This weekend, the Wisconsin men’s track team will try to win its third-consecutive Big Ten indoor championship in Minneapolis.
A win and an outdoor Big Ten championship later in the year would be the third consecutive triple crown for the school. The first part of the feat was claimed earlier in the year with a cross-country championship.
But it won’t come easily.
“There have been years in the past where we’ve been just simply the better team,” UW head coach Ed Nuttycombe said. “This is definitely not one of them.”
According to Nuttycombe, four teams are capable of winning the championship; Minnesota, Indiana, Purdue and Wisconsin are all in the running.
“I’ll be surprised if those aren’t the top four teams when it’s all said and done,” Nuttycombe said.
The Badgers should be very strong in the distance events.
Redshirt freshman Matt Tegenkamp leads a talented group of athletes. In his only race so far this season, Tegenkamp took second in the 3000 meters at the Iowa State Classic and automatically qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championship.
Last year’s NCAA champion was the only person to beat his school-record time of 7:57.08.
“He has a chance to do real well,” Nuttycombe said of Tegenkamp’s chances this weekend. “Somebody is going to have to work very hard to beat him.”
Another redshirt freshman, Josh Spiker, has gotten his career off to an excellent start as well. Tegenkamp and Spiker finished seventh and eighth, respectively, in the NCAA Cross Country Championship last November.
Junior Isaiah Festa is also returning from his Big Ten outdoor championship in the 1500 a year ago.
Adam Wallace is the only Badger to run a 5000-meter race so far this season. The junior finished third at the Iowa State Classic with a time of 13:58.18.
“Distance is definitely our strong suit,” Nuttycombe said.
The Badgers will need all the points possible with the absence of All-American Len Herring. The senior has only outdoor-season eligibility remaining.
“Len’s obviously going to make us a better team outdoors,” Nuttycombe said. “He’s arguably the best sprinter and definitely the best long/triple jumper in the conference.”
Freshman Alonzo Moore and senior Chris Van Tassel have filled in nicely for Herring’s absence in the jumps. Moore’s NCAA provisional qualifying mark of 51 feet, 11 inches in the triple jump puts him third in the conference going into this weekend.
Last weekend, VanTassel posted the fourth-best long jump in the league with a leap of 24 feet, 5 inches.
Joe Mungen has also provisionally qualified for the NCAA indoor meet with a time of 7.88 in the 60-meter hurdles.
“Running what I’ve run so far this season, or better, will win conference. Anything slower than that will be close,” Mungen said.
Junior B.J. Tucker will be a contender in the 60-meter sprint. In the previous two indoor conference meets he has faired well. As a freshman, he finished second and placed third last season.
According to Nuttycombe, there are seven guys within two one-hundredths of a second in the 60-meter sprint. And it’s not the only event that close competition is expected in. Numerous events have athletes within a heartbeat of each other.
“We’ve been known to step up on big occasions,” Mungen said. “It’s just a matter of who shows up. If we show up and don’t want it, then another team is going to claim it.”
If it can be done, the most difficult part of the three-peat will
be over.
“The real challenge of this year’s triple crown is definitely the
indoor season,” Nuttycombe said.
