WEST SALEM, Wis.-The UW men's cross country team ran as a team and won as a team Saturday at Maple Grove Country Club golf course, just outside La Crosse, Wis.
The Badgers took the Jim Drews Invitational for the third year in a row, capturing the title with 30 points. Five runners placed in the top ten, with junior Simon Bairu leading with a fourth-place finish.
The team lived up to its top national ranking, though Head Coach Jerry Schumacher said the team's top spot did not figure into the quality of the performance.
\I don't think this really showed why we would be ranked number one or not ranked number one,"" he said. ""Today we did exactly what we wanted to do.""
The men's squad stuck together through the entire course, facing the eight-kilometers as a single pack. At no point in the race did the top five Badger runners move more than a couple of yards apart.
The finishing times attest to their strength as a team. Bairu clocked in at 24:42.8, followed by senior Matt Tegenkamp, senior Tim Keller, junior Bobby Lockhart and sophomore Chris Solinsky, all at 24:44.
The team performance was precisely what Schumacher wanted to see.
""We had this meet on our schedule because it serves an important purpose in our preparation for the championship meet next week,"" he said. ""The guys executed the race plan exactly the way they should have and they did what we needed to do.""
The race kicked off at 10:30 a.m. beneath an overcast sky and in the shadow of the nearby bluffs. Runners faced 40-degree temperatures, intermittent drizzle, 10 mile-per-hour winds and leaves drifting across the course with every gust.
The weather had little effect on the team, which finished in high spirits and anticipates their next meet, the Big Ten Championship in Iowa City, Iowa, Oct. 31.
Schumacher said the squad will have to run the Championship differently than Saturday's race.
""We're looking forward to it,"" he said. ""Obviously it's a much different race and a much different race plan for our team. We know there's always great competition and to see what we can do that day.""
Behind Wisconsin, the Minnesota squad came in second with 40 points.
Minnesota's score struck Schumacher as a testament to the strength of Big Ten running.
""I think that's awesome,"" he said. ""I think it shows the strength of our conference. I think it's one of the premier conferences of distance running in the country.""
Iowa State grabbed third with 97 points, followed by UW-La Crosse with 151 and Haverford with 192.
Don Fritsch, head coach of the UW-La Crosse team, praised the performance of the larger schools.
""It was a spectacular race,"" he said. ""The [Division I] people just add an unbelievable flavor to the meet.""
Fritsch said the scores of Wisconsin and Minnesota were deceptive. He noted that Minnesota ran harder, while Wisconsin could ease off a little.
""Wisconsin didn't come close to maxing out in this race. When it comes time to throw down and go, Minnesota won't be able to compete.""
