Year after year, the Badger men's track team continues to be a staple of success for the athletic department at Wisconsin. This past weekend was just a glimpse of what is to come for this potent squad.
Competing at two meets, the Meyo Invitational at Norte Dame and the Panther Classic in Cedar Falls, Iowa, the team sported many outstanding individual performances, collecting two automatic bids and four provisional qualifications for the NCAA Indoor Championships in Sacramento, California, as well as breaking a school record.
Ed Nuttycombe, who is now in his 22nd season as the Badgers' head coach, understood that it was a productive weekend, but saw the successful meets as something that was simply just another step in the right direction.
\We had a very good weekend at Norte Dame and we had a few pretty good performances at Northern Iowa,"" Nuttycombe said. ""I thought it was a good developmental weekend as a whole.""
The stars of the weekend were the distance runners at the Meyo Invitational, picking up five of the qualifications, headlined by senior Matt Tegenkamp. Tegenkamp, a four-time All-American in track, broke his own UW record in the 3000 meters, when he finished third with a time of 7:51.75 seconds. The previous record was set last season, when Tegenkamp posted a time of 7:55.14.
Tegenkamp continues to earn the respect of his coach and solidify his place in UW track history by holding three school records. After four years of watching Tegenkamp mature and progress, Nuttycombe praises the senior for his efforts, drive and resolve.
""He's a very determined young man who is very individually concerned about his own development which is why he's done as well as he has, but he's also a great team guy. He just told me just a moment ago, 'We have got to quit playing around. We have got to get some guys qualified for the NCAAs,'"" Nuttycombe said. ""It's just a pleasure to work with highly motivated athletes like that.""
Tegenkamp was not the only star of the Meyo Invitational. Sophomore Chris Solinksy received an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships with a time of 7:53.14 in the 3,000 meters, while junior Simon Bairu picked up a provisional mark with a time of 8:04.95.
The season continues this weekend, when the Badgers travel to Ames, Iowa to compete in the Cyclone Invitational on Friday and Saturday, and the Husky Classic in Seattle on Saturday as well. As far as prospects for the rest of the season, Nuttycombe makes sure to emphasize that the goals of the Badgers are two-fold.
""Our goals are to defend our championship Big Ten indoors, because there are a couple of teams that are really very good and try to improve on our tenth place finish from last year,"" he said.
