Five things to know: NCAA Cross Country Championships

Saturday, November 23

Terre Haute, IN

11:15 a.m.

Wisconsin Badgers

NCAA Championships

Photo by: Tom Lynn

Five things to know: NCAA Cross Country Championships

November 19, 2019 | Men's Cross Country

The men make their 57th appearance on Saturday

By: Morgan Lukrich

MADISON, Wis. - The 14th-ranked UW men's cross country team will bus to Terre Haute, Indiana, to compete in the NCAA National Championships. This will be the men's 57th appearance in program history and the 45th in the past 48 years. The men's 10K race takes off at 11:15 a.m. CT on Saturday.

The meet will be streamed 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. REGIONAL RANKINGS: The Badgers ran conservatively at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional. Olin Hacker, normally the second runner to come in for the Badgers, did not run due to a calf injury. The men were still able to secure a fifth-place finish which was enough for the team to receive at at-large bid to the national championship.

2. HIGH EXPECTATIONS: With Morgan McDonald clinching the individual title at the 2018 NCAA Cross Country Championships, there are high expectations for senior Olli Hoare and the rest of the Wisconsin runners. Coach Byrne talked highly of Hoare at the Monday morning press conference. "He's a rare breed, there are probably two other athletes that have the same credentials... that can run that exceptionally well over a mile, but also over 10K... he fundamentally believes he has a shot. He's going out there to do what Morgan did last year."

3. GOOD TRACK RECORD: The Badgers have a good track record in Cross Country Town, USA. The last time the men ran on the Lavern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course was at the 2018 NCAA Great Lakes Regional when the men earned their 30th team title. Olin Hacker, Olli Hoare, and Morgan McDonald came in a 5-6-7 sequence to secure the team victory. It was also the site for the men's most recent NCAA championship win which was in 2011 under Mick Byrne.

4. MICK'S MINUTE: "Certainly on the men's side, looking forward to the meet. We talked to our guys after the regional meet on Friday and basically our message heading into the national championship is we have to run like we are Big Ten champions. We didn't do that on Friday, we ran a little lazy. Maybe they were still a little hungover from the excitement of Big Ten meet and that incredible win. I use that word lightly, hungover, because that certainly was just from the excitement. That was a big deal for our guys, going into Columbus and winning the title for No. 50. In saying that, this is the national championships, we have to be firing on all gears. We can't go into the meet like last Friday."

For more on the Great Lakes Regional and prep going into NCAAs, watch the Monday morning press conference! https://t.co/Ob9Usi6oX8 #OnWisconsin 🔴⚪️
— Wisconsin Track & Field (@BadgerTrackXC) November 18, 2019

5. SENDING THE SENIORS OFF: This will be the final cross country race for seniors Olli Hoare, Benjamin Eidenschink, Olin Hacker and Zack Snider. What better race to send the seniors off than the national championship? Good news though, the boys will be back in the spring to compete for the track team and finish out their collegiate running careers.