The UW men's cross country team heads into the NCAA Championship in Terre Haute, Ind. ranked No. 1 by the NCAA MONDO Division 1 Poll. The Badgers finished with 13 first place votes and 477 points, just 10 points ahead of No. 2 Arkansas, who received three first place votes. Ending national champion Colorado finished its season at No. 3. UW entered the season with the number one ranking, losing it to Arkansas in the October 5 poll, only to regain it in the November 2 poll.
The cardinal and white recently captured UW's 21st Great Lakes Regional Championship, with four runners finishing in the top ten. The depth of this year's talented team has even caused a predicament for head coach Jerry Schumacher for the upcoming race.
'We've obviously been very fortunate to have a very deep team this year with four of those guys being seniors,' Schumacher said. 'We haven't made any decisions yet as to our seven-person lineup, but we're confident that whatever seven race on Monday, they will be ready to go.'
Senior Simon Bairu will most likely be a part of this lineup. Bairu is a two-time Big Ten Cross Country Athlete of the Year, two-time NCAA cross country All-American, and last year's individual national champion. He became the third athlete in UW history to win the individual title, clocking in with a time of 30:37.7. Bairu is not the only Badger standout. Junior Chris Solinsky is a two-time All-Big Ten runner, a two-time All-American, and the runner-up to Bairu in the last two Big Ten Championships. Solinsky finished 16th at last year's NCAA Championship.
'I think personally I've done enough to get myself in good enough shape to help the team,' Solinsky said. 'That's been my whole drive and whole desire this year.'
As far as the team goes, there are plenty of squads that could give the top-ranked Badgers a run for their money. Schumacher cited Arkansas, Colorado, and Arizona as teams that will challenge UW.
'There are a handful of teams that can win and it's really going to come down to who manages the day the best and who gets the job done that day,' Schumacher said. The team championship is the first priority for UW. After last year's second-place finish to Colorado, the team enters the championship starving for a national title.
'I think the team as a whole is incredibly hungry for this championship,' Solinsky said. 'I think I speak for everyone on the team saying that we're going to do whatever we can to get the job done, and go in there with the right mindset to hopefully accomplish our main goal, which is to win the title.'
