Five things to know: The Nuttycombe is back!

Friday, October 15

Madison, Wis.

11 a.m.

Wisconsin Badgers

Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational

The Badgers compete at the Bradley Intercollegiate

Photo by: Kevin Sippy

Five things to know: The Nuttycombe is back!

October 13, 2021 | Women's Cross Country

Wisconsin hosts 11th Nuttycombe Invitational

By: Miriam Jaber

Meet Information | Watch on RunnerSpace ($) | Live Results | Course Maps

MADISON, Wis. -- The 25th-ranked Wisconsin women's cross country team hosts the Nuttycombe Wisconsin invitational this Friday at the Zimmer Championship Course in Verona. The women's B race starts at 11 a.m. while the women's championship race starts at 12:30 p.m. The Badger will also compete, running the B race at 11:40 a.m. while the championship race goes off at 1 p.m.

Here are five things to know before Friday's event.

1. THE NUTTY IS BACK!: This is the first time Wisconsin has hosted the prestigious Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational since the COVID-19 pandemic. The last time the Badgers hosted the Nuttycombe was in 2019. Friday's race marks the 11th Nuttycombe invitational that UW has hosted on the Zimmer Championship course.

2. A TOP-TIER SEASON: The Badgers are having an incredibly successful season, notching two perfect scores and a second-place finish at the Live in Lou Classic on Oct. 2. Redshirt sophomore Shea Ruhly has stepped into a leading role for UW, leading Wisconsin in Louisville with her sixth-place finish. Junior Lucinda Crouch led Wisconsin at the Bradley Intercollegiate on Sept. 17 with her first-place finish.

3. MAPPING THE RACE: This year's Nuttycombe will be an other exciting event to watch as 19 of the 38 schools competing are ranked, including the top-three teams in the nation -- No. 1 NC State, No. 2 BYU, and No. 3 New Mexico. The event also feature No. 6 Minnesota, No. 7 Washington and No. 9 Stanford. A total of six Big Ten Conference teams will be at the invitational.

4. VETERAN EXPERIENCE: Seven of the 23 Badgers entered will race in the championship 6K on Friday while the rest of the team will compete in the B race along with four unattached runners. Crouch, Ruhly, Victoria Heiligenthal, Alissa Niggemann, and Madison Mooney all have previous Nuttycombe experience under their belts and aim to lead Wisconsin's new faces at the race.

5. HOW TO FOLLOW THE ACTION: The race will be streamed live on RunnerSpace while live results will be on PTTiming. Fans can follow the action on Twitter and Instagram @BadgertrackXC. A recap of the race can be found on UWBadgers.com following the event.