It is late November again. A new chill has crept into the air, trees have again completed their yearly purge and the Badger men's cross-country team has secured yet another Big Ten title. This pattern has held for years, and every fall, while most Badger fans have typically concerned themselves with their football team's mediocre bowl destination, the Wisconsin men's cross-country team has been stealthily adorning its dynasty.
Lest anyone think \dynasty"" might be too strong a word, it's noteworthy that at this year's Big Ten Championship, the team strode into East Lansing, Mich., to compete against one of the strongest conferences in the nation and emerged victorious for the fifth consecutive year.
Also significant is the Badgers' sweep of the Big Ten postseason awards; sophomore Simon Bairu dominated the Big Ten championship to earn Athlete of the Year honors, and Head Coach Jerry Schumacher was named Coach of the Year for the third consecutive year. Meanwhile, Freshman of the Year Chris Solinsky finished third at the conference championship to complete the postseason award trinity.
To challenge for the national title, though, the team would again have to prove itself at the 32-team Great Lakes Regional. The Big Ten demonstrated its dominance by taking the top three spots at the competition; Wisconsin, led by pace-setting sophomore Bobby Lockhart, left Terre Haute with the regional title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship in Waterloo, Iowa.
Although the Badgers have shown their Big Ten supremacy, Schumacher has so far been unable to win a national title. Wisconsin's sojourn at No. 2 in the national polls has lasted for nearly two years, and Stanford has been staring down at the Badgers all the while. After brutally dominating their regional championship, the Cardinal remain the team to beat in Waterloo. Toppling Stanford will be a daunting task, but Schumacher is optimistic despite falling to the champs a year ago.
""We want to try and be a trophy team at the national meet. The more times I think you do that, the better chance you have of winning it,"" Schumacher said. ""It's no different than any other sport, if you can get yourself in the top four in the country year in and year out, one of these times you're going to win it. Something is bound to go right for us one of these times. Not that it hasn't, but you know, Stanford.""
Although the impetus is on Wisconsin to dethrone Stanford, Schumacher believes it will take more than high expectations to divert the Badgers' focus from their title hopes.
""You could say it's more pressure but I think that's what these guys came here for, that's what they want to be a part of,"" Schumacher said. ""They want to be a part of something that has a chance to be one of the best or if not the best program in the country.""
""This year we've been ranked second all year and there's only one place you can go to improve upon that,"" Schumacher said. ""So it would appear that the only place you could go is underachieve from that but they're really into that, that's what they're here for. They want that kind of pressure on them and they usually come through in those situations.""
Bairu, Solinsky and steadfast junior Josh Spiker will lead Wisconsin into battle Monday as they attempt to add a crucial credential to their dynasty bid. Schumacher likes the Badgers' chances.
""I think we're sitting in the similar boat that we were in last year,"" Schumacher said. ""As far as the team and the chemistry and the training, everything has moved along nicely. We're able to go into the Championship with the expectation of hopefully doing very well.""
