Baggot: Badgers feeling right at home for NCAA cross country championships

BY ANDY BAGGOT

UWBadgers.com Insider

Six Novembers separate Bob Liking from his first NCAA cross country championship meet experience and his last. A lot of amazing things have happened to him in between. 

In 2018, Liking and seven track buddies from St. Charles, Illinois, made the 125-mile trip to the Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course outside of Verona. They parked at a nearby church and hopped aboard a courtesy bus for a snowy ride to the facility, which is adjacent to University Ridge Golf Course.

That’s where Liking and his pals were quickly swallowed up by the crowd of 6,000 or so people carrying banners and flags, ringing cowbells and scurrying to find the best position to watch the colorful spectacle unfold.

“Such a crazy environment,’’ Liking recalled. “That was the first big college meet that I’d really ever seen.’’

Instead of concerning himself with flights, hotels, meals and potentially iffy race conditions, Byrne’s to-do list is fairly modest by comparison.

“A huge advantage,’’ he said. “Not having to do any of that this week is fantastic, knowing that they’re going to sleep in their own beds.’’

Byrne believes that the seventh-ranked men’s team and the No. 14 women’s teams are both deep and capable of strong performances. That’s especially the case on the men’s side. A year after watching the team finish sixth and Liking place an unexpected 83rd, Byrne has his sights set on a spot among the top four.

“Our expectation is to be up there fighting for a podium spot for sure, but certainly well inside the top 10,’’ he said. “It’s just a matter of putting together a good race plan.’’

A week after both UW teams placed second at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional on a messy, challenging course in Norton, Ohio – making them one of 16 schools in the field to qualify a men’s and women’s team for the championship meet – the Badgers will have their own unique conditions to deal with.

Just as it was in 2018, there will be snow on the ground, temperatures in the 40s and footing will be a challenge.

Byrne said both teams handled the dicey terrain at regionals in quality fashion.

“To see the way both teams executed the plan – again, in tough conditions, a lot of hills, it rained for 10 hours before the race on a very muddy course – and the ease with which, certainly on the men’s side, they looked very comfortable,’’ he said.

“The way the guys closed over the last couple of kilometers and each one of them said ‘That wasn’t too challenging.’ They’ll always say that when they do well, of course, but they looked pretty comfortable in those conditions.’’

Byrne said both UW teams are deep and ready to run their best races.

“This is the meet we’ve been waiting for just to leave it all out there,’’ said senior grad student Shea Ruhly, a Middleton High School product who’s all but certain to lead an all-Wisconsin unit into the fray given there are 19 native daughters on the roster. 

Ruhly, who was the first UW runner to cross the finish line at regionals, didn’t seem to mind being called “Granny’’ by Byrne.

“Shea’s always going to give you everything she’s got,’’ he said.

Ruhly has run the Zimmer Championship Course countless times as part of workouts and various invitational meets. She can’t wait to feel the crowd make its presence felt Saturday morning.

“The number of people that I don’t know that will be screaming ‘Go Badgers. Go Bucky’ as I run by is actually amazing,’’ she said. “It moves every one of our girls one step closer to the finish line in a good way.’’

Liking, who joined Illinois legend Craig Virgin as the only Big Ten performers to win four consecutive league individual titles, said the notion of running his final race on his home course is something that motivates and comforts him. He knows how much work he’s put in. He knows every inch, every blade of grass, every undulation of The Zim.

“The biggest thing,’’ Liking said, “is that I know where it’s going to hurt and it’s a pretty big advantage for our team because we know where we should push and where we should hold back.

“It’s nice knowing that where you practice every day is where you’re going to have the biggest meet of the season.’’

How does Liking know he’s ready?

“Mick tells me,’’ he said, joking only slightly. 

“You get to this late in the season and you’ve done so many workouts, it’s kind of easy to look back on everything that you’ve done and take confidence from your training.’’

Liking said he hopes to have another gear, one that he hopes will elevate him to a place in the top 10.

What’s going through his mind right now?

“Honestly, right now I’m trying not to think about it,’’ Liking said. “If I think about it too much this early in the week, I’m just going to get riled up.’