Photo by: Tom Lynn
Lumberjacks earn three-peat on Saturday
November 17, 2018 | Men's Cross Country
NAU, McDonald make history at the Zimmer Championship Course
MADISON, Wis. -- Wisconsin's Morgan McDonald took a season off for a chance to accomplish something special.
Consider it done.
McDonald flashed a sprinter's speed to hold off his pursuers and win the men's NCAA cross country championship on his home course, capping a senior season that's now even more memorable.
With Stanford's Grant Fisher and Iowa State's Edwin Kurgat on his heels, McDonald sped across the finish line on the snow-covered University Ridge course in 29:08.3 to become the fourth Badger runner to win a national championship. He's the first to do it on his home course since Indiana's Bob Kennedy won in Bloomington in 1992.
"That last 400 meters was crazy!" McDonald said. "I knew that there were a lot of people around in that whole last 2K, which I didn't really expect. With 400 to go, I knew that there were still so many bodies there and I was trying not to be the first one to make a move. I knew I had Grant there and Kurgat, so I was just trying to vibe off of them, see when they were going to make their moves and when the time was right, I kind of put my foot down and just prayed that it was enough to pull away and get the victory."
Northern Arizona captured its third straight team title even though its top runner, Tyler Day, was only fifth for team scoring purposes and sixth overall. But the top-ranked Lumberjacks had their usual outstanding balance and ended up with five runners in the top 25 to score 83 points.
BYU was second with 116 points, followed by Portland (160), Colorado (178) and Stanford (201).
It's the first threepeat since Arkansas claimed its third straight title in 2000.
McDonald finished seventh at the 2016 NCAA meet and would have been among the favorites last year. But knowing this year's meet would be on the Badgers' home course, he took a redshirt season so he'd have one more fall of eligibility.
"This was 100 percent the reason," he said. "This and we thought the team could be a bit better. It was all centered around this 2018 nationals held in Madison with a Badger crowd. It was all about that."
He set himself up for a strong run at nationals by winning the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational in late September, a meet that drew many of the nation's top runners, then won the Big Ten championship earlier this month.
But he needed every ounce of energy he had left as he raced to the finish, urged on by a loud hometown crowd.
"Down the homestretch and throughout the whole race I can't even tell you how crazy it was," he said. "The whole race on either side was packed with Badger fans just yelling out my name and supporting the Badgers. It was really amazing. I felt it the whole way."
McDonald held a narrow lead at the eight-kilometer mark of the 10K race, part of a front-running pack that included BYU's Conner Mantz, Colorado's Joe Klecker, Oklahoma State's Isai Rodriguez, Day and Fisher, with Kurgat another step behind.
Kurgat and Fisher began making their move with the finish line in sight and it appeared that either one might have the speed to win the race. But McDonald had just enough to give Wisconsin its first individual title since Simon Bairu went back-to-back in 2003 and 2004 and ensure himself a place in Wisconsin running lore.
"I'm doing everything I can for this program to try and put my name up there," McDonald said. "Getting that individual title, not too many people have done that, but I hope to still do a bit more through track season. Then when I'm done, we'll see where the dust settles."
Fisher, fifth last year, crossed the finish in 29:08.08. Kurgat ran 29:09.0, Rodriguez, a freshman, finished in 29:10.5 and Furman's Aaron Templeton was fifth in 29:11.9.
Northern Arizona's Matthew Baxter, the runner-up last year, ran with the lead pack early and then fell off. He finished 15th overall and 12th in the team scoring standings. He was followed by teammates Luis Grijalva (19th), Blaise Ferro (22nd) and Peter Lomong (25th).
Consider it done.
McDonald flashed a sprinter's speed to hold off his pursuers and win the men's NCAA cross country championship on his home course, capping a senior season that's now even more memorable.
With Stanford's Grant Fisher and Iowa State's Edwin Kurgat on his heels, McDonald sped across the finish line on the snow-covered University Ridge course in 29:08.3 to become the fourth Badger runner to win a national championship. He's the first to do it on his home course since Indiana's Bob Kennedy won in Bloomington in 1992.
"That last 400 meters was crazy!" McDonald said. "I knew that there were a lot of people around in that whole last 2K, which I didn't really expect. With 400 to go, I knew that there were still so many bodies there and I was trying not to be the first one to make a move. I knew I had Grant there and Kurgat, so I was just trying to vibe off of them, see when they were going to make their moves and when the time was right, I kind of put my foot down and just prayed that it was enough to pull away and get the victory."
Northern Arizona captured its third straight team title even though its top runner, Tyler Day, was only fifth for team scoring purposes and sixth overall. But the top-ranked Lumberjacks had their usual outstanding balance and ended up with five runners in the top 25 to score 83 points.
BYU was second with 116 points, followed by Portland (160), Colorado (178) and Stanford (201).
It's the first threepeat since Arkansas claimed its third straight title in 2000.
McDonald finished seventh at the 2016 NCAA meet and would have been among the favorites last year. But knowing this year's meet would be on the Badgers' home course, he took a redshirt season so he'd have one more fall of eligibility.
"This was 100 percent the reason," he said. "This and we thought the team could be a bit better. It was all centered around this 2018 nationals held in Madison with a Badger crowd. It was all about that."
He set himself up for a strong run at nationals by winning the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational in late September, a meet that drew many of the nation's top runners, then won the Big Ten championship earlier this month.
But he needed every ounce of energy he had left as he raced to the finish, urged on by a loud hometown crowd.
"Down the homestretch and throughout the whole race I can't even tell you how crazy it was," he said. "The whole race on either side was packed with Badger fans just yelling out my name and supporting the Badgers. It was really amazing. I felt it the whole way."
McDonald held a narrow lead at the eight-kilometer mark of the 10K race, part of a front-running pack that included BYU's Conner Mantz, Colorado's Joe Klecker, Oklahoma State's Isai Rodriguez, Day and Fisher, with Kurgat another step behind.
Kurgat and Fisher began making their move with the finish line in sight and it appeared that either one might have the speed to win the race. But McDonald had just enough to give Wisconsin its first individual title since Simon Bairu went back-to-back in 2003 and 2004 and ensure himself a place in Wisconsin running lore.
"I'm doing everything I can for this program to try and put my name up there," McDonald said. "Getting that individual title, not too many people have done that, but I hope to still do a bit more through track season. Then when I'm done, we'll see where the dust settles."
Fisher, fifth last year, crossed the finish in 29:08.08. Kurgat ran 29:09.0, Rodriguez, a freshman, finished in 29:10.5 and Furman's Aaron Templeton was fifth in 29:11.9.
Northern Arizona's Matthew Baxter, the runner-up last year, ran with the lead pack early and then fell off. He finished 15th overall and 12th in the team scoring standings. He was followed by teammates Luis Grijalva (19th), Blaise Ferro (22nd) and Peter Lomong (25th).
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Cross Country
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