Stripping away distractions for college athletes is never easy, especially when it means taking away their phones.
That’s exactly what Chris Solinsky did during a preseason training trip to Door County in his first offseason leading the Wisconsin track and field and cross country programs.
“I think the first six to 10 hours, there was a little bit of withdrawal,” Solinsky said in a press conference on Aug. 31. “But by the end, they really didn't seem too phased.”
As the screen time faded, small isolated groups gave way to big group conversations, men-versus-women cooking contests and a shared focus for success in the fall. By the time the team headed back home, Solinsky had accomplished his goal for the trip.
“My request to everybody was let's make sure we don't leave this in Door County,” Solinsky said. “We're bringing this back to Madison.”
Solinsky brings more than a decade of coaching experience, most notably two years as an assistant coach at the University of Oregon, where he helped turn the program into a national force.
Long before stepping into leadership in any capacity, Solinsky already cemented himself as a Wisconsin legend. His dominance began at Stevens Point Area Senior High, where he spent his high school career rewriting the Wisconsin state record books.
He swept three cross country titles, collected eight total state championships and became just the second runner in Wisconsin history to win three consecutive 3200-meter crowns.
On the national stage, Solinsky was just as dominant. He capped his high school cross country career by winning the 2002 Foot Locker National Cross Country Championships by 21 seconds, the largest margin of victory in the history of the meet.
Leaving high school with blistering times of 4:03 in the 1600-meter run and 8:43 in the 3200-meter, He solidified his place in Wisconsin distance competitions before he ever put on a Badger uniform.
Solinsky stayed home for his collegiate career where he competed in cross country and track and field for Wisconsin from 2003 to 2007. He was named a 14 time All American and five time individual national champion.
At the press conference he referred to longtime Wisconsin track and field coach Ed Nuttycombe as a mentor who helped him at the start of his coaching career.
While at Wisconsin, he trained under legendary coach Jerry Schumacher. Before Solinsky joined him as an assistant at Oregon, Schumacher spent 15 years coaching over 25 Olympians who secured 10 Olympic and World Championship medals.
Solinsky gives a lot of credit to Schumacher for showing him how to build a winning team while at Oregon.
“Jerry has always had a tremendous eye for talent, and learning from him has been phenomenal for me,” Solinsky said.
While at Oregon, Solinsky was a part of a cross country revitalization that brought Oregon — from a string of third and fourth place finishes in the Pac-12 over the past decade — to a men’s and women’s sweep at the Big Ten Cross Country Championships in 2025.
“I was on the ground floor as part of it. I was in the weeds doing that, so I had firsthand experiences on how to build championship rosters,” Solinsky said. “'I’m tremendously excited to bring that to Wisconsin, a place that means so much to me and I'm so passionate about.”
That experience building championship rosters now shapes his recruitment strategy back home. For Solinsky, maintaining Wisconsin’s elite standing starts while locking down in-state talent — something he says is essential for the future of the program
“Strategy number one is putting walls around Wisconsin, putting walls around the Midwest,” Solinsky said. “I don't think it's a secret that Midwesterners are tough. You build a program based on the people who want to be Badgers.”
However, competing for titles in the modern NCAA landscape also requires a modern approach. Solinsky recognizes the need to tap into the transfer portal and international talent pools, provided they fit the culture he wants to build.
“We’ve resourced well enough to be able to go and get transfer portal kids [and] international kids,” Solinsky said. “But we can't just go and look for any kids. We’ve got to find the right kids that are competing for titles.”
