FINAL MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY RELEASE • 2006

WISCONSIN TAKES SECOND AT 2006 SCHEDULE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS

Sept. 9 at Pioneer Harrier Invitational For the fourth time in the last five seasons, Waukesha, Wis. (1st/17 pts) the men’s cross country team placed second at the NCAA championships. After taking Sept. 23 at Roy Griak Invitational home the fourth team title in school history last Minneapolis, Minn. (NTS) season, the Badgers scored 142 points to finish Sept. 29 at Notre Dame Invitational 48 points behind winner Colorado. The Buffalos South Bend, Ind. (8th/188 pts) also bested Wisconsin for the 2004 title. For the Badgers, sophomore Stu Eagon Oct. 14 at Jim Drews Invitational (Portland, Ore.) led the way, placing 11th overall La Crosse, Wis. (1st/37 pts) in 31:13 to earn his second career All-America Oct. 29 at Big Ten Championships honor. Also placing in the top 25 and earning Bloomington, Ind. (1st/27 pts) All-America honors were senior , (Palo Cedro, Calif.) in 31:24 and sophomore Nov. 11 at NCAA Great Lakes Regional Matt Withrow (Tinley Park, Ill.) in 31:26. It was Bowling Green, Ohio (1st/52 pts) Nelson and Withrow’s second career All-America honors. Nov. 20 at NCAA Championship Terre Haute, Ind. (2nd/142 pts) Senior Chris Solinsky (Stevens Point, Wis.), a pre-meet favorite for the individual title, strug- gled with the fast early pace and the muddy Sophomore Stu Eagon led the way for the course, falling behind to finish fourth on the Quick Facts Badgers at the NCAA championships, fin- team and 73rd overall in 32:15 seconds. ishing 11th overall in 31:13. Freshman Craig Miller (Lancaster, Pa.) ran Head Coach: (9th year) an impressive race, finishing fifth on the team Alma Mater: Wisconsin, 1993 and 90th overall in 32:30. Sophomore Christian Wagner (Columbus, Ind.) was 95th in Volunteer Assistant Coach: John Garey 32:33.9 while Freshman of the Year Brandon Bethke (Lake Forest, Calif.) finished 198th in 33:43.5. 2006 Results: Big Ten Championships: 1st GREAT LAKES REGIONAL All-Big Ten: Stu Eagon, Tim At the NCAA Great Lakes Regional, Wisconsin captured its 22nd title. The Badgers Nelson, Chris Solinsky, Matt scored 52 points to best No. 18 Notre Dame by 52 points, qualifying for their 35th consec- Withrow, Christian Wagner, utive NCAA championship. It was Wisconsin’s fifth consecutive regional title and makes Brandon Bethke them the only team to qualify for all 35 national championships since regional qualifying NCAA Great Lakes Regional: 1st began in 1972. All-Region: Stu Eagon, Chris Solinsky, Craig Miller, Brandon Youth carried the day for the Badgers as four of Wisconsin’s top five runners were Bethke, Andrew Lacy underclassmen. Eagon led the way for the Badgers, covering the 10,000-meter course in NCAA Championships: 2nd 31:07.65 seconds to place fifth. It was the third meet this season that Eagon was All-American: Stu Eagon, Tim Wisconsin’s top finisher. Nelson, Matt Withrow Solinsky finished only a step behind Eagon, placing sixth in 31:07.67. Next for the Badgers were a trio of freshmen led by Miller, who finished ninth in 31:25.71. Following Athletic Communications: close behind was Bethke, who placed 10th in 31:25.71. Rounding out the scoring for Ryan Hessenthaler Wisconsin was freshman Andrew Lacy (McFarland, Wis.), who crossed the line in Phone: (608) 262-1811 31:49.52 to finish 22nd. All five UW runners earned all-region honors. Email: [email protected] Senior Codie See (Chippewa Falls, WIs.) (31:59.83) and junior Ben Porter (East Troy, Diane Nordstrom Wis.) (32:22.47) also ran for Wisconsin, placing 32nd and 47th, respectively. Phone: (608) 262-9024 BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS Email: [email protected] At the 2006 Big Ten Championships, Wisconsin captured its eighth straight conference championship and had six runners earn All-Big Ten honors. The Badgers scored 27 points to best second-place Michigan by 58 points, the third largest margin of victory in confer- ence history. The UW tied its own conference mark for consecutive titles set between 1985 and 1992.

