In the middle of a busy November sports calendar, amid a surging Badger football team and a promising basketball season, Wisconsin sports fans should consider devoting a little time on Monday at around 11:45 a.m. to check in on the Badger men's cross-country team.
Coming off a 12th straight Big Ten championship two weeks ago, the Wisconsin harriers claimed their eighth straight Great Lakes Regional title in Rochester, Mich., last Saturday to qualify for the NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, Ind., on Monday.
At the regional meet, Wisconsin had five of the top 10 runners, including sophomore Reed Connor, who finished in second place, just a half-second out of first. That's a dominating team performance, but not much of a surprise. The team features three returning all-conference runners, two all-Americans and two members of the all-name team in senior Landon Peacock and sophomore Maverick Darling.
Wisconsin has won four national titles in just the last five years, and the team is (pardon the pun) on track to get back to the winner's podium this year.
"We talked about that at the beginning of the season, way back in July when the guys started training," says coach Mick Byrne. "We asked these guys to come out of the shadows of previous great Badger teams, kind of take on their own identity. I think with the win at the Big Ten championships, they've done that."