The men and women’s cross-country teams competed in the SIAC Championships at Winthrop Farm’s Cross Country Course on Friday, October 25. The men’s team took home second place out of thirteen competing teams, while the women’s team successfully defended their SIAC championship with a first place finish.

The men’s team finished with a total of 82 points and a combined team time of 2:20:20, qualifying them in the NCAA South Region championships for the first time in history. Senior Joe Butler finished seventh out of 82 runners with a time of 27:17:09, securing a spot on the 2019 SIAC All-Conference roster. The Badgers had a few more key players with Senior David Toups placing fourteenth, Sophomore Elijah Paige in sixteenth, and Freshmen Will Tate and TJ Gennari finishing in 22nd and 23rd. Coach Greg McVey was thrilled for the team’s effort, as displayed in the following quote.  “With only one person making the All-Conference team, it was a huge team effort to finish in the runner-up spot in the team scores.” 

Coach McVey also took home a special award himself with the Women’s Coach of the Year award for a consecutive season. This marks him as the only SHC athletics coach to win the award consecutively in any sport in the school’s NCAA Division II history. The women’s team took home the championship trophy, with three members reserving a spot on the 2019 SIAC All-Conference roster. Freshman Madeline Knightly secured her spot on the 2019 SIAC All-Conference team with a second place finish individually in a time of 20:04:03. Joining her on the roster are Senior Meghan Sullivan who finished third with a time of 20:07:09 and Junior Grace McCann finishing in fifth place with a time of 20:38. 

The Badgers will lace up again on Nov. 9 in Lakeland,FL at the NCAA Division II South Region Championships.