University of Wisconsin • Intercollegiate Athletics Kellner Hall • 1440 Monroe Street • Madison, Wisconsin 53711 (608) 262-1866 • www.uwbadgers.com Minnesota sophomore Chris Rombough took home the individual title by covering the 2006 Honors 8000-meter course in 24:05, narrowly edging runner-up Eagon, who finished a step behind in 24:06. Besides Eagon, Nelson (24:26), Wagner (24:27) and Solinsky (24:39) also Brandon Bethke garnered first-team All-Big Ten honors, placing fourth, fifth and seventh, respectively. Big Ten Freshman of the Year Solinsky, who was expected to compete for the individual title, was slowed by the lingering Second-team All-Big Ten effects of the flu. All-Great Lakes Region Withrow (24:41) placed ninth and Bethke (24:44) finished 11th to earn second-team Big Ten Runner of the Week, 9-12 All-Big Ten honors. Also for the Badgers were Lacy (24:58) and Miller (25:14), who Stu Eagon finished 17th and 21st, respectively, while See finished 22nd in 25:16. All-American JIM DREWS INVITATIONAL First-team All-Big Ten At the Jim Drews Invitational, Wisconsin claimed its fourth consecutive team title by All-Great Lakes Region scoring a meet-best 37 points in the 31-team invitational, narrowly edging No. 8 Portland Big Ten Runner of the Week, 9-26 by four points. Portland’s John Moore led all 451 runners to win the individual title, cover- Andrew Lacy ing the 8000-meter course in 24:08.29 seconds. All-Great Lakes Region The Badgers placed four runners in the top ten and were led by Wagner, who finished Craig Miller third in 24:19.53. Bethke was the second Wisconsin harrier to cross the finish line, placing fifth overall in 24:29.79. See and Miller followed close behind, finishing seventh and ninth, All-Great Lakes Region respectively, with times of 24:40.94 and 24:41.88. Lacy rounded out the scoring for the Tim Nelson UW, placing 13th in 24:51. All-American Redshirt freshman Ryan Gasper (Fort Atkinson, Wis.) and Porter also ran for First-team All-Big Ten Wisconsin, placing 16th and 21st in times of 24:54 and 25:01, respectively. Academic All-Big Ten NOTRE DAME INVITATIONAL Tim Pierie At the 51st Notre Dame Invitational, the Badgers placed eighth out of 20 teams in the Academic All-Big Ten Blue Division, scoring 188 points. Wisconsin was led by Solinsky’s second consecutive Joe Pierre individual meet title. Then-unranked North Carolina State bested six top-30 teams to win Academic All-Big Ten the team title, scoring 86 points to finish 23 ahead of runner up No. 27 Providence College. Chris Solinsky In his first action of the season, Solinsky bested 165 other runners, covering the 8,000- meter course in 23:24 seconds to finish ahead of second place finisher Seth Pilkingon of First-team All-Big Ten Weber State. At last year’s Notre Dame Invitational, Solinsky beat the 200 runner field for All-Great Lakes Region his first collegiate cross country individual title. Christian Wagner Bethke placed next for the young Badgers squad, finishing 25th in a time of 24:23. He First-team All-Big Ten was followed by Lacy and Miller, who placed 42nd and 54th, respectively, in 24:44 and Academic All-Big Ten 24:55. Gasper rounded out the scoring for the Badgers, placing 68th in 25:03. Porter was the final Wisconsin harrier to cross the finish line, placing 119th in 25:43. Matt Withrow All-American ROY GRIAK INVITATIONAL Second-team All-Big Ten Wisconsin ran only four runners at the 21st annual Roy Griak Invitational, and as such did not qualify to place as a team. Eagon led the Badgers, covering the 8,000-meter course in 24:37.3 seconds to finish eighth overall, the best finish of any Big Ten runner at the meet. For his efforts, Eagon was named the Big Ten Runner of the Week. Wagner placed 21st overall with a time of 25:12.35 while See was the third Badger har- rier to cross the finish line, placing 47th overall in 25:46.80. Miller, competing in his first meet in a Badger uniform, rounded out the squad with a time of 26:25.65, good for 122nd place. PIONEER HARRIER INVITATIONAL In its their first meet of the season, the Badgers won the Pioneer Harrier Invitational in dominant fashion, scoring 17 points and besting second-place Monmouth by 59 points. The Badgers swept the top-four spots, placing all five of their runners in the top seven. Wisconsin was led by Bethke, who ran the 8,000-meter course in 25:50 to take first place in his first meet wearing a Wisconsin uniform. Bethke would be named Big Ten Runner of the Week for his performance. Wagner finished just a step behind Bethke, also posting a 25:50, to secure second place. Gasper and Porter took the next two spots, finishing in 25:53 and 25:55, respective- ly, to place third and fourth overall. Redshirt freshman Tim Pierie (Mokena, Ill.) rounded out the scoring for the Badgers, placing seventh in a time of 26:45. 2006 INDIVIDUAL RESULTS Carroll Roy College Griak Notre Dame Jim Drews Big Ten Great Lakes NCAA Athlete Invitational Invitational Invitational Invitational Champ. Regional Champ. Brandon Bethke, Fr. 25:50 DNC 24:23 24:29.79 24:44 31:26.83 33:43.5 1st/1st 2nd/25th 2nd/5th 6th/11th 4th/10th 7th/198th Stu Eagon, So. DNC 24:37.30 DNC DNC 24:06 31:07.65 31:12.1 1st/8th 1st/2nd 1st/5th 1st/11th Ryan Gasper, Fr. 25:53 DNC 25:03 24:54 DNC DNC DNC 3rd/3rd 5th/68th 6th/21st Andrew Lacy, Fr. DNC DNF 24:44 24:51 24:58 31:49.52 DNC 3rd/42nd 5th/13th 7th/17th 5th/22nd Craig Miller, Fr. DNC 26:25.65 24:55 24:21.88 25:14 31:25.71 32:30.0 4th/122nd 4th/54th 4th/9th 6th/21st 4th/9th 5th/90th Tim Nelson, Sr. DNC DNC DNC DNC 24:26 DNC 31:23.3 3rd/4th 2nd/18th Tim Pierie, Fr. 26:45 DNC DNC DNC DNC DNC DNC 5th/7th Ben Porter, Jr. 25:55 DNC 25:43 25:00.66 DNC 32:22.47 DNC 4th/4th 6th/119th 7th/21st 7th/47th Codie See, Sr. DNC 25:46.80 DNC 24:40.94 25:16 31:59.83 DNC 3rd/47th 3rd/7th 7th/22nd 6th/32nd Chris Solinsky, Sr. DNC DNC 23:40 DNC 24:39 31:07.67 32:15.0 1st/1st 4th/7th 2nd/6th 4th/73rd Christian Wagner, So. 25:50 25:12.70 DNC 24:19.53 24:27 DNC 32:33.9 2nd/2nd 2nd/21st 1st/3rd 4th/5th 6th/95th Matt Withrow, So. DNC DNC DNC DNC 24:41 DNC 31:25.7 5th/9th 3rd/24th Results and time UW place/overall place

