BY ANDY BAGGOT
UWBadgers.com Insider
From Varsity Magazine
John Easker churned out his share of milestones while a member of the Wisconsin men's cross country and track teams.
He was the  first four-time All-American in the history of the cross country program (1981 to '84).
He was a key member of the first NCAA championship cross country squad in school history (1982).
He was the first member of the track team to win the daunting double – the 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters – in consecutive Big Ten Conference outdoor meets (1984, '85).
But perhaps the most enduring breakthrough in Easker's collegiate career came more than three decades after its conclusion.
He got a surprise midsummer phone call from Wisconsin Director of Athletics Barry Alvarez telling Easker that he was being inducted in the school's hall of fame.
That meant Easker would be joining his wife, Cathy Branta-Easker, on the UW Hall of Fame honor roll. They are the first husband-wife ensemble in school history to be so recognized.
"Not very common, I guess," he said simply.
Branta-Easker was a bit more effusive.
"Oh, wow," she said. "We made history."
Easker said it was fully expected when his wife was part of the 12-person Class of 1993. The UW Hall of Fame welcomed its first honorees in 1991 and Branta was ultimately the fourth woman chosen, joining Olympic distance runner Cindy Bremser and Olympic rower Carie Graves in '91 and national champion diver D'Lynn Damron-Prins in '92.
Not only was Branta a four-time All-American in cross country and a three-timer in track, she won four NCAA track titles, the Big Ten Medal of Honor and was the overall champion in the NCAA cross country meet in 1984, leading the Badgers to their first national championship.
"I felt he was qualified for it, so I wasn't as surprised as he was," Branta Easker said of her husband. "He did a lot for the university as far as athletics goes."
But being part of the latest induction class – the eight will have their plaques unveiled on the Camp Randall Memorial Sports Center on Sept. 16 – caught Easker unaware.Â
"Totally shocked by it," Easker said. "Totally off the radar."
Easker thought his resume fell short of such an honor because he failed in his primary mission to win an NCAA individual cross country title. He finished 27th as a freshman and 16th as a sophomore before closing out his career with two top-five spots: third in 1983 and fourth in '84.
But he was part of something "really special" in 1982 when the Badgers won their first NCAA championship.
The top five UW finishers were all from Wisconsin – Tim Hacker (Menomonee Falls) was fourth, Scott Jenkins (Kenosha) fifth, Easker 16th, Joe Stintzi (Menomonee Falls) 23rd and Jim Brice (Wrightstown) was 26th – a year after Texas-El Paso pulverized the field with a lineup dominated by foreign talent.
Easker and Hacker were sophomores and Jenkins a freshman in '82, which made the feat even more extraordinary.
"For the whole running community, we really surprised a lot of people and changed recruiting in the Midwest," Easker said.
But the sense of euphoria – and any idea of a budding dynasty – evaporated the following spring when UW coach Dan McClimon was killed in a plane crash while on a recruiting trip.
"In my instance he really was a father figure to me," Easker said. "He did a very good job of keeping that group of us very close and down to earth. It was a very close-knit group and he played a big part in making it that way."
Easker members being a pallbearer at the funeral along with his devastated teammates. How did they get through it?Â
"We really had no choice," he said. "You have to. You have no choice but to grow up and learn. We had each other to lean on, which helped a lot."
Martin Smith took over the men's cross country program and Ed Nuttycombe assumed the reins of the track team.
UW finished second in the NCAA cross country meet in '83 and fourth in 1984 before returning to the top of the podium in '85.
Easker and Branta, from Slinger, met as freshmen and got married in October of 1985. Easker operated his own dairy farm until 2008 and now works for Jay-Mar, Inc., an agriculture supply company, as a certified crop adviser.
Curiously, one of Easker's colleagues in the business venture is Wayne Solinsky, whose son Chris won five NCAA individual track titles and helped the Badgers to national championships in cross country (2005) and indoor track (2007).
Easker and Branta, a teacher and coach at Wittenberg-Birnamwood High School, have three children – Bethany, Aaron and Matthew – and are expecting to become grandparents later this year. Bethany, 27, ran for UW-Eau Claire's NCAA Division III championship cross country squad and Aaron was the NCAA Division III champion at 10,000 meters for UW-Eau Claire. Â
Easker said his motto for living is simple: Your reach should always exceed your grasp.
"It's a good way to look a life," he said. "You're always trying to better yourself."
The Easkers continue to follow UW Athletics as best they can, attending the occasional football and men's basketball game. Easker said he and his former teammates are planning a get-together in Madison in November.
But first comes a bit of history. The UW Hall of Fame has a father and son – Bob and Mark Johnson – but this marks the first marriage of greatness.
"I felt he was qualified for it, so I wasn't as surprised as he was," Easker-Branta said of her husband. "He did a lot for the university as far as athletics goes."
