Oct. 11, 2012

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Ohio State men's cross country team faces its toughest test of the season when it races against 20 of the top-30 teams in the nation this Friday at the 8k Wisconsin adidas Invitational in Madison, Wis.

Top-ranked and defending national champion Wisconsin, winner of the last 13 Big Ten cross country championships, headlines a 46-team field that also includes 4th-ranked Oklahoma, No. 5 (tie) Iona, No. 5 Portland (tie) and No. 8 Stanford. In addition, all 11 Big Ten squads will be in attendance, providing an excellent preview of the upcoming Big Ten championship meet.

Action from Madison is set to begin at 1:40 p.m. ET at the Zimmer Championship Course. A complete recap will be available after the race at www.OhioStateBuckeyes.com. 

Competing Teams
Arizona
Arizona State
No. 19 Arkansas
Brown
California
Cal Poly
UCLA
Colorado State
No. 17 Columbia
Cornell
Dartmouth
No. 20 Eastern Kentucky
No. 24 Georgia
Harvard
Illinois
No. 26 Indiana
No. 5 Iona
Iowa
Iowa State
Kansas
LaSalle
No. 24 Michigan
Michigan State
No. 16 Minnesota
No. 30 Missouri
Nebraska
No. 28 New Mexico
North Carolina
NC State
No. 18 Northern Arizona
No. 13 Notre Dame
Ohio State
No. 4 Oklahoma
Penn State
No. 5 Portland
No. 11 Princeton
Providence
Purdue
No. 8 Stanford
No. 10 Syracuse
Texas A&M
No. 22 Texas
No. 29 Virginia
Washington
No. 1 Wisconsin
Yale

Buckeyes Seventh in USTFCCCA Great Lakes Regional Rankings
The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) released its regional cross country rankings Oct. 1, with Ohio State checking-in at No. 7 in the bi-weekly poll. Wisconsin is the top-ranked team in the region, followed by Notre Dame, Michigan, Indiana, Michigan State, Eastern Michigan and the Buckeyes.

Follow the Buckeyes on Facebook and Twitter!
The men's cross country program is on Facebook and Twitter. Visit www.facebook.com/OSUmtrackXC and www.twitter.com/OhioState_MTRK to get the latest news and notes on the Buckeyes.

Last Time Out
Ohio State finished 13th overall in the Blue Division race at the 8k Notre Dame Invitational Sept. 28.

With a team score of 296, the Buckeyes performed well in a tightly contested race. Tulsa captured the team title with 104 points, followed by No. 17 Princeton (139 points) and host Notre Dame (143).

Senior Donny Roys led the Buckeye effort at the Notre Dame Golf Course, turning in a personal-best time of 24:14 to finish in 25th. Sophomore Josh Sabo was the No. 2 runner for the Scarlet and Gray, crossing the finish line in a 38th-place and personal-best time of 24:23. Senior Chris Fallon (63rd, PR of 24:38), sophomore Michael Brajdic (74th, PR of 24:45) and sophomore Curtis Hanle (96th, 25:02) completed the Buckeye scoring.

Up Next
The Buckeyes head to East Lansing, Mich., for the Big Ten championships Oct. 28.