For the Wisconsin men's cross country team, the Paul Short Invitational in Bethelem, Penn., Friday will be the biggest meet until the Big Ten championships.
It may not be quite as important, but the meet is one the nation's premier races, and it will be the team's first test against serious national competition this season.
We are ready to run in a race of over 40 Division I teams and truly being tested early on in the season,"" head coach Mick Byrne said.
Byrne, who is only a few months into his coaching position at UW, will get to see some of his top runners in action for the first time when they race the 8,000 meters. The No. 6 Badgers will face 45 teams, including No. 4 Iona (Byrne's old team), No. 26 Villanova and No. 30 Syracuse.
""It will be fun to run against Iona again after a long history as their coach,"" Byrne said. ""I am very excited, but at the same time focused on beating the competition because there are a lot of strong teams competing.""
The team won't be quite at full strength, though, as seniors Matt Withrow and Stu Eagon - the top runners from last year, who have been named All-Americans - will play it safe and sit out due to nagging injuries.
A squad of mostly freshmen competed at Loyola last weekend, but the top runners haven't raced since Sept. 13 at Northern Illinois. There, sophomore Ryan Craven, junior Ryan Gasper, freshman Elliot Krause and senior Christian Wagner swept first through fourth place, in that order.
Junior Craig Miller and sophomores Landon Peacock and Jack Bolas, top runners from last year's team, will debut on the seven-man UW squad Friday.
""I think they have the ability to step up alongside Ryan Craven and Ryan Gasper to be that supporting cast for Stu Eagon and Matt Withrow,"" Byrne said. ""I'm interested to see how our team can improve from September into October.""
Krause, a rare true freshman on a team that usually gives its newcomers a redshirt year to adjust to higher mileage and tougher workouts, will compete in his first big meet as a Badger.
Women's preview
The No. 12 women's cross country team will also put its ranking on the line against good competition at the Paul Short Invitational.
The Badgers will face No. 6 Princeton, last year's team champions, as well as No. 16 Baylor and No. 29 Tennessee.
Junior Hanna Grinaker has emerged as Wisconsin's top runner at the first two races of the year, but senior Gwen Jorgensen has been right on her heels, just one second behind Grinaker in both races.
For placing third at the Iowa State Open two weeks ago, Grinaker earned the Big Ten Runner of the Week honor. Jorgensen, a former UW swimmer who converted to running as a sophomore, has emerged as a national-caliber runner after a breakout track season.
With 11 freshmen on the 24-member roster, the Badgers are relying on young runners' talent more than ever before.
Ashley Buetler and Caitlin Comfort were UW's third and fourth finishers at Iowa State, and fellow freshman Nadya Bishton won a more low-key meet in Mequon, Wis., by 25 seconds. Also, freshman Alyssa Beste was UW's seventh two weeks ago.
Sophomore Leah Coyle and senior Sarah Hurley, two top returners from last year, competed at Iowa State and should also compete Friday.
-uwbadgers.com contributed to this report.