2006 TEAM RESULTS

Sept. 9 at Pioneer Harrier Invitational, Waukesha, Wis. Oct. 29 at Big Ten Championships, Bloomington, Ind. (1st/12 teams) (1st/11 teams) 1. Wisconsin 17 1.Wisconsin 27 2. Monmouth College 76 2. Michigan 85 3. St. Norbert College 89 3. Minnesota 98 4. UW-Oshkosh 98 4. Michigan State 114 5. Milwaukee School of Engineering 129 5. Iowa 136 Sept. 23 at Roy Griak Invitational, Minneapolis, Minn. Nov. 11 at NCAA Great Lakes Regional, Bowling Green, Ohio (NTS) (1st/31 teams) 1. Arizona 143 1.Wisconsin 52 2. Minnesota 153 2. Notre Dame 104 3. Virginia 173 3. Butler 107 4. Arizona State 182 4. Michigan State 113 5. Iowa State 207 5. Eastern Michigan 137 Sept. 29 Notre Dame Invitational, South Bend, Ind. Nov. 20 at NCAA Championship, Terre Haute, Ind. (8th/20 teams) (2nd/31 teams) 1. North Carolina State 86 1. Colorado 94 2. Providence College 109 2. Wisconsin 142 3. Michigan 123 3. Iona 172 4. Notre Dame 160 4. Stanford 195 8. Wisconsin 188 5. Oregon 196 Oct. 14 Jim Drews Invitational, La Crosse, Wis. (1st/31 teams) 1.Wisconsin 37 2. Portland 41 3. Minnesota 78 4. UW-La Crosse 181 5. Hamline 218