Varsity - The Official Digital Magazine of Wisconsin Athletics

Varsity - September 6, 2012

Varsity is the free Official Digital Magazine of Wisconsin Athletics, covering Badgers football, basketball, hockey and more each week.

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ASHLEY BEUTLER »» WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY BADGERING... New Glarus, Wis., native Ashley Beutler returns for her senior season as a team leader for the Badgers following a strong 2011 campaign that saw her help UW return to the NCAA championship. Beutler earned All-Great Lakes Region honors and was Wisconsin's No. 2 finisher at the Big Ten championship. Beutler and the Badgers open their season Friday by hosting the Badger Opener at the Zimmer Championship Course. How excited is the team to get going on Friday? "Very excited. We all break off in the summer, do our own thing and then come back together. Coach (Jim) Stintzi gave us the option to race this Friday, and all of us said, 'Put us in, because we're ready to go.'" How important is it to be self-motivated in cross country? "Coach tells us what to do and sends us off on our own most days, so you have to be extremely self motivated to do this year round. You can slack off or try to get by with the bare minimum, or you can put in the work." What did it mean for the team to get back to the NCAA meet last year? "It felt great because, my freshman year, we came in and I took it for granted, just getting through Big Tens and regionals and qualifying for nationals. But then you see that it's actually hard to get (to the NCAA meet) as a team. Getting there last year was a step in the right direction, but this year I think we need to really step up our game and be a competitor instead of just being there." How important is it to host the NCAA Great Lakes Regional in November? "That's going to be huge. We need to (finish) top two as a team, so having the home crowd there will bring us down the home stretch for sure. We weren't in the top two last year and the waiting game (for an at-large bid to the NCAA championship) was awful, so we've made it a focus to be top two." Can you personally carry over some of the momentum from a strong track season? "It definitely carries over. When you come off a good season, or a relatively good season, that's going to motivate you to do the work during the summer. You can come off a good season and make it even better." 26 » VARSITY SEPTEMBER 6, 2012

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