Five things to know: Big Ten Championships

Sunday, November 3

Columbus, OH

11:45 a.m.

Wisconsin Badgers

Big Ten Championships

Photo by: Tom Lynn

Five things to know: Big Ten Championships

October 29, 2019 | Men's Cross Country

Fighting for 50

MADISON, Wis. - The 14th-ranked Wisconsin men's cross country team travels to Columbus, Ohio, this weekend to compete in the Big Ten Championships. The Badgers are looking to defend their title and fight for their 50th Big Ten championship, more than all other schools combined. The men's 8000-meter race takes off at 9:45 a.m. CT on Sunday.

The meet will be streamed live on FloTrack and BTN+ with live results available on PT Timing. Fans can follow the action on Instagram and Twitter (@BadgerTrackXC) and catch a recap following the meet on UWBadgers.com.

1. DEFENDING BIG TEN CHAMPIONS: The Badgers took home gold last year, bringing home their 49th Big Ten title, more than all of the opposing teams combined. The team punched a 1-2-4 finish individually. Morgan McDonald led the pack with a time of 23 minutes, 26.4 seconds, Olli Hoare came in second with a time of 23:29.3, and Benjamin Eidenschink finished fourth with a time of 23:43.4. The team also had five of their scoring runners, and one of their nonscoring runners, place in the top-20. This led the team to tally 38 points, creating a 50-point margin over second-place Purdue.

2. 2018 BIG TEN ACCOLADES: Returning runners, senior Olli Hoare and redshirt senior Benjamin Eidenschink, both earned first-team All-Big Ten honors for their performances. Fun fact, Olli Hoare placed first individually in 2017 with a time of 24:09.3.

3. TEAM RANKINGS: Going into the weekend, Wisconsin is ranked No.3 in the Great Lakes region behind No. 1 Purdue and No. 2 Indiana. The USTFCCCA coaches' poll places Wisconsin at No.14, five places behind No.9 Purdueand only one place behind No.13 Indiana.

4. MICK'S MINUTE: "I say this every year but there's always a different feel to the week to the conference championships. There is one goal, I know you're going to ask that question. Let's put it out there right away, we're defending champions and the goal is to come back with a trophy on the men's side and on the women's side... There's no reason why we can't come back with two trophies. We're excited about this opportunity, we've ironed out some of the wrinkles from the last two meets."

"The favorite's on the men's side is Purdue with Indiana right behind them. We're certainly not about to hand over our lunch box to someone else. As defending champions we have to show up. We understand, we've been in this situation before and it's a great opportunity and I'm looking forward to it and the kids are also."

-Head Coach Mick Byrne

Head coaches Mick Byrne and Mackenzie Wartenberger talked Big Ten Championships and expectations going into the week at the Monday morning press conference. Check it out here: https://t.co/XG7lb6lGxX via @YouTube
— Wisconsin Track & Field (@BadgerTrackXC) October 28, 2019

5. NEXT UP: The Badgers have a week off from competition before hosting their third home meet of the year. The NCAA Great Lakes Regional will be held on the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course on Friday, Nov.15 beginning at 12:30 p.m..