Gavin Struve
Aug 29, 20238 min
Written by Gavin Struve, additional commentary and edits via Garrett Zatlin
NOTE: Earlier this summer, The Stride Report reached out to nearly every team that was considered for a possible ranking this summer. While we did receive numerous responses and great clarity, we did not get a 100% response rate. On rare occasions, we are referencing TFFRS in order to talk about returners and athletes who are out of eligibility.
If we were to assess programs through the lens of an economic cycle, then the Wisconsin men appear to be nearing the peak of their recent run.
That’s to say, we expect that 2023 will be the Badgers’ best cross country season in recent memory. With many of their top men beginning to age (and therefore expire their eligibility), this might be Wisconsin's best chance at a podium spot for the new few years.
However, in order to reach that level, Wisconsin has a relatively high bar to clear -- the top-four teams in our rankings were consensus preseason podium favorites in the eyes of TSR. But given the level of firepower, depth and veteran leadership that this team retains in 2023, this squad should be able to field one of the best teams in the nation later this fall.
Wisconsin opened their 2022 cross country campaign in an ideal way. Rather than thrusting themselves into a national-caliber field or attacking a simple time trial, the Badgers took to a famously challenging course at the Roy Griak Invitational. At that meet, they would battle good, but not necessarily great, competition.
As one would expect, the Madison-based men won with ease. Despite not placing anyone in the top-four, the Badgers had all of their scorers inside of the top-15 and they finished well ahead of very solid distance squads like California Baptist, Michigan State and Colorado State.
From there, Wisconsin ventured to what is widely regarded as the deepest race of the regular season -- the Nuttycombe Invite. And fortunately them, the loaded invitational doubles as their home meet.
It was there that low-stick star Bob Liking finished 4th overall, one spot higher than where he placed at the same meet a year prior.
And while Liking put himself among the NCAA’s most elite individuals, it was Jack Meijer and Charlie Wheeler who anchored the middle of the Badgers' scoring lineup as both men placed just outside of the top-40. With Evan Bishop and Rowen Ellenberg also producing quietly great results, landing in 66th and 68th place, respectively, Wisconsin seemingly boasted a complete and competitive scoring five.
All things considered, it was a performance that the host team could be happy about. Everyone ran about up to their expectations and the top-three men ran closer to the higher end of what we thought they were capable of.
However, Wisconsin finished 7th overall, a few spots behind where they landed the year prior. At their best, they were capable of more, but...how much more?
The year-to-year difference was because Jackson Sharp, one of Wisconsin's main stars and among the nation’s most emergent runners during the 2022-23 academic year, recorded a DNF result.
Had Sharp replicated his 16th place result from the 2021 iteration of the meet, then Wisconsin would have instead finished 5th overall, effectively putting themselves ahead of Notre Dame and Tulsa which would have been more in line with expectations.
Fortunately, Sharp was back at his best for the 2022 BIG 10 XC Championships. The Aussie veteran finished runner-up behind Liking and helped Wisconsin take home a fifth-straight conference title. Adam Spencer, Ellenberg and Wheeler helped the Badgers put all five scorers in the top-10 while their sixth, seventh and eighth runners placed 10th, 11th and 15th, respectively.
Despite Michigan having a top-25 program, the Wisconsin men were able to cruise through their conference meet and secure gold with relative ease.
Wisconsin won the Great Lakes Regional XC Championships with another dominant display of depth as six Badgers crossed the line in succession from 8th place to 13th place. That afforded them the regional win over Notre Dame, Michigan and Butler.
As for the national meet, it went about as well as it could have for the Badgers, even if the individual results were unpredictable.
Sharp had one of the best races of his life, emerging as the team’s top runner by placing 16th overall. And even if we had higher expectations for Liking, who finished 34th, he still emerged as a strong secondary scorer and snagged a backend All-American finish.
Ellenberg (45th) nearly did the same as Liking while Wheeler (54th) followed closely behind. Meijer closed out the scoring in 79th place, putting all five Wisconsin scorers among the top-80 spots while Bishop’s 83rd place finish provided some added insurance.
When it was all said and done, the Badgers finished 6th in the nation, their best national meet result since 2012. And as they return the bulk of that high-achieving core, we expect another small jump up this fall for the Upper Midwest’s best.
Much of our confidence about Wisconsin’s 2023 outlook stems from their two returning focal stars. While Bob Liking was long viewed as Wisconsin’s preeminent low-stick (or at least their leading man in waiting), Sharp earned higher billing in our TSR preseason individual rankings.
Save for his Nuttycombe slip-up, Sharp’s 2022-23 resume was largely unmatched in its range and top-end success. Beyond the hardware that he earned on the grass, he built upon his accolades from his 2022 track seasons once he reached the oval in 2023.
Our preseason TSR #10 athlete ran praiseworthy new PRs of 3:57 (mile), 7:44 (3k) and 13:26 (5k) this past winter and spring. The cherry on top was a bronze medal at the NCAA Indoor Championships over 3000 meters and another bronze medal at the outdoor national meet in the 5000 meters, solidifying himself as an elite championship racer.
