Photo by: Murray Schukar
Badgers ink four distance runners for 2017-18 campaign
December 14, 2016 | Men's Cross Country, Men's Track & Field
Three of the top-11 distance runners in country will join program next fall
MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin men's cross country and track and field program announced Wednesday that Finn Gessner, Noah Jacobs, Seth Hirsch and Tannor Wagner will join the distance program in the fall of 2017.
 "If you look at who we targeted, you can say we like Midwestern kids who are hard workers and compete at that high level outside of their own state," UW Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Mick Byrne said. "When you look at the class, we have runners that were state champions in three different Midwestern states. With Finn and Tannor being Wisconsin kids, we targeted them early on. We think it's very important to do everything we can to keep the in-state kids that can help us at home, and we did a pretty good job of that.
"Then when you go out and look at the rest of the Midwest, Seth, the Nebraska state champ who had a great showing at both Foot Locker and NXN, and Noah, the Michigan state champion who just earned All-America honors at Foot Locker, have shined consistently on the national level.
"There's a certain personality that our program and I admire and these four guys fit that personality perfectly."
Finn Gessner
Madison, Wisconsin (LaFollette)
At the Foot Locker National Cross Country Championships in December, Gessner took home a second-place finish, improving on an 11th-place showing at last year's meet. The Madison native is a two-time WIAA Division I state champion in cross country, winning the 2016 by over 16 seconds. At the Nike Cross National Heartland Regional, Gessner clocked the second-fastest 5000 meter cross country time in state history, finishing in 14:39. He is also the reigning state champion in the 3200 meters for the outdoor state meet, finishing with a personal record of 9:01.81. During the 2016 indoor season, Gessner took second at the Wisconsin state indoor meet with a personal-best time of 4:19:98 in the 1600 meters. Additionally, he competed at the outdoor state meet in both the 1600 meters and the 3200 meters in his sophomore year, finishing ninth and third respectively. Gessner is the seventh-ranked athlete in the Saucony Flo50 Boys National Cross Country Rankings and is the 10th-ranked distance runner in FloTrack's High School Class of 2017 Rankings.
Tannor Wagner
Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin (Ashwaubenon)
At the Division I state cross country meet in Wisconsin, Wagner finished in sixth before setting a cross-country personal-best with a 5000-meter time of 15:05.0 at the Nike Cross Heartland Regional Championship en route to an eighth-place showing. As a junior, Wagner won the 3200 meters at the Midwest Distance Classic, earning a personal record in 8:57.17. In addition, Wagner holds a personal-best in the 1600 meters of 4:10.31 set at last year's sectional meet. Â In his outdoor season as a junior, Wagner qualified for the 2016 WIAA Division I Track and Field Meet in both the 800 meters and the 1600 meters, and won the 1600 meters title at the Wisconsin indoor state meet. Wagner competed in the Foot Locker Cross Country Midwest Regional, running to a 16th-place finish at the event, which was the second-best finish by a Wisconsin native. During his time at Ashwaubenon High School, Wagner accumulated 29 victories throughout his various competitions.
Noah Jacobs
Corunna, Michigan (Corunna)
Jacobs won the Division 2 title at Michigan High School Athletic Association State Cross Country Championship on Nov. 5, checking in with a time of 15:28 in the five-kilometer race at the Michigan International Speedway. He won his race by 12 seconds, and was the individual champion in all 11 of his competitions this season, including a school-record 15:05.4 at the Shiawassee County Invitational in October. He also took 14th at the Foot Locker National Cross Country Championships after placing fourth at the midwest regional, which earned himself a spot at the national meet. Jacobs has competed at the state level all four years of high school, taking 56th as a freshman, fifth as a sophomore and second as a junior before taking home the hardware this season. In addition, Jacobs has won 23 meets during his time participating in cross country at the high school level. On the track, Jacobs won the two-mile at the 2016 New Balance Outdoor Nationals in 9:03.71 and was the Michigan Division 2 state champion in the 3200 meters last year with a personal-best time of 8:55.57. The Corunna, Michigan, native comes in at No. 8 in FloTrack's High School Class of 2017 Rankings for distance runners.
Seth Hirsch
Omaha, Nebraska (Millard West)
Hirsch is coming off of a pair of impressive finishes at the Foot Locker National Cross Country Championships and Nike Cross Nationals. The Omaha, Nebraska, native finished third at Foot Locker behind future UW teammate Finn Gessner and fourth at NXN. Hirsch was the only runner in the country to net top-five finishes at both national meets this season. At this year's Nebraska state cross country meet, Hirsch won his second-straight title with a time of 15:04.9, which gave him the Class A individual crown by over 32 seconds. He is ranked as the No. 4 athlete in the Saucony Flo50 Boys National XC Rankings. He also participated at the 2016 New Balance National Outdoors in June, coming in ninth with a time of 14:55.74 in the 5000 meters while setting another personal record. Hirsch checks in at No. 11 in FloTrack's High School Class of 2017 Rankings for distance runners.
