The Badgers men's cross-country team opened the season with a sweep at the Huskie Open Saturday. Taking the top five spots, Wisconsin dominated the competition on a rain-soaked course in Dekalb, Ill., the home course of the Northern Illinois Huskies.
Despite the poor weather, it was a great race today,"" head coach Mick Byrne said. ""Our older guys took control by running with the younger guys in order to lead the way and set a nice pace. It was really great to see the teammates run together and work so well so early in the season.""
The mix of older and younger runners included freshman Elliot Krause, sophomore Ryan Craven, junior Ryan Gasper and senior Christian Wagner, all of whom finished the race as a group with a time of 26:40. The race was the first for the men's team under Byrne, who liked what he saw from his team.
""We are right where we want to be right now,"" Byrne said. ""We have guys running well and no one overworked themselves because they were controlled and smart while running. From here we are going to take it on a week-by-week basis and I'm excited for the rest of the season.""
Finishing fifth was Badger junior Tim Pierie, who crossed the finish line with a time of 27:11. Rounding out the Badger finishers were redshirt freshmen Phil Thomas (13th) and Sam Frederick (18th). The Badgers next compete in Chicago at the Sean Earl Loyola Lakefront Invitational on Sept. 27.
Women's cross-country takes top seven spots
The Badgers women's cross-country team saw similar dominant results at the Huskie Open Saturday, claiming the top seven times in the race. The team finished with 10 of the top 11 times, starting the season with a determined team effort. Head coach Jim Stintzi was impressed with the initial showing, especially considering the rain-soaked conditions.
""The conditions were horrendous from the moment we got there to the last finisher,"" Stintzi said. ""We came into today's meet knowing that it wasn't going to be one of our harder meets but I was happy with how the team did, but I still believe that we have more to offer.""
The top seven all finished within 45 seconds of each other, including the top four finishing within seven seconds of each other. Junior Hanna Grinaker led the way with a time of 18:36, followed by senior Gwen Jorgensen (18:37), freshman Caitlin Comfort (18:42) and sophomore Leah Coyle (18:43).
Like the men's team, the women boast a solid mix of young talent, in addition to a core group of veterans. As encouraging as the results were, coach Stintzi still sees some room for improvement as the season wears on.
""The competition will continue to get tougher starting with this next coming weekend,"" Stintzi said. ""As a coach it was good to see the girls compete in uniform and be able to work together in a competitive atmosphere. From here the training will progress as we move
forward towards a great season.""
In all, the Badgers brought 17 runners
to the event, showcasing promising racers with a lot to contribute to the team. In their next event, the team will head to Iowa State on Saturday, Sept. 20.
- uwbadgers.com contributed to this report.
