NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Wisconsin men's track and field squad has produced multiple stellar distance medley relay times in program history, including an NCAA-title squad in 1985.
 
But no squad at Wisconsin has run faster than the quartet of Joe Hardy, Corbin Ellis, Eric Brown and Ollie Hoare, as the group smashed the school record in the event at the Alex Wilson Invitational on Saturday thanks to a time of 9 minutes, 27.72 seconds.
 
"At the end of the day, as you say, mission accomplished," Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Mick Byrne said. "This group has a new school record, and we've had some great DMR's over the years. They just ran the ninth-fastest time in NCAA history. You can go down through each individual, but it's a DMR team, and together, that team set a new school record and are on their way to the NCAA Championships."
 
UW's time on Saturday morning at Notre Dame ranks No. 3 in the NCAA this year and No. 9 in NCAA history.
 
"Before they left on Friday, one thing I said to them was to not focus on the time, because if they do that they're going to lose sight of what we always talk about, and that's the pursuit of the goal," Byrne said. "The most important thing in my eyes is that they came to me and wanted to do it, so I basically told them to go out, have fun and to enjoy the trip together, enjoy the experience, enjoy the pursuit, but to not just focus on the goal. If they do that, then everything will work out."
 
Starting things off for the relay team was senior Joe Hardy, who ran the 1200 meter leg of the race with a time of 2 minutes, 57 seconds.
 
Next was senior sprinter Corbin Ellis, who ran the 400 meters in a personal best 47.6 seconds.
 
Next for Wisconsin was junior Eric Brown, who ran the 800 meter portion of the race in a personal best time of 1:47.7.
 
Ollie Hoare finished the anchor leg of the race with a huge PR in the mile to guide the team to a third-place finish. The sophomore crossed the line in 3:54.05 to secure the team's record-setting time.
 
"It would be crazy not to mention the amazing leg ran by Ollie Hoare. 3:54.05, anchor leg, obviously got us back in the race. I knew that Ollie was ready to run a really good mile, but 3:54? Every week, every time he runs, he gets better and better.
 
"But overall it's a relay team, and overall it's about the team, and that's a great job." 
 
The Wisconsin men's track and field team is entering competition season, as the Big Ten Indoor Championship meet begins next weekend. The team will travel to the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio for the two-day meet. Competition is slated to begin at 9 a.m. (CT) on Friday morning.