MADISON, Wis. – Led by three-time Big Ten cross country champion Bob Liking, the No. 10 ranked Wisconsin men's cross country team secured a strong sixth-place finish at the Wisconsin Pre-Nationals meet on Saturday at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course.

Liking continued his stellar season, placing sixth in the 8K race with a personal-best time of 22 minutes, 54.6 seconds. He led a Badgers team that saw four runners achieve personal records in the highly competitive field.

Liam Newhart (23:24.0) finished 39th, Rowen Ellenberg (23:26.8) placed 44th, and Matan Ivri (23:32.1) crossed the line in 54th—all setting new personal bests. Micah Wilson rounded out the Badgers' top five, finishing 56th with a time of 23:33.1.

Despite facing some of the top-ranked teams in the country, Wisconsin's consistent performances earned them 199 team points, just behind Northern Arizona  with 178 points and ahead of Notre Dame with 200 points in the overall standings.

In addition to the championship race, the Badgers had four runners compete in the "B" race

Logan Measner led the way for Wisconsin, finishing 10th overall with a solid time of 24:17.9. Pierce Seigne followed with a 20th-place finish, clocking in at 24:29.3. Bryce Stachewicz crossed the line in 39th place with a time of 25:02.0, while Nick Gilles completed the race in 79th, finishing in 26:19.0.

Straight from the Course
UW Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Mick Byrne
"I'm really happy with today, put us in a good position. We saw some real good things, some young guys ran real well…We talked about perspective again. You can make this your national championship. We talked about the program and the history and how we need to be better at the national meet. The guys have bought into that. We spent a lot of time looking at videos of previous great champion teams that we've had and it was pretty consistent on how they got onto the podium. We are taking that information adn applying it everyday in practice. The message was don't blow this [meet] out of proportion. Keep everything where it needs to be on the 19th of October and everything will be fine."

Senior Bob Liking
"Today, I raced more conservatively, which is something I've been struggling with—unsure whether to sprint out or hold back. I think I figured out a solid race plan and was able to execute it well enough for the 6K. After that, I got dropped, but there's always a bigger fish."

Up Next:
The Badgers head south to Champaign, Illinois, for the Big Ten Championships on Nov. 1, where Wisconsin, the reigning conference champions, enters as one of the top-ranked teams in the conference.

Wisconsin Pre-Nationals
Oct. 19, 2024
Thomas Zimmer Championship Course
8K Race

Championship Race Results: 
6. Bob Liking, 22:54.6
39. Liam Newhart, 23:24.0
44. Rowen Ellenberg, 23:26.8
54. Matan Ivri, 23:32.1
56. Micah Wilson, 23:33.1
102. Johnny Livingstone, 23:55.0
180. Adam Spencer, 24:28.9

Team Results:
1. Arkansas, 89
2. Iowa State, 128
3. Stanford, 142
4. New Mexico, 166
5. Northern Arizona, 178
6. Wisconsin, 199
7. Notre Dame, 200
8. Syracuse, 258
9. CBU, 312
10. Harvard, 327

B Race Results
10. Logan Measner, 24:17.9
20. Pierce Seigne, 24:29.3
39. Bryce Stachewicz, 25:02.0
79. Nick Gilles, 26:19.0