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 "If you look at who we targeted, you can say we like Midwestern kids who are hard workers and compete at that high level outside of their own state," UW Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Mick Byrne said. "When you look at the class, we have runners that were state champions in three different Midwestern states. With Finn and Tannor being Wisconsin kids, we targeted them early on. We think it's very important to do everything we can to keep the in-state kids that can help us at home, and we did a pretty good job of that.
"Then when you go out and look at the rest of the Midwest, Seth, the Nebraska state champ who had a great showing at both Foot Locker and NXN, and Noah, the Michigan state champion who just earned All-America honors at Foot Locker, have shined consistently on the national level.
"There's a certain personality that our program and I admire and these four guys fit that personality perfectly."
Finn Gessner
Madison, Wisconsin (LaFollette)
At the Foot Locker National Cross Country Championships in December, Gessner took home a second-place finish, improving on an 11th-place showing at last year's meet. The Madison native is a two-time WIAA Division I state champion in cross country, winning the 2016 by over 16 seconds. At the Nike Cross National Heartland Regional, Gessner clocked the second-fastest 5000 meter cross country time in state history, finishing in 14:39. He is also the reigning state champion in the 3200 meters for the outdoor state meet, finishing with a personal record of 9:01.81. During the 2016 indoor season, Gessner took second at the Wisconsin state indoor meet with a personal-best time of 4:19:98 in the 1600 meters. Additionally, he competed at the outdoor state meet in both the 1600 meters and the 3200 meters in his sophomore year, finishing ninth and third respectively. Gessner is the seventh-ranked athlete in the Saucony Flo50 Boys National Cross Country Rankings and is the 10th-ranked distance runner in FloTrack's High School Class of 2017 Rankings.
Tannor Wagner
Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin (Ashwaubenon)
At the Division I state cross country meet in Wisconsin, Wagner finished in sixth before setting a cross-country personal-best with a 5000-meter time of 15:05.0 at the Nike Cross Heartland Regional Championship en route to an eighth-place showing. As a junior, Wagner won the 3200 meters at the Midwest Distance Classic, earning a personal record in 8:57.17. In addition, Wagner holds a personal-best in the 1600 meters of 4:10.31 set at last year's sectional meet. Â In his outdoor season as a junior, Wagner qualified for the 2016 WIAA Division I Track and Field Meet in both the 800 meters and the 1600 meters, and won the 1600 meters title at the Wisconsin indoor state meet. Wagner competed in the Foot Locker Cross Country Midwest Regional, running to a 16th-place finish at the event, which was the second-best finish by a Wisconsin native. During his time at Ashwaubenon High School, Wagner accumulated 29 victories throughout his various competitions.
Noah Jacobs
Corunna, Michigan (Corunna)
Jacobs won the Division 2 title at Michigan High School Athletic Association State Cross Country Championship on Nov. 5, checking in with a time of 15:28 in the five-kilometer race at the Michigan International Speedway. He won his race by 12 seconds, and was the individual champion in all 11 of his competitions this season, including a school-record 15:05.4 at the Shiawassee County Invitational in October. He also took 14th at the Foot Locker National Cross Country Championships after placing fourth at the midwest regional, which earned himself a spot at the national meet. Jacobs has competed at the state level all four years of high school, taking 56th as a freshman, fifth as a sophomore and second as a junior before taking home the hardware this season. In addition, Jacobs has won 23 meets during his time participating in cross country at the high school level. On the track, Jacobs won the two-mile at the 2016 New Balance Outdoor Nationals in 9:03.71 and was the Michigan Division 2 state champion in the 3200 meters last year with a personal-best time of 8:55.57. The Corunna, Michigan, native comes in at No. 8 in FloTrack's High School Class of 2017 Rankings for distance runners.
Seth Hirsch
Omaha, Nebraska (Millard West)
Hirsch is coming off of a pair of impressive finishes at the Foot Locker National Cross Country Championships and Nike Cross Nationals. The Omaha, Nebraska, native finished third at Foot Locker behind future UW teammate Finn Gessner and fourth at NXN. Hirsch was the only runner in the country to net top-five finishes at both national meets this season. At this year's Nebraska state cross country meet, Hirsch won his second-straight title with a time of 15:04.9, which gave him the Class A individual crown by over 32 seconds. He is ranked as the No. 4 athlete in the Saucony Flo50 Boys National XC Rankings. He also participated at the 2016 New Balance National Outdoors in June, coming in ninth with a time of 14:55.74 in the 5000 meters while setting another personal record. Hirsch checks in at No. 11 in FloTrack's High School Class of 2017 Rankings for distance runners.
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