Five things to know: NCAA Great Lakes Regional

Friday, November 15

Madison, Wis.

12:30 p.m.

Wisconsin Badgers

NCAA Great Lakes Regional

Photo by: Kirk Irwin

Five things to know: NCAA Great Lakes Regional

November 12, 2019 | Men's Cross Country

Badgers look to defend regional title

By: Morgan Lukrich

MADISON, Wis. - After winning its 50th Big Ten team title, the ninth-ranked Wisconsin men's cross country team will host the NCAA Great Lakes Regional on Friday. The men's 10,000-meter race takes off at 12:30 p.m. on the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course. The top-two teams in each of nine regional races will qualify for the NCAA Championship on Nov. 23 in Terre Haute, Indiana. An additional 13 teams and 36 individuals will be selected to complete the national championship field.

There is no spectator parking at the cross country course or University Ridge. Spectator parking will be located at Blackhawk Church in Middleton, Wisconsin. Spectator shuttles are available to transport spectators for $5 round trip. Accessible shuttles will be available. The shuttle service will begin at 9 a.m. and conclude one hour after the final race has finished. The shuttle will pick up and drop off at the upper level of the parking structure at Blackhawk Church.

The meet will be streamed live on FloTrack with live results available on PTTiming. Fans can follow the action on Instagram and Twitter (@BadgerTrackXC) and catch a recap following the meet on UWBadgers.com.
,
1. COMING OFF A HISTORICAL WIN: The Badgers secured their 50th Big Ten team title and ninth under Coach Byrne on Nov. 3, which marked a historical win within the cross country community. Senior Olli Hoare led the way for the Badgers, finishing first overall with a time of 23 minutes, 50.9 seconds. Four additional Badgers were able to place in the top-20 which aided in the team's score of 56 points to put them on top. Wisconsin has won more Big Ten team titles than all other schools combined as Indiana and Michigan State, both tally 14 team titles, to rank second..

This one was very special. These guys believed when others did not. They raced with the Heart of great Badgers. Putting this win in historical perspective is crazy #50. So proud of this group. https://t.co/aT8KuvGuSr
— Mick Byrne (@WiscoByrne) November 4, 2019

2. DEFENDING CHAMPS: The men placed first last year at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional tallying 49 points. Olin Hacker led the way for the Badgers placing fifth overall with a time of 31 minutes, 13.1 seconds. Olli Hoare and Morgan McDonald came in simultaneously punching the No.6 and No.7 spots with a time of 31:13.2. Two other Badgers, Benjamin Eidenschink and Shuaib Aljabaly, were also able to place top-20 giving UW the team victory.

3. USTFCCCA RANKINGS: The Badgers are ranked first in the Great Lakes region and will be the highest nationally ranked team attending the meet on Friday. Indiana, Michigan and Purdue have always proved to be strong contenders which is why they take up the No. 2, No.3 and No.4 spots in the region. Nationally, all three opposing teams are also ranked within the top-20.

4. MICK'S MINUTE: "Knowing the course, we practice on it, knowing the difficult parts of that course... and for the men certainly moving from 8K to 10K it is certainly a different course over 10K. You have to go up the hill four times, but I don't know if there is a huge advantage except that we're going to have a lot of people cheering us on.

"This Friday is to make it to the next weekend. You have to stay alert, you have to run with confidence, but it's tricky because you are trying to conserve energy and everybody around the country is doing that also. Some regions are tougher than others and that comes into play, you're going to go out there and I think all five of the top teams, on both sides, will be cagey, cautious, particularly in this weather, and won't show their cards very early in the race."

For more on the regional meet and NCAAs coming up, check out the Monday morning press conference!https://t.co/Rouz9QC14c #OnWisconsin 🦡🔴⚪️
— Wisconsin Track & Field (@BadgerTrackXC) November 12, 2019

5. NEXT UP NCAAS: Following the regional meet, the Badgers will have eight days to prepare for the NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, Indiana. Former Badger Morgan McDonald placed first individually at the 2018 National Championship meet with a time of 29 minutes, 8.3 seconds in the 10K race. Olli Hoare came in second for the Badgers, placing 17th overall with a time of 29:37.8. The men were able to secure an eighth-place finish on their home course. The Badgers travel to Terre Haute on Wednesday to get acclimated to the course. The men's 10K championship race takes off at 11:15 a.m. CT.