A strong team performance early in the season points to a promising future for the men's cross country team. The No. 1 nationally ranked team came away with their eleventh Roy Griak Invitational championship, and second consecutive team win in Minneapolis last Saturday. Six UW runners finished in the top 10, including Badger finishes in first, second and third place.
The first place finish garnered senior Matt Tegenkamp the Big Ten Runner of the Week honor. Saturday was Tegenkamp's first race since an injury in 2003.
\It was a nice honor for him and he appreciates that, but he's just focused on doing what he needs to do to be a contributing member of this squad,"" Head Coach Jerry Schumacher said. ""The team is really focused on being a team, and that doesn't play into anything we do.""
Schumacher was pleased with the overall team success and attributed much of it to the ""team"" effort and mentality he supports.
""When you have 17 guys who are pulling together and striving for a common goal, and then to accomplish that goal, I don't know if there's a better experience than that,"" Schumacher said.
The support among the team on Saturday was strong enough to reach numerous team and individual goals. The team finished first in the invitational with 21 total team points, dominating runner-up Butler University, who finished with a total of 102 team points. Tegenkamp (24:02), junior Simon Bairu (24:07) and sophomore Chris Solinsy (24:11) finished first, second and third, respectively.
""It was a very pleasant surprise,"" said Schumacher of the successful finish. ""I didn't anticipate doing that. I just like to go into every race and see our guys compete and run well and usually good things happen from that.""
Senior Josh Spiker (24:29), sophomore Tim Nelson (24:34) and senior Tim Keller (24:35) finished in seventh, eighth and ninth places, respectively.
""[Tegenkamp, Bairu and Solinsky] were running one, two and three from 800 meters out already, so I had a feeling they were going to finish like that, but the seventh, eighth, and ninth finishers were really a surprise in that they had moved up since I last saw them,"" Schumacher said.
Although individual performance is a focus of athletes in any collegiate sport, the team focus has enhanced the overall performance and success of the cross country team.
""Being able to check your ego and focus on the team and not on your individual accomplishments is what strengthens our team and makes them a good team,"" Schumacher said.
A No. 1 national ranking comes as no surprise to the current success of the team. The honor of this ranking is encouraging to the team at this point. However, Schumacher and the team are looking to prove their strength and talent in the future.
""It's nice to be looked upon as one of the top contenders for the national title, but the team and myself know that it really comes down to the national meet, and we have to be able to go out there and do our best that day,"" Schumacher said.
Schumacher encourages the team to continue its success this season, yet also focuses heavily on using the team mentality to get the full experience out of their career as collegiate athletes.
""Many of them will go on after college and become competitors in racing and contend for individual accolades,"" Schumacher said. ""The team experience in college is four years to win championships and do things as a unit. That is an experience that they won't get again after college and they want to make the most of that.""
After a three-week break, the team will be back at it as they travel to the Jim Drews Invitational in LaCrosse on Oct. 16 with intentions of continuing team success.
