win comes on the back of a sensational victory two weeks prior at the Big Ten Championship, with the team edging out Michigan State again, this time by just three points, which was tied for the second closest margin of victory in conference history. The win also awarded Wisconsin with its record-48th conference crown.
"I've been doing this a long time, 32 years," UW Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Mick Byrne said. "I told the guys in the locker room after Big Ten's that this is probably, winning Big Ten's on the men's side, in coming back from last year, felt really good and I will always remember that championship. Winning that one is probably the most memorable one for me. Without doubt."
With both of the postseason wins added to his prestigious resume, Byrne received the Big Ten Coach of the Year honor along with the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year award.
"The last couple of weeks feels really good, very fulfilling on many, many levels," Byrne said. "Some people are calling this the 'season of redemption,' 'the badgers are back,' and all of those sound very good, and we are very pleased that we're back.
After missing out on the NCAA championship last season for the first time since 1972, the Badgers used the disappointment as motivation and have been fueled by the feeling of defeat since the end of last season.
"I wouldn't bet against these guys," Byrne said. "They're very excited and very relaxed. They are enjoying each other, they're enjoying this journey, this season of redemption, this comeback, call it whatever, and they're just having a lot of fun. And when you go into a meet that relaxed, some good things can happen."
The Badgers are led by the firepower of Schrobilgen and McDonald, as the two runners have combined for four individual titles and seven top-five finishes this season. The pair led the entire Great Lakes Regional meet wire-to-wire, even completing a fist-bump on the homestretch just before Schrobilgen cross the finish line one-hundredth of a second in front of McDonald.
"Doing that first bump at the end of the race, taking control of the race very early on, that was awesome to see," Byrne said.
Schrobilgen, a senior and two-time All-American and Big Ten champion, has fought back through injuries that plagued his junior season. Being the unquestioned leader of the team, Schrobilgen provided an essential fifth-place finish at the Big Ten meet before winning the NCAA Great Lakes Regional for the Badgers.
"He means everything to this program," Byrne said. "He's the guy that's been the glue that has kept this together. Malachy wears his passion on his sleeve and is a true captain, always has been a real leader."
The most important aspect of Schrobilgen's place on the team may not even occur on the course, as the veteran has helped create a fun team atmosphere that has allowed the Badgers to find their success during these postseason meets.
"He's been our true leader, without doubt," Byrne said. "They drove me crazy on Saturday and after the race when we met and when they were recognized down on the field (at Camp Randall) there was boyish, almost child-like giddiness about them."
"It's been incredible," Schrobilgen said. "It's been really special to be a part of, and just kind of see it grow so organically. It's just a bunch of teammates, just a bunch of brothers digging deep for each other every race. It's inspiring and I think we've really found our identity as a team and I think we know what we are racing for now. We really, really know what we're racing for."
Outside of Schrobilgen, McDonald has turned in a year for the ages. He won the Oz Memorial in September, finished third place at the stacked field of the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational which was the highest placing by a Badger in school history, won the Big Ten Championship by eight seconds, and helped control the regional meet from the get-go. In addition, McDonald was honored with the Great Lakes Athlete of the Year and Big Ten Athlete of the Year awards. Both McDonald and Schrobilgen are ranked in the top 10 of the Saucony Flo50 Men's Individual Rankings, giving UW the only program to have two runners in the top 10.
"You go into a national meet with low sticks like Morgan and Malachy, there's a lot of expectations on those guys," Byrne said. "They're ranked in the top 10 individually, but rankings don't really mean an awful lot, you've got to get out there, it's a national championship, that gun goes off and it's every man for themselves."
Even though the Badgers have two All-America talents on the team, the rest of the squad is the reason Wisconsin is competing for its record 55th NCAA title.
Redshirt freshman Olin Hacker followed up a 12th-place finish at the Big Ten Championship with another 12th-place finish at the regional meet. The son of Badger legend Tim Hacker, Olin earned second-team All-Big Ten and All-Region accolades for his job this season.
Junior Joe Hardy, a second-team All-Big Ten performer last year, finished 15th at the Great Lakes Regional, and is the third Badger besides Schrobilgen and McDonald to have already competed at the NCAA Championship in his collegiate career.
Finishing fifth for the team at the regional meet was Benjamin Eidenschink. The redshirt freshman gave the UW team five All-Region performers at the competition.
The Badgers will hit the ground running at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course at 11 a.m. (CT) for the 10-kilometer race following the women's six-kilometer race at 10 a.m. for the first time in meet history the races will be shown on FloTrack.com with live results posted on UWBadgers.com.
