Terrific 10: Badgers earn top-10 showing at NCAA championships

Saturday, November 18

Louisville, Ky.

8:00 AM

Wisconsin Badgers

NCAA Championships

Photo by: Walt Middleton

Terrific 10: Badgers earn top-10 showing at NCAA championships

November 18, 2017 | Women's Cross Country

Results

Disanza powers No. 17 Wisconsin to a top-10 showing in Louisville

Team Results
1.	New Mexico	90
2.	San Francicso	105
3.	Colorado	139
4.	Stanford	165
5.	Oregon	203
10.	Wisconsin	318

Individual Results
1.	Ednah Kurgat	New Mexico	19:19.5
2.	Amy-Eloise Neale	Washington	19:27.0
3.	Charlotte Taylor	San Francisco	19:28.6
4.	Allie Ostrander	Boise State	19:31.2
5.	Weronika Pyzik	San Francisco	19:34.0
39.	Sarah Disanza	Wisconsin	20:11.4
55	Amy Davis	Wisconsin	20:22.3
59.	Shaelyn Sorensen	Wisconsin	20:24.2
131.	Alissa Niggemann	Wisconsin	20:57.4
139.	Alicia Monson	Wisconsin	21:01.2

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Earlier this week, Wisconsin women's cross country standout Sarah Disanza said she believed the Badgers could earn a top-10 showing at the 2017 NCAA Cross Country Championships despite the team being ranked No. 17 in the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association National Coaches' Poll.

That belief turned into a reality on Saturday as the Badgers took 10th at the national meet at the E.P Tom Sawyer State Park thanks to Disanza's All-America finish.

The senior captain from Wantage, New Jersey crossed the line in 20 minutes, 11.4 seconds to earn her fourth All-America honor of her career.

Close behind Disanza was the duo of Amy Davis and Shaelyn Sorensen, as Davis finished 55th in 20:22.3 and Sorensen was 59th in 20:24.2.

Rounding out the scoring for Wisconsin as Alissa Niggemann and Alicia Monson, as Niggemann crossed the line in 20:57.4 to place 131st and Monson was 139th in 21:01.2.

Notes to Know
- Disanza is the first Badger since Hanna Grinaker (2006, 2007) to earn multiple All-America honors in cross country. Disanza was second at the 2014 NCAA Cross Country Championships to earn her first All-America honor.
- Disanza is also the 10th Badger to earn multiple All-America honors in cross country.
- This marks UW's 20th top-10 finish and UW's first top-10 showing since the 2014 meet.
- The Badgers will host the 2018 NCAA Cross Country Championships at the Zimmer Championship Course.

Straight from the Course
Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Mick Byrne
On today's race:
"I'm very happy for Coach (Jill) Miller and the women's team. Today's a step in the right direction. We finished 14th last year and to step into the top-10 this year, it's a good job. They ran with Sarah Disanza's leadership, she had great support from Amy Davis and Shaelyn Sorensen, they were very solid today with top-60 finishes.

"We were ranked No. 17 heading into the meet, and I thought all along we were better than that. I think our conference had a strong showing as we had three teams in the top 15. It shows the strength of our conference and we only lose Sarah Disanza and Rachel Fleddermann from this team. Another year down the road, our team will have more experience and with a good recruiting class I'm excited for the future."

Assistant coach Jill Miller
On the team's finish:
"What an effort this team put out there together today. I couldn't be more proud of how this team operates day-to-day and supports one another. Sarah set the tone today with the ultimate toughness and the team couldn't appreciate her more. Our team showed what they are made of out there, they ran smart, gritty and never gave up. We are excited about today and what this means for our future."

Senior Sarah Disanza
On the team's finish:
"Although the race wasn't perfect, one way or another I still felt like I had a fairytale end of my cross country season. Despite the team and myself being counted out by the cross country community, we still exceeded everyone's expectations and we were able to execute our own race plan without getting caught up in the craziness of the meet."