Three Badgers to compete at Great Edinburgh Cross Country Challenge
December 15, 2016 | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country
Trio will represent Team USA in junior races
MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin cross country programs will once again be represented at the prestigious Great Edinburgh Cross Country Challenge as current UW freshman Alicia Monson and incoming freshmen Finn Gessner and Seth Hirsch will compete for the United States at the prestigious cross country competition, USATF announced Thursday. The meet will take place in Edinburgh, Scotland on Saturday, Jan. 7, 2017.
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Monson is one of six runners chosen to represent the United States in the four-kilometer junior women's race. The Amery native is coming off of an impressive freshman cross country season, ultimately ending with a top-100 finish at the 2016 NCAA Cross Country Championships. Monson's best race came at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional where she led the Wisconsin women to a third-place finish, crossing the line 11th in 20 minutes, 21.6 seconds to earn All-Region honors.
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Gessner, a Madison native, and Hirsch both earned invites to race for Team USA in the junior men's 6k race. Both men have had outstanding prep cross country careers.
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Gessner finished runner-up at the 2016 Foot Locker National Cross Country Championships. The two-time WIAA Division I state cross country champion also ran the second-fastest 5k time in state history at the Nike Cross National Heartland Regional, clocking in at 14:39. For these tremendous efforts, Gessner is No. 7 in the Flo-50 Boys National Cross Country Rankings and the 10th-ranked distance runner in FloTrack's High School Class of 2017 Rankings.
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Hirsch, hailing from Omaha, Nebraska, is ranked fourth in the Saucony Flo-50 Boys rankings and No. 11 in FloTrack's High School Class of 2017 Rankings for distance runners. He also competed at the Foot Locker National Cross Country Championships, finishing third behind Gessner. Hirsch is a two-time Nebraska Class A cross country champion and recently placed fourth at Nike Cross Nationals. He was the only individual to secure top-five finishes at both national meets this year. Â
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Coverage of the 2017 Great Edinburgh Cross Country Challenge will be available via USATF.TV +Plus.
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Monson is one of six runners chosen to represent the United States in the four-kilometer junior women's race. The Amery native is coming off of an impressive freshman cross country season, ultimately ending with a top-100 finish at the 2016 NCAA Cross Country Championships. Monson's best race came at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional where she led the Wisconsin women to a third-place finish, crossing the line 11th in 20 minutes, 21.6 seconds to earn All-Region honors.
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Gessner, a Madison native, and Hirsch both earned invites to race for Team USA in the junior men's 6k race. Both men have had outstanding prep cross country careers.
Â
Gessner finished runner-up at the 2016 Foot Locker National Cross Country Championships. The two-time WIAA Division I state cross country champion also ran the second-fastest 5k time in state history at the Nike Cross National Heartland Regional, clocking in at 14:39. For these tremendous efforts, Gessner is No. 7 in the Flo-50 Boys National Cross Country Rankings and the 10th-ranked distance runner in FloTrack's High School Class of 2017 Rankings.
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Hirsch, hailing from Omaha, Nebraska, is ranked fourth in the Saucony Flo-50 Boys rankings and No. 11 in FloTrack's High School Class of 2017 Rankings for distance runners. He also competed at the Foot Locker National Cross Country Championships, finishing third behind Gessner. Hirsch is a two-time Nebraska Class A cross country champion and recently placed fourth at Nike Cross Nationals. He was the only individual to secure top-five finishes at both national meets this year. Â
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Coverage of the 2017 Great Edinburgh Cross Country Challenge will be available via USATF.TV +Plus.
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