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Wisconsin dominated the field at the Regional meet, besting second-place Michigan State by 30 points behind the one-two punch of Malachy Schrobilgen and Morgan McDonald. With the title, UW won its record-30th Great Lakes Regional crown in the 47 years of the meet's history. The win comes on the back of a sensational victory two weeks prior at the Big Ten Championship, with the team edging out Michigan State again, this time by just three points, which was tied for the second closest margin of victory in conference history. The win also awarded Wisconsin with its record-48th conference crown.
"I've been doing this a long time, 32 years," UW Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Mick Byrne said. "I told the guys in the locker room after Big Ten's that this is probably, winning Big Ten's on the men's side, in coming back from last year, felt really good and I will always remember that championship. Winning that one is probably the most memorable one for me. Without doubt."
With both of the postseason wins added to his prestigious resume, Byrne received the Big Ten Coach of the Year honor along with the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year award.
"The last couple of weeks feels really good, very fulfilling on many, many levels," Byrne said. "Some people are calling this the 'season of redemption,' 'the badgers are back,' and all of those sound very good, and we are very pleased that we're back.
After missing out on the NCAA championship last season for the first time since 1972, the Badgers used the disappointment as motivation and have been fueled by the feeling of defeat since the end of last season.
"I wouldn't bet against these guys," Byrne said. "They're very excited and very relaxed. They are enjoying each other, they're enjoying this journey, this season of redemption, this comeback, call it whatever, and they're just having a lot of fun. And when you go into a meet that relaxed, some good things can happen."
The Badgers are led by the firepower of Schrobilgen and McDonald, as the two runners have combined for four individual titles and seven top-five finishes this season. The pair led the entire Great Lakes Regional meet wire-to-wire, even completing a fist-bump on the homestretch just before Schrobilgen cross the finish line one-hundredth of a second in front of McDonald.
"Doing that first bump at the end of the race, taking control of the race very early on, that was awesome to see," Byrne said.
Schrobilgen, a senior and two-time All-American and Big Ten champion, has fought back through injuries that plagued his junior season. Being the unquestioned leader of the team, Schrobilgen provided an essential fifth-place finish at the Big Ten meet before winning the NCAA Great Lakes Regional for the Badgers.
"He means everything to this program," Byrne said. "He's the guy that's been the glue that has kept this together. Malachy wears his passion on his sleeve and is a true captain, always has been a real leader."
The most important aspect of Schrobilgen's place on the team may not even occur on the course, as the veteran has helped create a fun team atmosphere that has allowed the Badgers to find their success during these postseason meets.
"He's been our true leader, without doubt," Byrne said. "They drove me crazy on Saturday and after the race when we met and when they were recognized down on the field (at Camp Randall) there was boyish, almost child-like giddiness about them."
"It's been incredible," Schrobilgen said. "It's been really special to be a part of, and just kind of see it grow so organically. It's just a bunch of teammates, just a bunch of brothers digging deep for each other every race. It's inspiring and I think we've really found our identity as a team and I think we know what we are racing for now. We really, really know what we're racing for."
Outside of Schrobilgen, McDonald has turned in a year for the ages. He won the Oz Memorial in September, finished third place at the stacked field of the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational which was the highest placing by a Badger in school history, won the Big Ten Championship by eight seconds, and helped control the regional meet from the get-go. In addition, McDonald was honored with the Great Lakes Athlete of the Year and Big Ten Athlete of the Year awards. Both McDonald and Schrobilgen are ranked in the top 10 of the Saucony Flo50 Men's Individual Rankings, giving UW the only program to have two runners in the top 10.
"You go into a national meet with low sticks like Morgan and Malachy, there's a lot of expectations on those guys," Byrne said. "They're ranked in the top 10 individually, but rankings don't really mean an awful lot, you've got to get out there, it's a national championship, that gun goes off and it's every man for themselves."
Even though the Badgers have two All-America talents on the team, the rest of the squad is the reason Wisconsin is competing for its record 55th NCAA title.
Redshirt freshman Olin Hacker followed up a 12th-place finish at the Big Ten Championship with another 12th-place finish at the regional meet. The son of Badger legend Tim Hacker, Olin earned second-team All-Big Ten and All-Region accolades for his job this season.
Junior Joe Hardy, a second-team All-Big Ten performer last year, finished 15th at the Great Lakes Regional, and is the third Badger besides Schrobilgen and McDonald to have already competed at the NCAA Championship in his collegiate career.
Finishing fifth for the team at the regional meet was Benjamin Eidenschink. The redshirt freshman gave the UW team five All-Region performers at the competition.
The Badgers will hit the ground running at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course at 11 a.m. (CT) for the 10-kilometer race following the women's six-kilometer race at 10 a.m. for the first time in meet history the races will be shown on FloTrack.com with live results posted on UWBadgers.com.
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Players Mentioned
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
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