Home Sweep Home: McDonald wins Nuttycombe title

Photo by: Tom Lynn

Home Sweep Home: McDonald wins Nuttycombe title

September 28, 2018 | Men's Cross Country

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No. 9 Badgers finish second overall at premier home competition

MADISON, Wis. – It was a historic day for the Wisconsin cross country program on Friday, as the Badgers completed the sweep on their home course. Senior Morgan McDonald led the way for the Badgers' second place overall finish at the home competition, taking the crown in the men's championship 8K race.

McDonald, who finished third at the 2016 Nuttycombe, ran with the lead pack from the get-go, staying on pace with the top group of runners. To everyone's surprise, the pack stayed together throughout the entire race, up until the last hill leading up to the finish line.

"I was just trying to stay relaxed for as long as possible," McDonald said. "I knew those NAU boys were good, so I was just trying to stick with them and wait for the kick at the end. I felt like someone else was going to make the move earlier, but I felt really good running up that last hill, so I just went for it, and it worked out pretty well."

McDonald made his breakaway and sprinted up the hill, with Edwin Kurgat of Iowa State hot on his heels. The Sydney, Australia native kicked it into high gear and sailed through the finish line with an 8K time of 23 minutes, 17.6 seconds.

He's baaaaaack #NuttyInvite pic.twitter.com/BtdR12jKpq
— FloTrack (@FloTrack) September 28, 2018

Next to score for the Cardinal and White were Oliver Hoare and Olin Hacker, who both finished within the top-20 runners. Hoare took 15th overall with a time of 23:37.9 while Hacker, who won the Badger Classic title earlier this season, finished 17th in 23:40.2.

Ben Eidenschink placed 31st overall, running through the Zimmer Arch in 23:51.4 while teammate Tyson Miehe rounded out the scoring for the Badgers, cruising through with a time of 24:17.3 to secure Wisconsin's second-place finish with 135 points.

Sophomores Seth Hirsch and Finn Gessner also competed in Friday's championship 8K race. Hirsch finished in 24:32.5 while Gessner came in with a time of 24:56.6.

"When you look at this meet today and the quality of the teams that are here, this is the best Nuttycombe Invitational that we've ever had," Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Mick Byrne said. "Eight of the top men's teams are here. This felt like the meet that was normally run in November. It was a lot of pressure out there, not just on our kids, but on all of the teams."

"It's a little crazy to race like this in September, but it's fun," said Byrne. "Having the individual champion, Morgan McDonald, he ran great. Oliver Hoare, Olin Hacker, Ben Eidenschink, those guys all ran great as well. Tyson Miehe and some of the younger guys, Finn Gessner and Seth Hirsch, they're only going to get better. That was their first time in a big, big competitive, deep field like that. I know where we are in our training, and over the next couple of weeks, we'll be even better."

No. 1 Northern Arizona took the Nuttycombe team title for the third-straight year, with four runners finishing within the top-10 and notching just 46 points. No. 3 Portland took third place with 140 points, while No. 5 Iowa State and No. 26 Boise State took fourth and fifth overall. The Cyclones, led by runner-up Edwin Kurgat, recorded 152 points while the Broncos tallied 160 points.

Up next:
Wisconsin returns to the Zimmer Championship Course for the Wisconsin Pre-Nationals on Saturday. Oct. 13. More than 80 men's teams are set to compete at this meet, which will serve as a preview for the 2018 NCAA Cross Country Championships on Nov. 17.

2018 Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational Presented by Under Armour Results
Team Scores: