Wisconsin Badgers
NCAA Championships
Five things to know: Badgers at NCAA Championships
November 14, 2017 | Men's Cross Country
Hardy, Hoare to represent UW at national meet
NCAA Cross
Country Championships
Saturday, Nov. 18 | 8 a.m. CT — Louisville, Ky.
MADISON, Wis. – Wisconsin men's cross country standouts Joe Hardy and Oliver Hoare will represent the Badgers on Saturday at the 2017 NCAA Cross Country Championships in Louisville, Kentucky. The duo will compete in the 10K at 9 a.m. (CT) at E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park. The race was originally scheduled for 10:45 a.m. but was moved up due to weather.Â
For the second-straight year, the national championships will be shown live on FloTrack. Fans wishing to watch the meet on FloTrack will have to sign up for a FloTrack Pro subscription.
1. LOOKING BACK AT REGIONALS: UW finished third at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional with a score of 84 points, only five points behind runner-up Michigan. After staying at the front of the pack throughout the 10K race, sophomore Oliver Hoare crossed the finish line third overall, with a time of 31 minutes, 0.9 seconds. Next for the Badgers came senior Joe Hardy, who finished just two seconds behind teammate Hoare in 31:02.8 to take a sixth-place finish. Next for Wisconsin was sophomore Ben Eidenschink, who enjoyed a 14th-place overall finish, thanks to a 10K time of 31:21.6. Hoare, Hardy and Eidenschink all earned U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-Region Honors for their top-25 showing at the regional competition.Â
2. A ONE-TWO PUNCH: Joe Hardy and Oliver Hoare have been UW's top-two finishers at three of the Badgers' meets this year, including the Greater Louisville Classic, the Big Ten championships at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional.
3. NCAA SPOTLIGHT FOR HARDY: Â Saturday's race will mark Joe Hardy's third NCAA cross country championship and his fifth national championship appearance for the Cardinal and White. The Seattle, Washington, native was UW's third runner across the line at last year's NCAA cross country meet and finished 65th. Earlier this calendar year, Hardy earned second-team All-America honors in the 5000 meters at the 2017 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships thanks to a 15th-place showing.
4. OUTSTANDING OLLIE: Â 2017 has been a great year for Hoare as the Sydney, Australia, native became only the 10th Badger to break the four-minute barrier in the mile at the Festival of Miles in St. Louis on June 1. Hoare finished eighth at the Greater Louisville Classic thanks to a time of 23:40.54 on the 8K course to earn Big Ten Athlete of the Week honors before his breakout victory at the 2017 Big Ten Cross Country Championships. Hoare finished the 8K course in Bloomington, Indiana in 24:09.3 to become the 25th different Badger to win a Big Ten individual crown.
5. WE GOT NEXT: The NCAA cross country championships are coming to Madison next fall as the Badgers will host the 2018 NCAA Cross Country Championships at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course. UW has hosted five NCAA Great Lakes Regionals, the 2010 Big Ten Cross Country Championship and the annual Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational Presented by Under Amour, the premier regular-season meet in the nation. It marks the first time since 1978 that Wisconsin will host the national cross country meet as the school hosted the men's cross country championship at Yahara Hills Golf Course.
Players Mentioned
