May 16, 2010

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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- It’s an individual sport, but Sunday was all about the team at the 2010 Big Ten Outdoor Championships.

Just ask Rob Finnerty.

The redshirt freshman came home eighth in the 1,500 meters, but it was his effort that set up a 1-2 sweep by teammates Jack Bolas and Craig Miller.

The performance typified the final day of the Big Ten meet for the Wisconsin men’s track and field squad, which came together to fight for a runner-up finish in the team standings.

Championship performances in the 1,500 meters and 4x100-meter relay to start the day set the stage for the Badgers, who totaled seven All-Big Ten performances and placed nine different athletes on the awards stand.

It was good enough for second place in the team standings, as UW's total of 124 points stood second to Minnesota's championship-winning score of 145. It is the Badgers' ninth top-two finish in the last 11 years at the Big Ten outdoor meet and represented their best team score since tallying 145.5 points to win the title in 2007.

“You can’t walk away from a meet and feel completely satisfied when you finish second, but I’m extremely proud of the effort we showed today,” UW head coach Ed Nuttycombe said. “Winning the relay and the 1,500 really put us in the thick of the team race, and our guys came through again and again to keep us there.”

Bolas and Miller reversed the finishing order from last year's Big Ten meet, as Bolas scored his first individual conference title by winning the 1,500 meters in 3:43.79, with Miller second in 3:44.00.

Finnerty set up the race for his teammates by taking the race out at a fast pace. He ended up eighth in 3:47.47 to add another all-important point to the Badgers' team total.

“He was willing to make that a race,” Bolas said of Finnerty. “Today, Rob had the confidence, as a redshirt freshman and coming off a whole year of injuries, to do that and I’m very thankful.”

Finnerty's lead set the stage for a fantastic finish, with Miller countering a move to the front by Minnesota's Ben Blankenship made with about 200 meters to go as the duo hit the homestretch.

“We’ve talked a lot about waiting and being patient,” Miller said. “You have to make the last move … I just wanted to follow him until it was time to make my move at the end.”

By that time, Bolas and Ohio State's Jeff See were into their finishing kicks, and they sprinted the final 50 meters four wide down the straightaway.

“I made a decision that I was going to run right on Craig’s shoulder the entire race, because I have complete confidence in his ability to move at the right time and cover moves like that,” said Bolas, whose first race of the season came just two weeks ago. “I sometimes struggle with that.

“I don’t know where my fitness is right now because it’s been a difficult season for me, but I know where Miller’s fitness is and, if I can be on Miller, I know I can be there at the end of the race.”

With strong closes over the final 20 meters, the Badgers duo hit the line first and second. It gave the Badgers their fourth 1,500 meters title in six years and made Bolas the program’s seventh Big Ten champion in the event.
 
That performance came on the heels of the outstanding run by the 4x100-meter relay team of senior Nate Larkin, freshman Gavin Robertson, senior James Groce and sophomore Kyle Jefferson to open the day.

The Badgers clocked a season-best mark of 40.15 seconds to open a busy day for all four athletes. Interestingly, the Badgers claimed the 4x100 title despite having no entries in the open 100 meters.

“If you would have said Wisconsin would have won the 4x100 with this relay team at the beginning of the year, you would have gotten laughed at,” Groce said. “It’s come from hard work. We have capable guys, with me and Kyle in the quarter mile, Gavin in the 200 and Nate in the hurdles, but it’s just about putting it together at the right time.”

The performance earned Wisconsin its eighth 4x100 relay title and first since the Badgers claimed four straight from 2004 to 2007. Groce also ran on that 2007 championship team for UW.

Following the relay, Larkin grabbed a runner-up finish in the 110-meter hurdles for the second-consecutive year, clocking in at 14.24 seconds to finish just back of Illinois’ Andrew Riley, who came home first in 14.18. Sophomore Adum Gross added more points by racing to a seventh-place finish in 14.77.

Groce and Jefferson came back to take points in the 400 meters, with Groce taking a spot on the podium with a third-place finish in a season-best 46.71. Jefferson was right behind in fourth with a time of 47.03.

Robertson provided another clutch performance for the Badgers by blazing to All-Big Ten honors and a runner-up finish in the 200 meters. The freshman clocked in at 21.38 a day after earning the No. 5 qualifying spot for the finals with a personal-best run of 21.28.

Jefferson, Robertson and Groce also teamed up with sophomore Grant Bughman to take fifth in the 4x400-meter relay by clocking a season-best time of 3:09.59 to wrap up the meet for UW.

Wisconsin also picked up an impressive All-Big Ten performance from junior Zach Beth in the 800 meters, as he came home second in 1:49.15 to finish just back of Penn State’s Casimir Loxsom’s 1:48.06.

Maverick Darling helped close things out on the track for the Badgers with a run of 13:55.72 that was good for third place in the 5,000 meters.

In the field events, junior Robert Dehn earned All-Big Ten honors and a runner-up finish in the javelin for the second-consecutive year. He let loose a throw of 212 feet, 9 inches on his first throw of the finals to finish just back of champion Matt Byers of Iowa, who threw 220-6.

“We didn’t get the title, but I couldn’t be more pleased with the effort our guys showed today,” Nuttycombe said. “We challenged them to step up and they answered the call.”