The Wisconsin men’s and women’s cross country teams completed their seasons Monday at the 2002 NCAA Cross Country Championships in Terre Haute, Ind., with the men finishing second and the women placing 19th. The Badger men finished the race with a combined score of 107, with Stanford winning the team title with 47 points. The UW women scored 488 points, while team champ BYU finished with 85.
This year’s national meet marks the sixth time the Badger men have finished second and their 20th top-five finish. The mark also matches the best finish under head coach Jerry Schumacher. All five Badger scorers finished in the top 40, including four All-Americans.
Big Ten Athlete of the Year Matt Tegenkamp was the top finisher for Wisconsin, placing 12th in 29:49.1. Senior captains Isaiah Festa and Adam Wallace placed 21st and 22nd, respectively. Festa finished in 30:18.9, while Wallace, an All-American in 2000, earned the honors again, finishing 22nd in 30:21.3.
Among the top-five finishers for the Badgers was a pair of freshmen. Bobby Lockhart ended in 23rd place in 30:20.7 and Simon Bairu ran a time of 30:34.0 for 38th place.
This is the sixth time Wisconsin has had at least four runners receive All-America honors in a single year. Tegenkamp, who was an All-American in 2001, Festa, Wallace and Lockhart each received All-America laurels.
The Badger women placed 19th out of 31 teams in the 6,000-meter race. First-team All-Big Ten honoree Hilary Edmondson was the top finisher for Wisconsin, placing 93rd in 21:14.4. Senior Elaine Canchola came in second for Badgers, completing the race in 21:25.0 for 117th overall. Just behind Canchola was Linsey Blaisdell, placing 121st in 21:26.8.
“The remarkable thing is that our top six runners all finished within 22 seconds of each other,” UW women’s cross country head coach Peter Tegen said. “That means that we were a pretty balanced team. This year, every one of our runners had a great race, and today was Lindsey Blaisdell’s turn.”
Rounding out the scoring for Wisconsin was freshman Heidi Lane coming in 143rd place in 21:34.9 and junior Michelle Lilienthal running a time of 21:35.7 for 147th.
The 2002 NCAA Championship was the 18th time the Wisconsin women have competed in the event. The Badger women won back-to-back titles under head coach Peter Tegen in 1984 and 1985. Wisconsin did not qualify last year after placing eighth in 2000.
Men’s and Women’s Swimmers Close Competition at Minnesota Invite
Looking ahead to the Texas Invitational, the No. 14 Wisconsin men’s and women’s swimming and diving team exited the Minnesota Invitational early Sunday and still took third overall. The Badgers traditionally leave the Minnesota meet early to rest and prepare for Texas.
The Badgers competed in two of seven events Sunday. The 400-free relay team of Eric Wiesner, Dale Rogers, Adam Mania and Matt Marshall captured first place in 3:01.12.In the 1650 free, Michael Hamm and Andrew Ackley finished in seventh and eighth, respectively. Hamm touched in 16:09.23, and Ackley glided in at 16:09.54.
On the women’s side, sophomore Carly Piper swam a NCAA automatic qualifying time in the 1650 free Sunday. Piper clocked a meet record 16:26.09 in her first 1650 competition of the year. Freshman Rebecca Johansson took eighth with a 17:07.77.
Wisconsin’s 400-free relay also took first Sunday with a 3:26.74. Sarah McCauley, Sarah Hernandez, Betsy Hassebroek and Jenny Lyman combined for the first-place finish.
Diver Megan Balkenbush tallied points for UW with an 11th-place finish on the platform.
The Badgers swim next at the Texas Invitational, Dec. 5-7. The Texas Invite is a crucial meet where many swimmers earn NCAA qualifying times. It is also the last competition for the Badgers before their strenuous winter break training trip to Hawaii.
Badgers Earn Top Finishes at Mizzou Open
Well represented by its younger contingent, three Badger wrestlers turned in strong finishes for Wisconsin at the Missouri Open Sunday.
In a repeat of his earlier success at the Michigan State Open, redshirt freshman Ed Gutnik placed third in the Open’s 133-pound weight class to lead the Badgers. The Iselin, N.J., native defeated Eastern Illinois’ Pat Dowty 7-5.
Fellow redshirt freshman Tom Clum, a three-time high school state champion in Colorado, finished sixth in the Open’s 125-pound competition after losing to Central Michigan’s Kyle Stoffer 7-6.
Wrestling unattached in the Open’s freshman/sophomore division, true freshman Tyler Turner earned a third-place finish at 149 pounds. The youngest of four Turner brothers wrestling for Wisconsin, he defeated Indiana’s Matt Cooper 1-0.
— Compiled from staff reports