The Wisconsin men's and women's cross-country programs prepare for battle in the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Meet in Bowling Green, Ohio this Saturday. Both programs are coming off of respective first and second-place finishes at the 2006 Big Ten Cross-Country Championships only two weeks ago. The men won their record-tying eighth straight conference championship while the women matched their highest finish since 2000, when they went on to finish eighth in the NCAA National Championship Meet.
Wisconsin's cross-country program received special honors this week. Men's coach Jerry Schumacher was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year for the seventh time in eight years. Also, the men's Brandon Bethke and the women's Hanna Grinaker were both named Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
Bethke finished 11th at the men's Big Ten Championship Meet with a time of 24:44, earning him second-team all conference honors, along with sophomore teammate Matt Withrow, who finished with a time of 24:41. Grinaker finished third overall at the women's Big Ten Championship Meet with a time of 20:39.
In order to win at the Great Lakes Regional Meet on Saturday, both the men's and the women's programs will have to rely on the perserverance of their youth as well as the leadership of their upperclassmen. Both men's coach Jerry Schumacher and women's coach Jim Stintzi praised their freshmen for their performances at the Big Ten Championship Meet.
In the same respect, each team had two seniors finish at least in the top 14. For the men, Tim Nelson placed fourth and Chris Solinsky placed seventh, while for the women, Katrina Rundhaug and A'Havahla Haynes finished 13th and 14th, respectively. Both teams pose a threat at the Regional Meet because of their ability to post an all-out team effort.
This weekend, both programs look to further their dominance in the world of NCAA cross-country. The women's race begins at 11:00 a.m., while the men start off at 1:15 p.m.
