The Wisconsin men’s cross country team put together a dominating performance to win the 2011 NCAA National Championship late Monday morning in Terre Haute, Ind. to claim the program’s fifth national title.
After winning their 13th consecutive Big Ten title, the Badgers entered the national championships as the No.1 ranked team in the country. Led by junior Mohammed Ahmed—Wisconsin’s top finisher who placed fifth—the team claimed their first national title under head coach Mick Byrne and the program’s first since 2005.
Seniors Elliot Krause (17th place) and Ryan Collins (23rd), as well as junior Reed Connor (36th) joined Ahmed as All-Americans for the Badgers.
The combined time of the best seven times on the team gave Wisconsin (97 points), a margin of victory of 42 points over the runner-up Oklahoma State (139 points).
“We’re national champions, you can’t be anything but happy,” Byrne said. “We had that target on our back all along being ranked No. 1 and we knew it was going to come down to a real tough battle, and that’s how it played out.”
UWBadgers.com contributed to this report.
