Enthusiasm and experience. Lots of it. That's what new head coach Jim Stintzi brings to the Wisconsin women's cross country team. After spending 20 years as the head coach of men's cross country and four years coaching women's cross country at Michigan State, Stintzi took over for former UW head coach Peter Tegen this summer. Tegen had coached Wisconsin women's cross country for the past 30 years.
As a UW alumni and a stellar student athlete, coach Stintzi is certainly happy to be back at Wisconsin.
"It's exciting for me to have a chance to follow someone like Peter Tegen, to work along [with] someone like [men's head track coach] Ed Nuttycombe, and to be a part of [a] program that wants to win," Stintzi said. "All of those things are exciting as well as being in a state where people support the sport and the program."
It sure seems like he has the support of the women he coaches. The Badgers opened the season last Saturday at the Carroll College Invitational in Waukesha. The team took first place thanks to a great team effort, with eight Badgers finishing in the top ten. The freshmen performed well with Ashley Benson, Marie Borner, Emma Tauchman, Kara Tauchman, Sarah Hurley, Maggie Collison and Sarah McKinley all finishing under 21 minutes. Benson led the way with a time of 18:56 en route to a first-place finish. Kara Tauchman finished with a time of 19:35 with Marie Borner just 3 seconds behind. Tauchman and Borner finished No. 3 and No. 4 overall, respectively.
A victory like that is certainly something to be happy about, but the women on the team and Coach Stintzi know they have a long season ahead of them.
"We're going to start the season in a low-key fashion and try to build momentum as we head into the championship part of the season," Stintzi said. "Starting in late September with the [Roy Griak Invitational] and Notre Dame meets, we will face a very challenging schedule that should prepare us for the Big Ten championship and beyond."
Back in Michigan State, Stintzi compiled an impressive list of credentials. He led the men's cross country team to the NCAA cross country championships six times, as well as leading the women's cross country squad to three NCAA meets in four years.
He also won the Big Ten Coach of the Year award three times, once on the women's side and twice on the men's. Combining track and cross country, 42 all-Big Ten performers and 24 All-Americans have competed under Stintzi.
On Saturday, the Badgers run again at the Midwest Collegiate Invitational in Kenosha. The following weekend marks the beginning of the tough meets Stintzi referred to; the Roy Griak Invitational is Saturday, Sept. 24, in Minneapolis, followed by the Notre Dame Invitational Friday, Sept. 30, in South Bend, Ind.
