It may have been the most unexpected triumph in the long, dynastic history of the Wisconsin men’s cross country program.

When the Badgers won the Big Ten Conference title in 2010, the individual winner wasn’t the future three-time Olympian and silver medalist in the 5,000 meters. It wasn’t the future NCAA champion in the 1,500. It wasn’t the future Olympian in the 1,500 who was the first at his school to run a sub-4-minute mile.

The first person to cross the finish line was a quiet, tenacious art major from Morley, Michigan, a tiny village of less than 600 people. He was so sick the night before the race that he was quarantined in a single room at a local hotel and didn’t know if he’d be OK to run.

When the race was over, after Landon Peacock had surprised just about everyone with his performance, he celebrated by returning to his Madison apartment and taking care of some homework assignments.

Peacock didn’t always have the best timing during his career at Wisconsin. He arrived in Madison the year after the Badgers won the NCAA title in 2005, their fourth. He graduated the year before they won another in 2011, their most recent.

But on Oct. 31, 2010, on a chilly, sunny morning on the new Thomas Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course, Peacock delivered a surprising, unforgettable performance.

“It was one of my fondest memories of racing in college,’’ he said. “It was an awesome day. We won as a team and in my last Big Ten (meet) I came out with a victory. It’s a memory I still love to this day.’’

The moment is being revisited because, for the first time since 2010, the Big Ten men’s and women’s meets will be staged at the Zimmer Championship Course on Friday at 10:45 a.m.

Once again, the UW men are the defending champions. They’re trying to win their sixth straight team title and 54th overall, adding to their conference record for most all-time. Senior Bob Liking is looking to claim his third consecutive individual crown.

Back in 2010, Wisconsin won its 12th team title in a row and Peacock, a fifth-year senior, became the 22nd runner in program history to cross the finish line first. He came into the day with modest expectations.

“I wasn’t expecting to win at all,’’ he said. “I just wanted to go have a good day.’’

Roughly 12 hours before the starter pistol was fired, Peacock was in distress. UW coach Mick Byrne had sequestered team members in the Sheraton Hotel on John Nolen Drive to minimize distractions. Peacock was supposed to room with Mohammed Ahmed, “but they got me my own room that night because I was really sick,’’ Peacock said.

“I was tired. I wasn’t feeling amazing. I was even questioning if I was going to race the next day.’’

But things changed when the Wisconsin contingent arrived in suburban Verona for the meet.

“I got to the start line and I felt great,’’ Peacock said. “I got to the start line with the mindset that I’m going to get in there and run hard.’’

The Badgers were favored, but concerned about Indiana, which had finished ahead of UW during the event known now as the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational Presented by Under Armour. Peacock said he and his teammates felt the weight of 11 consecutive Big Ten titles and the task of extending the run on their home course.

“There was a lot of pressure not to lose that streak,’’ he said.

Before the race, Byrne talked to Peacock and Ahmed, saying he wanted the two to hang back off the start and close hard.

“We slowly worked our way up front,’’ Peacock said. “Neither one of us made an appearance in the lead pack until the last mile and a half or so.’’

This was no average field. Ahmed won the Big Ten individual title in 2011 and has since competed in three Olympic Games for Team Canada, winning silver in the 5,000 in 2021. Ben Blankenship of Minnesota became a U.S. Olympian in the 1,500 in 2016 and became the first at his school to run a mile in under 4 minutes. Andy Bayer of Indiana was an NCAA champion in the 1,500 who won six Big Ten track titles. All were known for their finishing kicks.

With roughly 1,500 meters left in the 8K race, Ahmed hit the gas pedal.

“He’s probably going to win this,’’ Peacock thought to himself.

Instead of wilting, Peacock, wearing bib No. 269, stayed with the leaders.

“For a while I felt I was holding on for dear life in that last mile because everything was smoking fast,’’ he said.

“As we rounded the corner to come up the hill on the finishing stretch, I noticed we were catching Moh (Ahmed), so that enticed me to hang on. It was just one of those things. I passed Blankenship and I passed Moh. I just got this momentum building and somehow found a pretty crazy kick over the last 100 meters.’’

The last straightaway to the finish was lined with roaring fans, most of them rooting for the Badgers. The scene gave Peacock a boost. 

“The volume and energy that was created there is part of what helped me to summon that kick,’’ Peacock said. “It got the adrenaline going for sure.’’

Peacock leaned past Bayer right before the finish line, clocking in at 23 minutes, 40.8 seconds. Bayer checked in at 23:41.3. Blankenship placed third in 23:41.4. Ahmed was fourth in 23:42.7.

“I knew I was up against some strong finishers and that wasn’t my forte,’’ Peacock said. “I usually fared better in races that went out fast and I got to gap people and beat them that way.’’

Byrne was 500 meters from the finish line when he heard the crowd roaring. He knew some of his runners were in the mix for the top spot –Elliot Krause and Maverick Darling were fifth and sixth, respectively – but Peacock was not a name to come to mind as the winner.

“Total surprise,’’ Byrne said of the finish.

Byrne, hired in 2008 to replace Jerry Schumacher as the Wisconsin coach, said Peacock “wasn’t the best kicker in the world, but to outkick those guys, it was like ‘Where did that come from?’’’

The Badgers totaled 25 points. Indiana was a distant second with 78. 

Peacock graduated from UW with an art degree and currently resides and has his own studio in West Chester, Pennsylvania. He teaches classes – he’s a certified art instructor – and specializes in nature and outdoor scenes. Byrne has seen some of Peacock’s work.

“I thought, ‘Wow, this kid is good,’’’ Byrne said. “He’s so unassuming you would never have known it.’’

Byrne described Peacock as “a tough son-of-a-gun’’ and “a ferocious competitor’’ who “ran with guts.’’ Those traits were cast in a different light earlier this year when Peacock was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, a form of cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow.

Peacock said his younger brother Dillon has been tabbed as a match for a bone marrow transplant Nov. 3. Landon will spend a month in the hospital undergoing chemotherapy. A gofundme account has been set up in his name and $34,000 has already been raised. The initial goal was $25,000.

“I have some rough months ahead,’’ Peacock said. “It is what it is. I’ve got to grit it out and be ready for good days after that.’’