EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- For the fourth-straight year and for the 58th time in program history, the Wisconsin men's cross country team is heading to the NCAA Championships.

The Badgers earned an automatic qualifying spot by finishing second in the NCAA Great Lakes Regional on Friday morning. Ninth-ranked Wisconsin scored 87 points to place behind sixth-ranked Notre Dame, who won the meet with 37 points. Big Ten foe Michigan finished third with 106 points.

Graduate student Olin Hacker led the Badgers, covering the 10,000-meter course in a personal best time of 30 minutes, 2. 1 seconds to finish eighth. Less than 15 seconds separated Wisconsin's top-five finishers as sophomore Bob Liking, who was running his first 10K, crossed in 30:08.4 to place 15th. Junior Jackson Sharp took 20th in a personal best time of 30:11.1 while sophomore Evan Bishop took 21st in 30:13.4, running his first 10K race. Fifth-year senior Seth Hirsch rounded out the UW scorers, taking 23rd in 30:16.0, a personal best. Senior Charlie Wheeler also ran a personal best time, placing 32nd in 30:37.3 to round out the Badger finishers.

Hacker led the Badgers for most of the race, sitting among the top 20 athletes the entire course. Over the last 2,000 meters, he moved up seven places to finish eighth.

Liking made huge jumps during the race, starting the race out in 38th place. He was still 30th halfway through the race before beginning his surge. The sophomore moved up 12 places over the next 3,000 meters and improved five more places over the finishing stretch.

Sharp and Bishop ran next to each other the second half of the race, challenging each other over the last 4,000 meters to crossing the line less than two seconds a part.

Hirsch was Mr. Consistency during the race, maintaining a place among the top-30 runners during the race. He moved up nine places between the 5K and 6K marks to earn all-region honors.

Straight from the course

Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Mick Byrne
"There was one mission today and that was to advance to Tallahassee for next weekend's national championships. Advancing both teams automatically is exciting. Our men's and women's teams are eager to compete next week in Tallahassee.

"The regional meet is always so unpredictable because you go into it hoping it won't be a real barnburner and hoping you don't have to go too deep into the well. As things transpired, our guys were patient and executed our race plan without overdoing it. Notre Dame were very good today and it was important that we didn't get too caught up with trying to run with them."
 

Notables

• Five Badgers earned all-region honors for their top-25 finishes.
• Wisconsin qualifies for its NCAA-best 58th national championship.
• All six Badger finishers ran personal best times at 10K

Up Next

Wisconsin competes in the NCAA Championships on Nov. 20 on the Florida State Cross Country Course in Tallahassee, Florida. The men's 10,000-meter race begins at 10:10 a.m. CT. The race will be streamed live on ESPNU.

 

Top 10 Teams
1. Notre Dame	37
2. Wisconsin	87
3. Michigan	106
4. Michigan state	110
5. Butler	116
6. Indiana	144
7. Eastern Michigan	215
8. Cincinnati	218
9. Purdue	221
10. IUPUI	302

 

Top 10 Individuals
1. Simon Bedard	Butler	29:50.0
2. Barry Keane	Butler	29:51.5
3. Morgan Beadlescomb	MSU	29:53.2
4. Matthew Carmody	ND	30:00.5
5. Yared Nuguse	ND	30:00.6
6. Alec Sandusky	Cin	30:01.1
7. Andrew Alexander	ND	30:01.3
8. Olin Hacker	WIS	30:02.1
9. Arjun Jha	IND	30:03.3
10. Anthony Russon	ND	30:03.5

 

Other Wisconsin Finishers
15. Bob Liking	30:08.4
20. Jackson Sharp	30:11.1 PR
21. Evan Bishop	30:13.4
23. Seth Hirsch	30:16.0 PR
32. Charlie Wheeler	30:37.3 PR