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Premier men’s field to race at Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational
MADISON, Wis. – The 2016 edition of the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational Presented by Under Armour will gather elite talent from all over the college ranks to the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course on Oct. 14 for one of the premier meets in the country.
In the men's eight-kilometer race, the field will be more competitive than any other meet this season. FloTrack recently announced that the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational was named the top meet of the 2016 cross country season. With 19 of the 30 ranked teams participating, this event proves to be a preview of the upcoming NCAA Championship in November.
"This year's field is as good as it's ever been," UW Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Mick Byrne said. "There's going to be a lot of fireworks next week and it's fun to see it happening here on our home course and it's fun to be part of it."
"It gives us an opportunity to kind of look at what you're going to face down the road in major competitions like the national meet."
The meet will begin with the "B" races at this year's competition. At 11 a.m. the women's six-kilometer open race starts the festivities, shortly followed by the men's eight-kilometer open race at 11:40 a.m. The championship races will be held at 12:30 p.m. for the women and 1:15 p.m. for the men.
The Nuttycombe will be streamed live by FloTrack and admission is free for the meet. Parking information is available here.
TEAMS TO WATCH
Northern Arizona will come into the meet as the No. 1 ranked team in the country, followed by 2015 NCAA Champion Syracuse. At No. 3, BYU marks the arrival of the top three teams in the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association National Coaches' Poll that will come to Madison. In addition, two other teams in the bottom half of the top 10 are participating in the Nuttycombe, No. 7 Portland and No. 8 Iona. Adding to the strong field is Stanford coming in at No. 11, with No. 14 Iowa State, No. 15 Eastern Kentucky and No. 16 Wisconsin competing at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational.....
"Whoever wins Wisconsin will be a major NCAA favorite heading into November," FloTrack Producer Gordon Mack said. "Last year, Syracuse went on to win the NCAA title after their Wisconsin win. It wouldn't surprise me if the same trend happened in 2016 with the Wisconsin champ going on to win the NCAA title."
Adding to the 19 ranked schools that will be competing, six additional teams that will be in Madison are receiving votes in the poll. In all, there are 31 schools taking aim at the prestigious Nuttycombe crown in the most anticipated meet of the season.
TOP INDIVIDUALS
The field begins to look even more competitive based on the 2016 Saucony Flo-50 Individual Rankings. On the men's side, seven of the top 10 runners in the rankings are expected to race at the Nuttycombe. Included in that list are a pair of Badgers, with Schrobilgen and McDonald coming in at No. 6 and 7 respectively. In total, 14 of the top 25 in the individual rankings are set to run during this competition......
One of the top ranked runners is Northern Arizona's Futsum Zienasellassie, who checks in at No. 3 in the individual rankings. Before redshirting during last year's cross country season, Zienasellassie finished second at the 2014 meet held in Madison and third at the 2014 NCAA Championship. The senior has finished in the top 10 in 12 of his collegiate meets and was honored as an All-American in cross country all three years he has competed.
Syracuse's Justyn Knight checks in at No. 4 in the rankings after winning the Panorama Farms Invitational by over 15 seconds in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Sept. 23. The junior took fourth place at the 2015 NCAA Championship while leading Syracuse to the team title. Knight also finished in second in last year's race in Madison.
"NAU's Futsum Zienasellassie and Syracuse's Justyn Knight look to be favorites for the individual win. It will also be exciting to see how the 1-2 duos from Wisconsin (Schrobilgen/McDonald) and Stanford (McGorty/Fisher) stack up against the top individuals in the race," Mack said.
MADISON, Wis. – The 2016 edition of the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational Presented by Under Armour will gather elite talent from all over the college ranks to the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course on Oct. 14 for one of the premier meets in the country.
In the men's eight-kilometer race, the field will be more competitive than any other meet this season. FloTrack recently announced that the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational was named the top meet of the 2016 cross country season. With 19 of the 30 ranked teams participating, this event proves to be a preview of the upcoming NCAA Championship in November.
"This year's field is as good as it's ever been," UW Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Mick Byrne said. "There's going to be a lot of fireworks next week and it's fun to see it happening here on our home course and it's fun to be part of it."
"It gives us an opportunity to kind of look at what you're going to face down the road in major competitions like the national meet."
The meet will begin with the "B" races at this year's competition. At 11 a.m. the women's six-kilometer open race starts the festivities, shortly followed by the men's eight-kilometer open race at 11:40 a.m. The championship races will be held at 12:30 p.m. for the women and 1:15 p.m. for the men.
The Nuttycombe will be streamed live by FloTrack and admission is free for the meet. Parking information is available here.
TEAMS TO WATCH
Northern Arizona will come into the meet as the No. 1 ranked team in the country, followed by 2015 NCAA Champion Syracuse. At No. 3, BYU marks the arrival of the top three teams in the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association National Coaches' Poll that will come to Madison. In addition, two other teams in the bottom half of the top 10 are participating in the Nuttycombe, No. 7 Portland and No. 8 Iona. Adding to the strong field is Stanford coming in at No. 11, with No. 14 Iowa State, No. 15 Eastern Kentucky and No. 16 Wisconsin competing at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational.....
"Whoever wins Wisconsin will be a major NCAA favorite heading into November," FloTrack Producer Gordon Mack said. "Last year, Syracuse went on to win the NCAA title after their Wisconsin win. It wouldn't surprise me if the same trend happened in 2016 with the Wisconsin champ going on to win the NCAA title."
Adding to the 19 ranked schools that will be competing, six additional teams that will be in Madison are receiving votes in the poll. In all, there are 31 schools taking aim at the prestigious Nuttycombe crown in the most anticipated meet of the season.
TOP INDIVIDUALS
The field begins to look even more competitive based on the 2016 Saucony Flo-50 Individual Rankings. On the men's side, seven of the top 10 runners in the rankings are expected to race at the Nuttycombe. Included in that list are a pair of Badgers, with Schrobilgen and McDonald coming in at No. 6 and 7 respectively. In total, 14 of the top 25 in the individual rankings are set to run during this competition......
One of the top ranked runners is Northern Arizona's Futsum Zienasellassie, who checks in at No. 3 in the individual rankings. Before redshirting during last year's cross country season, Zienasellassie finished second at the 2014 meet held in Madison and third at the 2014 NCAA Championship. The senior has finished in the top 10 in 12 of his collegiate meets and was honored as an All-American in cross country all three years he has competed.
Syracuse's Justyn Knight checks in at No. 4 in the rankings after winning the Panorama Farms Invitational by over 15 seconds in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Sept. 23. The junior took fourth place at the 2015 NCAA Championship while leading Syracuse to the team title. Knight also finished in second in last year's race in Madison.
"NAU's Futsum Zienasellassie and Syracuse's Justyn Knight look to be favorites for the individual win. It will also be exciting to see how the 1-2 duos from Wisconsin (Schrobilgen/McDonald) and Stanford (McGorty/Fisher) stack up against the top individuals in the race," Mack said.
