INSIDE WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY BY BRIAN MASON
@Badger_Track SCHEDULE
Last Week Sept. 7 Badger Opener 1st/15 pts.
This Week Sept. 15 Warhawk Invite
Coming Up Sept. 22 Virginia
Invitational
Sept. 29 Greater Louisville 8:30 a.m. Cross Country Classic
lin Comfort (an unattached competi- tor) was the overall winner, Murphy took the first-place team points by finishing second in 17:54. Alongside at the finish was last year's Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Gabi Anzalone, in third while seniors Hanna Knurr and Ashley Beutler were just a step behind in fourth and fifth. All in all, it was a good first step, ac- cording to head coach Jim Stintzi. "Our goal was to see if we could
Badgers look to build on
strong start to season Freshman paced UW to perfect team score
S
tatistically speaking, things could not have
gone better for the No. 29-ranked Wisconsin wom- en's cross country team in its season opener last Friday. The Badgers' start was strong on a practical level, as well.
The perfect team score of 15 points on the scoreboard
54 » VARSITY SEPTEMBER 13, 2012
was proof of the statistical success.
The fact that a true fresh- man not only ran with Wis- consin's top returners, but finished ahead of them, was as much a figurative win for the Badgers as it was a literal victory for Emma-Lisa Mur- phy.
While former Badger Cait-
have five to seven people run at the front and stay together, work togeth- er," Stintzi said. "We have a travel limit of 12 and we're trying to figure out those 12. We had some people out here racing for those spots." For her part, Murphy — a native of
Whitefish Bay, Wis. — just being able to keep pace at the front was the ma- jor takeaway. "I felt really good and I was super
excited that I could run with a great pack of girls," she said. The Badgers' search for depth con-
tinues this weekend, with a limited number of runners taking part in UW- Whitewater's Warhawk Invitational on Saturday.
10:45 a.m. 9 a.m.
