The University of Wisconsin-Madison women’s cross country team placed fifth overall at the 2024 Nuttycombe Invitational on Friday at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course, while the men’s team rested their top runners despite the great competition present at the meet.
A blue sky coupled with good weather all but ensured excellent races were in the mix for Friday’s meet. Though normally considered one of the nation’s most prestigious races, this year’s Nuttycombe Invite had a very different feeling to it.
Many of the teams that are normally present, including historically successful programs such as Northern Arizona University and Oklahoma State, didn’t attend due to the meet being held nearly a month ahead of its usual date in October.
Instead, teams that did compete posted incredible performances, including Senior Parker Wolfe from The University of North Carolina, who broke the Nuttycombe men’s course record.
The women’s 6k race went first, boasting a strong lineup of 13 of the top 25 teams in the nation, including No.4 Oregon and No.5 Washington.
The Wisconsin women’s team were ranked 19th in the nation coming into the meet and were able to put five of their runners in the top 50 of the race.
Top finishers for the Badgers included Shea Ruhly, who placed 30th (20:40.6), Lindsay Cunningham, who placed 31st (20:41.2) and Carolyn Shult, who placed 36th (20:50.5).
Cunningham is off to a particularly strong start to her season, as she was named the Big Ten Women’s Cross Country Athlete of the Week following her strong performance in the Big Ten Preview earlier in the season.
Sadie Sigfstead of Villanova had a convincing victory in the women’s race with a time of 19:55.7, and the top team scored 110 points. The Badgers women placed fifth as a team with a score of 182 points.
The men’s race was just as packed with top talent, including 17 of the top 30 teams in the nation. Among these participants were No.2 Brigham Young University and No.5 Iowa State.
The Wisconsin men’s team did not race their top runners, however, electing to rest them ahead of the long season that will include two more races at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course.
The only runners for the Badgers men included freshman Nick Gilles (24:55.7), freshman Zach Temple (26:19.4) and senior Oliver Paleen (26:41.6), who competed in the men’s 8k B race.
Capitalizing on the great weather in the men’s championship race, Wolfe broke the course record with a time of 23:04.0. Wolfe competed in the Olympic trials earlier this year, where he placed third in the men’s 5000-meter run.
As a team, BYU came away with a dominant victory, posting a score of only 44 points — 64 points less than the next best team of Iowa State. BYU put four of their top five runners in the top ten and are a clear contender to vie for a national championship later this fall.
With strong races across the board for many of the teams present at the meet, there is much to look forward to in the upcoming weeks. The Badgers will move on to the Sean Earl Lakefront Invitational in Chicago on Oct. 4 before returning home for the highly anticipated Wisconsin Pre-Nationals meet back on the Zimmer Championship Course.
