The Badgers cross country teams qualified for the NCAA championships at the Great Lakes Regional meet on Nov. 15 in Norton, Ohio.
Both Wisconsin men’s and women’s squads placed in the top two and did just enough to qualify for the national meet next weekend in Madison. The men’s team cruised into second place, while the women just edged out third-place Toledo by three points for second place.
Neither of the women’s or men’s races had particularly strong competition this week as only two teams including the Badgers were ranked inside the top 20 in the nation for the women’s race. Similarly, the Badgers men were the only team in the top 20 for their race.
Senior Shea Ruhly headlined the women with a strong 12th place finish and personal best of 19:55.1. Freshman Nora Gremban (16th place) and Sophomore Bella Jacobsen (17th place) also broke below the 20-minute mark, each running a 19:59. Other contributors included Senior Carolyn Shult (20:08.7), Junior Mya Bunke (20:24.2) and Annika Cutforth (20:30.3). Wisconsin’s top six women all achieved top 35 in the race.
Ranked No. 14 in the nation as of Nov. 15, the Badgers women hope to improve upon their standing in the season finale on Nov. 23.
On the other hand, the men achieved a second-place finish, earning their spot at nationals with ease. Though they didn’t have any of the top 10 finishers in the race, their pack of five runners were split by a miniscule three seconds, ensuring that the team made the cut.
For the first time all season, graduate student Bob Liking did not headline the race for the Badgers. Instead, senior Rowan Ellenberg (29:34.2) took the honors as he crossed the line first, though not by much. Liking was next (29:34.8), followed by freshman Matan Ivri (29:34.8) and senior Adam Spencer (29:35.1). Sophomore Micah Wilson (29:37.2) rounded out the top five. Their scoring pack was split by just five places, spanning from 15th to 20th.
Now that the championship season has started, the men’s distance increases from an 8k to a 10k. Despite the longer race length, the men raced smart and strong, doing just enough to qualify for nationals without having to stress too much before the most important race of the year.
The Badgers are ranked No. 9 in the nation behind historically successful schools like No. 8 Northern Arizona University and No. 7 Stanford. The men’s team will look forward to competing on their home course for NCAA Nationals, where they will put their winning formula of pack running to the test on the highest stage.