Now, as we enter the fall of 2023, we will likely see Sharp carry that momentum back to the grass for an encore to the most successful cross country season of his life. Joining him as a mainstay towards the front of every field should be Liking.
With two-and-a-half years of collegiate experience under his belt, this could quite likely be the season in which the Illinois native finally puts it all together on the national stage.
Marks of 13:27 (5k) and 28:00 (10k) during the spring months showed us that Liking is still following an upwards trajectory. We thought that placing him at TSR #14 in our preseason rankings (the exact same spot that we listed him at last summer) felt like a fair balance of where he finished at the 2022 national meet and where the rest of his results suggested that he should be placed.
Beyond their two leading scorers, the Badgers also bring back the third member of their team to cross the line at the 2022 NCAA XC Championships -- Rowen Ellenberg.
The in-state stud has amassed three national meet appearances over his collegiate career and just as many top-10 finishes at the BIG 10 XC Championships. Wisconsin should feel pretty confident about what they will get out of him when the lights grow brightest.
While he may not be a true low-stick (yet), Ellenberg is closer to that point than not. And at the very least, this is someone who is incredibly reliable. He never had a poor race last fall outside of a Griak Invitational performance that may have been intentionally conservative.
As for Charlie Wheeler and Jack Meijer, guys who took turns as Wisconsin's second or third scorers at certain times last fall, they are both gone.
Wheeler was lost to graduation and Meijer was a graduate transfer to Ole Miss. And while both Brits were reliable and talented runners, their absence should be manageable considering what the Badgers return and what many of their competitors lose.
We then come to Evan Bishop who was a more-than-capable scorer last year and could very well improve after running a couple of new personal bests over the winter months. He was another highly stable name and on a handful of our top-15 teams, he would have been their fourth scoring option -- and a good one at that.
Wisconsin’s biggest question going into this fall is not about their depth, their firepower or their middle-lineup scorers. Instead, it's about who will most often be their final scorer (and just how good that runner will be).
Fortunately for Wisconsin, the Badgers have a few solid candidates ranging from returners to a couple of elite international recruits.
Adam Spencer arrived in the Badgers’ varsity lineup in the postseason last fall, impressing us with a 6th place finish at his conference meet before posting a less-stellar 188th place result at the national meet.
However, what really makes Spencer intriguing is the prowess and recent gains that he has displayed on the track. The Aussie miler is a two-time All-American on the oval and recently ran a blistering mark of 3:31 over 1500 meters at a Diamond League meet earlier this summer.
The question now is whether or not Spencer can come even remotely close to translating at least some of that fitness to the grass later this fall -- and his performance at last year’s BIG 10 XC Championships implies that he can.
While Wisconsin didn’t make any overwhelmingly splashy transfer additions entering this season, Division Three transfer Sam Craig (via U. of Chicago) may very well fill one of the final scoring or lineup spots.
The former Maroon runner is two-time D3 All-American. He placed in the top-10 at the 2021 Division Three cross country national meet and holds very solid personal bests of 14:16 (5k) and 29:44 (10k). He joined this program last winter which should help his assimilation as a prospective varsity piece on a top team.
Micah Wilson is another candidate for one of Wisconsin's final lineup spots. While we’ve yet to see him on the grass, collegiately, he had an impressive freshman campaign on the track in which he ran 13:56 (5k) and 29:13 (10k)
However, the biggest talents outside of Wisconsin's proven scorers are a host of international rookies. Christian De Vaal comes by way of New Zealand and has run marks of 8:09 (3k) and 14:03 (5k). Then there is Matan Ivri of Israel who is arguably even more impressive after having run 3:44 (1500) and 13:57 (5k).
Beyond them, Jake Bourget, Oliver Paleen and Joshua Truchon are all experienced NCAA runners by this point who may be ready for their shot. The former placed 20th at the BIG 10 XC Championships last fall while the latter two were blue chip recruits to varying degrees.
David Vannucchi is another veteran depth piece while Joe dosReis enters as more of a proven middle distance threat (via transfer). Rookie Liam Newhart was a regional talent on the grass during his prep career, but is probably a year or two away from contributing.
Names like those don’t appear to be in consideration for spots in Wisconsin's lineup this fall, but that should only speak to how deep this roster is.
If Sharp and Liking both run near expectations on the national stage while Ellenberg and Bishop continue to stabilize the middle of this lineup, then Wisconsin should more than live up to this preseason ranking as long as a fifth scorer steps up as a top-100 runner, nationally.
And truthfully, none of that feels like it's too much to ask.
Of course, that doesn’t guarantee it all happening on the same day.
Coming off of their best national meet finish in a decade, Wisconsin now hopes to build on that by returning to the podium for the first time since finishing runner-up in 2012 (when Moh Ahmed led the team).
The Badgers are primed to go all-in this season before they find themselves hard-pressed to continue their streak of BIG 10 titles with Oregon and Washington joining the conference a year from now. The Badgers exceeded expectations last year after we slotted them at TSR #10 in our preseason rankings and they’ll be on the podium in November if they do so again.