Cross-country to face defending champion Badgers Friday

The men’s and women’s cross-country teams will travel to Madison, Wis. Friday to face off against the defending national champion Badgers.

This will be CMUs first of two trips to Madison this season, the second meeting being the NCAA Great Lakes Regionals, which will be held on Nov. 9.

The men’s team will be running in an 8k race at 6 p.m. Friday, while the women will take off at 6:30 p.m., competing in a 5k race. The races will be held at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course in Madison, Wis.

This will be CMUs first race this season. Some of their top runners will be making their season debuts, including two-time All-MAC senior Jason Drudge and sophomore Kyle Stacks, who was the top freshman at the 2011 Great Lakes Regional. The women’s team will feature two-time All-MAC runner Krista Parks, along with seniors Veronica Garcia and Maddie Ribant.

Director of cross-country Willie Randolph said he is looking forward to the race and having the chance to see the upperclassmen run for the first time this season.

“We will have the look of a more balanced team,” Randolph said.

It is still early in the season, and with the upperclassmen making their season debuts on Friday, Randolph expects there to be some room for improvement.

“We have to go out there and set a good pace while not starting off too fast … staying confident and running together as a pack is very important,” Randolph said.

Veteran leadership will come from many upperclassmen this week, including senior Jason Drudge, who will be making his season debut in Wisconsin on Friday.

“We have to go out there and prove ourselves and see where we are at as a team moving forward,” Drudge said.

Drudge said this is a good opportunity for the team to preview and get a feel for the same course they will be competing at for the Great Lakes Regionals.

Randolph said being patient is another important key this week and that the team needs to compete against some of the top runners in the country.

The men’s and women’s team will each have seven runners competing Friday, including the top-five runners from the men’s side.

Wisconson and Edgewood College will be among the schools competing.