Members of the 2005 championship Wisconsin cross-country team traveled to Washington, D.C. to meet with President Bush today. The team is being recognized for NCAA Honors Day, which honors collegiate teams that have won national titles.
The Badgers who went to Washington, D.C. include seniors Simon Bairu, Antony Ford, Ben Gregory, Bobby Lockhart; juniors Tim Nelson and Chris Solinsky; and freshmen Stuart Eagon, Christian Wagner, and Matt Withrow.
The Wisconsin runners are thrilled for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
I'm very excited,\ Withrow said. ""It's one of those things you always hear about or see in movies; people who do these amazing, great things and end up going to the White House. I never thought that just by running cross country, I'd be going to meet the President.""
""One of the things that keeps running through my mind is its kind of cool feat. ... On TV, everyone talks about meeting the President and for our team to do it because we won nationals is pretty cool. [It's] kind of a nice little bonus to add on to the end of our season,"" Solinsky added.
Solinsky received an added honor as he was the only team member selected to sit at the podium during Bush's speech. The Badgers will be presenting Bush with a University of Wisconsin gift basket.
""[Presenting the President with gifts] definitely makes it a little more special because I'm the one who is personally going to meet him,"" said Solinsky. ""It's a pretty special honor to be the one picked. I'm looking forward to that.""
Not only are the Badgers meeting the President, they are also meeting Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis. While in Washington, D.C., the team is taking a tour of the U.S. Capitol building as well as the White House. Although they don't have time to visit other landmarks, the Badgers will make do with the monuments.
The highlight for the Badgers will be meeting the President and also taking a team photo with Bush.
""I'd like to shake his hand. That would be nice,"" Withrow said.
—uwbadgers.com contributed to this report.
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