Fast Times at UW–Madison

A special kind of grit (left to right): Rowen Ellenberg ’24, MS’25; Christian de Vaal x’27; and Bob Liking ’25. Althea Dotzour

The UW men’s cross-country team is used to leaving the Big Ten competition in the dust.

The Badgers have won seven straight conference championships. They’ve captured 14 titles in the 17 years that Mick Byrne has been at the helm, making him the winningest cross-country coach in Big Ten history. Last season, to no one’s surprise, Byrne was named the Big Ten men’s cross-country Coach of the Year — for the 15th time.

Cross country has been a Big Ten sport since the conference formed more than a century ago, and all told, the men’s squad has tallied an astounding 57 Big Ten championships, five NCAA championships, and 38 top-10 finishes at the nationals, including a fourth-place spot last season. Four UW runners have won individual national championships: Walter Mehl ’40, MPH’46, PhD’51 in 1939, Tim Hacker ’86, MS’91, PhD’96 in 1985, Simon Bairu ’07 in 2004 and 2005, and Morgan McDonald ’19 in 2018.

Can we assume that this perpetually winning team will win again in the 2025 season, which runs from September through November? While no one would count them out, there are obstacles on this year’s path to the finish line.

For one, the West Coast schools that joined the Big Ten in the 2024–25 season offer stiff competition, with Oregon looking particularly strong. For another, all-time Badger great Bob Liking ’25 has graduated.

Liking won four Big Ten men’s cross-country titles, becoming only the fourth athlete to accomplish that feat. Last season, he set a Big Ten record of 22 minutes, 47.3 seconds for an eight-kilometer race, breaking the previous record by nearly 25 seconds.

How do you follow a Bob Liking? According to Coach Byrne, it’s by “finding another Bob Liking.” Success breeds success, and runners from around the world are eager to join the UW program. Byrne has recruited several heirs apparent who turned in strong showings last season, including Christian de Vaal x’27, Matan Ivri x’28, Johnny Livingstone x’27, Liam Newhart x’28, and Micah Wilson x’27.

“We have some good young guys who’ve served their apprenticeship under Bob’s leadership,” Byrne says. “And now they’re ready to step into the leadership role themselves.”

Last season, de Vaal finished seventh at the Big Ten championships, and he benefited from Liking’s example. “Bob was someone I looked up to for being so professional in his approach to training,” says de Vaal, who came to UW–Madison from Auckland, New Zealand. “I’d like to serve that function for the new guys on the team.”

Distance runners require a special kind of grit. They train year-round and participate in three sports: cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track. A crucial skill, according to Byrne, is patience.

“It’s all about trusting the system and not rushing the system,” he says. “In our sport, long and steady is a lot better than just hammering all the time and wanting those quick results.”

Raised in Ireland, Byrne came to the UW in 2008 after excelling as a distance runner at Rhode Island’s Providence College and as a coach at New York’s Iona College. He’s the director of track and field and cross country, overseeing both the men’s and women’s programs. This is a guy who’s nurtured six Olympians and 12 NCAA individual champions, along with bringing home the 2011 NCAA championship in men’s cross country — an achievement that earned him national Coach of the Year honors. He maintains his passion for the work despite the long hours and incessant travel of a three-season sport.

Above all, Byrne sees himself as a teacher. He spent 13 years as an educator in New York City, developing his empathy and listening skills. Understanding that a coach can’t control a race, he teaches his runners how to take control themselves.

“I always say, ‘I don’t know how this race is going to go. I can give you a couple of scenarios.’ And we try to have a plan for each of those scenarios. But I prefer to teach our athletes to trust their instincts. Great athletes always have great instincts, and I give them the freedom to make choices in a race.”

The close-knit cross-country team gets a boost from the Badger faithful who cheer on runners at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course. The UW’s home field, which last year hosted the NCAA championships, is renowned as spectator-friendly. The inner and outer loops allow everyone to see a race develop — a thrill for both the UW athletes and fans.

What makes UW men’s cross country so extraordinary, year after year? Byrne points to the program’s storied past and sums it up in a single word: pride. The runners, he says, love putting on the UW–Madison uniform.

“There’s a 50-year Badger legacy that we’re carrying on,” notes de Vaal. “If that doesn’t give you motivation, I don’t know what will.”

Published in the Fall 2025 issue