In what is becoming an annual event, the Wisconsin men's track and field team claimed its fifth consecutive Big Ten Conference indoor title this weekend in West Lafayette, Ind. The Badgers accomplished this feat by scoring a total of 144.5 points, besting pre-meet favorite Indiana by a substantial 39-point margin.
While an outsider may chalk up the team's performance as just another win, the title holds special meaning for the Badgers due to the adversity the team overcame in claiming the crown. Things looked bleak when star sprinter Demi Omole pulled up lame with a strained hamstring during the 60-meter dash, an event he was favored to win.
\It was a roller coaster ride,"" Badger head coach Ed Nuttycombe said, regarding the team's final day at the meet. ""The 60 [setback] was something we weren't counting on. It came at a time in the meet where the guys had to look around and make a decision whether they were going to fold up or ante up.""
The Badgers chose the latter and responded with a pair of outstanding performances in the 600-meter run and 200-meter dash to put them back into contention.
""I'm very pleased we responded the way we did,"" Nuttycombe said.
The Badgers locked up the title with a remarkable team effort in the 5,000-meter run, one of their strongest events. Led by first-place finisher Matt Tegenkamp, the team's lone individual champion, the Badgers placed four scorers in the event. Tegenkamp, a senior, ran his way to a second consecutive Big Ten title in the 5,000 with a time of 13:56.02. In doing so, he set a new meet record, breaking the mark he had set in 2003.
""I knew I had a chance to win but the record was more of a surprise,"" Tegenkamp said. ""[The record] wasn't our intention coming into this race. It was definitely more the points.""
The three other Badgers in the event, sophomores Chris Solinsky and Tim Nelson and junior Simon Bairu finished in second, eighth, and fifth place respectively. Solinsky, a rising star in the conference, had a particularly good showing, finishing only 3.89 seconds behind Tegenkamp.
Nuttycombe was very pleased with the team's victory, which now enables them to go after the Big Ten Triple Crown. ""It really hasn't settled in on me yet,"" he said. ""I'll just enjoy the day.\
