the leadership of a new head coach with the entire squad returning, the Wisconsin men's cross country team will be in the running for a 10th straight Big Ten championship, as well as the NCAA team title this fall.
Mick Byrne, who turned Iona into a crosscountry powerhouse in 18 years as head coach there, will take over the UW men's program. Under Byrne, Iona finished top-10 at the NCAA championships in each of the last six years and was the runner-up last year for its highest finish ever. Byrne, a Dublin, Ireland native, ran for Providence college and still holds the school record in the 4-mile relay set in 1977.
Byrne will replace Jerry Schumacher, who is leaving to coach professional runners in Portland, Ore. under a Nike contract. Schumacher's team of professional runners is made up of mostly former Badgers, including 2005 graduate Matt Tegenkamp who recently placed 13th in the 5,000 meters at the Beijing Olympics. Schumacher sets a high bar for Byrne, as the Badgers have earned an NCAA national title, five runner-up finishes and a record nine-straight Big Ten titles in his 10-year stint as head coach.
With a young team, Wisconsin placed fifth at the NCAA championships last year, a low point after finishing among the top two every year since 2001. Matt Withrow, last year's Big Ten champion, and fellow senior Stuart Eagon - who both earned All-American honors in cross country - are expected to lead the team.
UW's success this season will likely hinge on how top-notch sprinters, including sophomores Jack Bolas and Evan Jager and junior Craig Miller, adapt to the long-distance cross country races.
Bolas, Miller and Jager placed third, fourth and eighth, respectively, in the 1,500 meter final in at the NCAA track championships in June.
Juniors Brandon Bethke and Ryan Gasper had break-out seasons in track, each winning individual Big Ten titles.
Also returning from last year's nationals team are juniors Landon Peacock and Andrew Lacy and senior Christian Wagner.
Wisconsin's top competition for the NCAA title this year will likely be Oregon, the returning champs, as well as Iona - Byrne's old team.
Women's preview
The Wisconsin women's cross country team is in position to improve upon last year's 21st place finish at the NCAA championships with most top runners returning as well as a large class of newcomers.
Last year's tandem of junior Hanna Grinaker and sophomore Cassie Hintz will likely lead the way for the Badgers in 2008. Grinaker and Hintz battled each other for the squad's No. 1 spot throughout the season. The duo finished within three places of each other at every competition until mononucleosis kept Hintz from racing in the last few meets.
Grinaker took 25th at the NCAA championships last year, earning All-American honors.
In March, head coach Jim Stintzi touted his recruiting class as the best since he began coaching at UW five years ago.
Newcomers are expected to make a strong impact this season, as nearly half of the women's team - 11 out of 24 - are freshmen. With a plethora of high school state titles and records in their respective states, Nadya Bishton of Arizona and Ashley Beutler of New Glarus, Wis., have the best chance to compete on the conference and nationals teams.
Senior Gwen Jorgensen, who used to swim for UW, joined the top tier of collegiate runners and was named an All-American in track after finishing seventh in the 5,000 meters at the NCAA championships.
Junior Alicia Pabich, sophomore Leah Coyle and senior Sarah Hurley are the other returning veterans of cross country nationals. Also, senior Maggie Collison competed at the Big Ten championships last year.
The first competition for the women's team will be the Northern Illinois Huskey Open on Sept. 13. On that same day, the men's team will race for the first time in Waukesha, Wis., at the Pioneer Invitational hosted by Carroll College.
- uwbadgers.com
contributed to this report.
