The No. 4-ranked Wisconsin men’s cross country team will head to Terre Haute, Ind., today as they look to repeat the success they had last time in Indiana.
Nine days removed from its Great Lakes Regional Championship, held in West Lafayette, Ind., UW is competing to bring home an NCAA championship to Madison. The Badgers will be led by seniors Matt Withrow, Stu Eagon and Christian Wagner, who are all participating in their fourth national championship race.
Although Withrow and Eagon have been dealing with nagging injuries throughout the year, head coach Mick Byrne believes that they are closer to 100 percent than they have been all season.
“Matt Withrow and Stu Eagon came through, are coming through pretty well,” Byrne said. “Matt survived Saturday, did pretty well. We slowed him down a little bit. Three-quarters of the way through the race, we told him to back off. And Stu did real well. So, with those two in much better shape than they were two or three weeks ago, it’s certainly going to help us.”
Aiding the seniors in their attempt to bring home its second title is first team All-Big Ten runner Landon Peacock. Peacock, a sophomore, has put together a solid year, placing second at the Big Ten Championships and fourth in the Great Lakes Regional. Juniors Craig Miller and Ryan Gasper also figure to play big roles in the Badgers’ shot at the title.
Other top-ranked teams — such as Oregon, Oklahoma State and Stanford — stand in the way of the Badgers winning the title.
“There are obviously some big guns out there,” Byrne said. “Anytime you go to a national championship, there are a couple of favorites, and certainly Oklahoma State and Oregon are the big favorites. But behind all those guys, No. 3 and 4, we think that we’re in there with a shot.”
Another factor that could play into the race is the weather. Coming from the colder Midwestern climate, the Badgers hope to have temperatures down in the 20s or 30s for today’s race. Wisconsin is used to running in colder temperatures, whereas the West Coast teams are not.
“We’re looking for it to be pretty cool, and that’s the condition that our kids like,” Byrne said. “They feel comfortable running in anything around 30 degrees.”
A championship would mean quite a bit not only for the seniors but also to Byrne, the Great Lakes Coach of the Year and first-year Badgers coach. After spending over two decades at Iona College, Byrne came to Wisconsin to replace former head coach Jerry Schumacher. There has been no drop off, as this year’s team won its 10th consecutive Big Ten title and seventh straight Great Lakes Regional title. Today, Byrne looks to keep one more streak alive as the Badgers look for their seventh straight top five at the NCAA Championships.
“When we go to Terre Haute on Monday, the goal has been throughout the season to get back on the podium as one of the top four teams,” Byrne said. “It’s going to come down to who’s going to put it together on the date.”