"It gave me goosebumps thinking about running in front of our fans out there," Comfort, a
four-time All-Great Lakes Region performer, said.
"You step on the line with pride, and it's great
to have the support of fellow 'Sconnies.'"
nothing else. Stepping on the line and wearing the
Wisconsin jersey in front of all of these fans, these
diehard track and cross country fans, is just great.
There is nothing quite like it, I can tell you the runners that will be competing on Saturday will feel the
same way. You step on the line with pride, and it's
great to have the support of fellow 'Sconnies.'"
Byrne believes that the meet is great for not only
for the student-athletes that will don the Cardinal
and White on Saturday, but also the university.
"I think it is great for the University of Wisconsin,
it is great for the city and it is great for our fans to
see that type of competition," Byrne said. "The type
of competition is synonymous with Wisconsin cross
country. It is first-class competition. People respect
our history, they want to come and compete with
UW and on the great course."
"Kids know about our program from seeing things
about our meet on track sites and on social media,"
Byrne said. "They know about the adidas meet. Be-
tween now and the weekend, there are going to be a
lot of hits on the media sites just because of who is
competing. The fact it is Wisconsin and the fact it is
head-to-head competition, that is generating a lot of
publicity. It is a big deal right now."
The invite has become such an event that for
the first time in its history, it will be live-streamed
by Flotrack, a website dedicated to covering cross
country and track and field.
In all, 36 men's teams and 37 women's teams will
compete Saturday, and fans that come out to the
races will get to see fantastic individual and team
performances.
"I think we are going to get a beautiful day for
cross country," Byrne said. "We are going to get a
great competition and we are going to see some of
the best D-I athletes in the country, including Arizona's Lawi Lalang and Dartmouth's Abbey D'Agostino.
"Fans will get to see the Badgers on what we honestly believe is the best course in the country."
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