The Wisconsin men and women's cross country teams will compete in Terre Haute, Ind., today, each with hopes of capturing the NCAA championship.
The No. 1-ranked men's team enters the tournament as the favorite to win their second straight national title.
Despite being tabbed as the tournament favorite, Wisconsin recognizes the challenging task ahead, especially with other top teams standing in the way.
"Colorado, Arkansas, Iona … Oregon and Stanford. I think those [have] kind of been the steady teams all season long that we've seen playing up near the front," UW head coach Jerry Schumacher said. "There will probably be a surprise team or two that really runs well on the day that will kind of stick their nose up in the front of the pack. But those would be the players [for the title]."
Despite a number of injuries, the Badgers have sat atop the national standings for the majority of the season. However, three weeks ago, Wisconsin had its full lineup available at the Big Ten Championships.
"We haven't been 100 percent healthy probably this season and I think we've improved since the Big Ten Championships, which we were going to need in order to be truly a factor and a contender in the meet," Schumacher said.
One of the big differences between this year and last year's team is the players' experience. Currently the Badgers have three seniors — Chris Solinsky, Tim Nelson and Codie See — but the rest of the team is filled with freshmen and sophomores, and one junior is a transfer student.
"[They've] just done a great job with not only taking care of their end of business on the field, but all the things that go into being off the field and making sure that the team knows that everyone's got to roll," Schumacher said of his seniors. "We have eight or nine freshmen that are down at practice every day. That's a big group that can sometimes kind of form their own identity."
Solinsky is the most decorated of the three seniors, and he will travel to Terre Haute looking to add to his illustrious All-American career by helping Wisconsin secure its second consecutive national championship.
"He's been a part of two runner-up team championships and a national team championship. He's a three-time All-American," Schumacher said. "He's done a great job. And we'll be sad to lose him, from all the things that he's brought to the table the last four years."
The No. 8-ranked women's team will look to improve upon its 20th-place finish from a year ago. The Badgers head to the National championships with momentum on their side having defeated Michigan at the regional finals.
But according to UW head coach Jim Stintzi, the national championships are a different monster.
"I'm not sure that it matters a whole lot, to be honest," Stintzi said. "The regional meet is basically a qualifier. You never know how teams like Michigan are approaching the regional. They knew that they were going to qualify for the (national) meet."
Although Wisconsin is ranked in the top 10, Stintzi believes that the best is yet to come.
"This past weekend I think we ran another solid race. I don't think we ran a great race," Stintzi said. "We held out Emily Post, who's been our fourth runner for most of the year, in the hope that … we could rest one person and that she'll be the difference maker for the nationals."
One of the many bright spots for the Badgers has been Big Ten Freshman of the Year Hanna Grinaker.
"I think Hanna, if she runs an intelligent race and she puts herself in the position she needs to, she can still have the best race that she's run yet this year," Stintzi said.
The favorite on the women's side is Stanford, but the Badgers have made it clear that they can only afford to worry about their own performance.
"I think that Stanford has to do what they have to do, and Wisconsin has to do what they have to do, and Michigan has to do what they have to do," Stintzi said. "It's to compete no matter what the conditions are."