Re-Cap of Wisconsin Inter-Regional Meet.

Thomas Zimmer Cross-Country Course. Madison, WI

Men-

Despite our men bringing up the rear in the team results, I was actually pretty happy with the way we competed. I would say that this was our best meet of the season so far. This was an extremely competitive meet with 8 of the 12 Division 1 teams being ranked in the top 30 in the nation. I knew we were a little over our heads going into this meet, but if you want to be one of the best, you have to compete against the best. The course was pretty soft and a little bit muddy in some sections so the fact that we put 6 guys under 26:05 was pretty solid. I definitely think this meet was a step in the right direction for us and we're looking forward to Pre-Nationals in Terre Haute, Indiana.

46. Nick Szczech 25:08 Junior

65. Blake Johnson 25:31 Soph.

70. Brice Cleland 25:50 Junior

72. Peter Bolgert 25:56 Soph.

73. Connor Callahan 26:00 Fresh.

75. Dominick Rosario 26:05 Soph.

83. Patrick Keeley 26:38 Soph.

The course is absolutely gorgeous. The university ridge golf course is right across the street from the XC course. The grounds-keepers who take care of the golf course also take care of the XC course. The footing is completely smooth and there are special paths for spectators to use as they walk/run from point to point. Wisconsin will be bidding to host the NCAA national championships in the next few years. The only two drawbacks in their bid will be the parking situation(extremely limited) and the perceived harsh weather. There is only enough parking for about 40-50 vehicles at the course. Every spectator had to park at Verona High School and pay $5 to be shuttled to the course. There will be those who object to having the championship in late November in Wisconsin. They are scared to have another championship like the one at Iowa State in 2000 or Northern Iowa in 2003. Those people are wimps, but they do have a voice. I think the course could probably hold a national championship, but Pre-Nationals would be tight. Should be interesting to follow the developments of the facility.

Women-

This meet was definitely the tale of two teams. At the Parkside meet two weeks ago, almost every single girl ran a solid race. At the Wisconsin meet on Saturday, almost every single girl ran a poor race. We really looked flat and tired, even after only one mile. A few of the girls were sick and one of our top girls, Laurie Dalrymple, did not compete, so hopefully that was the reason for our demise. We have been having some solid practices, so I'm not too worried. We have a veteran group and I know they will come back to have a stronger race at Pre-Nationals. Hopefully we got our bad race out of the way. Here is how things turned out for us:

35. Jayne Grebinski 17:53 senior

54. Anna Weber 18:15 senior

65. Olivia Johnson 18:27 junior

67. Molly Arenberg 18:35 junior

72. Kristin Pelzel 18:54 junior

77. Amanda Beggs 19:14 senior

78. Maureen Keane 19:14 senior