For more than two generations, no matter what happened with the rest of the country, there was one constant in NCAA cross country, and it was Wisconsin. From 1972 to 2014 the Badgers men qualified for every single national championship meet, a stretch of 42 consecutive years during which they captured five national titles and another eight runner-up finishes.
That historic streak came to a halt last season when the Badgers, who entered the Great Lakes regional qualifying meet needing a top-two automatic qualifying spot to make it to nationals, could only muster up a sixth-place finish.
“Last year was one of those years where it took a while to put that behind us. The kids took it very personal. It was a very difficult year for all of us,” said head coach Mick Byrne.
2016 has been a resurgent season for the 14th-ranked Badgers, and they enter this year’s regional meet with confidence and momentum after a close victory over No. 18 Michigan State at the Big Ten championships Oct. 30.
Wisconsin will face many of the same opponents from that race this friday, including No. 21 Indiana and No. 29 Michigan in addition to the Spartans. No. 25 Eastern Michigan is the final ranked team in the region, which encompases Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana and Ohio. The Badgers are the favorites on their home course, but expect MSU and Indiana to challenge for the win and the two automatic qualifying spots.
The overwhelming favorite in the individual race is Wisconsin’s Morgan McDonald, who won the Big Ten title by eight seconds over Michigan State’s Sherod Hardt. Hardt, who is the top returner from last year’s race and should be McDonald’s toughest competition, will be looking to avoid a repeat of 2014, when he lost his shoe in a fall at the start line and ran the remaining ten kilometers with a bare foot.
Wisconsin’s women’s team has not fared as well so far in 2016. Entering the year already without 2014 national runner-up Sarah Disanza, they were without 2015 Big Ten Freshman of the Year Shaelyn Sorenson for much of the season as well. Without their two most talented runners, the Badgers struggled to a 21st place finish at the Wisconsin Nuttycombe invitation in early October and appeared to be facing the prospect of a lost season.
Both Disanza and Sorenson were back for the Big Ten championships as Wisconsin finished sixth, although they showed little of their pre-injury form in finishing 24th and 49th, respectively. “You could see there were some struggles, some lack of strength from not having a lot of work done and a lot of reps,” said Byrne at Monday’s press conference. “But two weeks later, it’s incredible how fit these young women can get in two weeks, and we’re looking for a huge contribution.”
Even with strong performances from their two most talented runners, the Badgers will struggle to stay with No. 5 Michigan, but they could compete with No. 13 Eastern Michigan and No. 14 Notre Dame for the final qualifying spot.
National attention will be focused on the individual battle between two contenders for the national championship, Michigan senior Erin Finn and Notre Dame sophomore Anna Rohrer. Both are coming off of dominant wins in the conference championship meets, and the winner on Friday will likely be the favorite to capture a national title in Terre Haute on Nov. 19.
