MU Cross Country Team Releases 2019 Schedule
7/9/2019 2:57:00 PM | Cross Country
MILWAUKEE – The Marquette University men's and women's cross-country teams, led by 13th-year head coach Mike Nelson, have announced the schedule for the 2019 season.
"The 2019 cross-country schedule gives our student-athletes excellent opportunities to compete against some of the best runners in the NCAA all while staying relatively close to home," Coach Nelson said. "We are fortunate to have so many great courses and competitive meets within a few hours of our home in Milwaukee."
The Golden Eagles will compete in six meets before the postseason begins Nov. 2 at the BIG EAST Championships. For the second time in three years, MU will host the conference championships, which will take place at the Wayne Dannehl XC Course in Somers, Wis.
"For the 2019 season, each of our meets builds upon the one before. The competition will get stronger throughout the season. Our student-athletes will be well prepared for the championship portion of the season in November," Nelson said.
MU's season begins on Saturday, Aug. 31 with the Phoenix Open, which will be hosted at Arboretum Trails by the University of Green Bay.
13 days later, Nelson's group will be back in action at the Illinois State Invitational. The meet will take place in Normal, Ill., on Friday, Sept. 13 at Maxwell Park. It will be the first time in program history that MU competes at the Illinois State Invitational.
After another two-week hiatus, MU will head back to the state of Illinois, this time to the windy city for the Lakefront Invitational at Lincoln Park. This meet will be hosted by Loyola-Chicago.
"The Chicago Lakefront meet has been brought back after a 10-year hiatus," Nelson said. "The meet has some historical precedent for Marquette as we competed in this meet for many years well before my tenure began at MU. It will be fun to reignite the tradition as we compete along Chicago's Lakefront."
On Friday, Oct. 5, the Golden Eagles make the trip out to Louisville, Ky., to compete in the Louisville Classic. Nelson has taken his team out the University of Louisville to compete at E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park in each of the last three seasons and seven of the last nine overall. During this time, the men's team had its top finish at UofL in 2011 (6th), while the women took ninth place at the 2013 meet in Louisville. In 2018, the men's team tied for 14th and the women took 17th at this event.
Next up, MU returns to the Bradley "Pink" Classic (Oct. 18) for the third year-in-a-row and eighth time in nine years. They'll head out to Peoria, Ill., to race at the spectator-friendly Newman Golf Course. Last year at the "Pink" Classic, the men finished ninth, paced by Daniel Pederson's top-25 finish, while the MU women's team took 26th.
One week after the meet at Bradley, the Golden Eagles will travel to Macomb, Ill., to compete at the Leatherneck Open at Spring Lake Park. Hosted by Western Illinois University, this will mark the first time in program history MU will compete at the Leatherneck Open.
For the second time in three years, Marquette will have the chance to host the BIG EAST Cross-Country Championships. The meet will take place at Wayne Dannehl XC Course in Somers, Wis.
The last time MU hosted was in 2017, and the women's team posted its best conference championships finish since 2005. The men's team also made history, with two earning All-BIG EAST honors and sophomore Daniel Pederson taking the program's first-ever top-10 individual placement, taking eighth.
"Being able to host the Big East Cross-Country Championships is a great honor for our team and our institution," Nelson said. "We are very much looking forward to this opportunity. Our student-athletes will be able to compete in front of friends and family against the elite competition of the Big East."
Pederson went on to take ninth place at the BIG EAST Championships last year as the men's team registered its lowest-ever score and highest-ever finish (4th) at a BIG EAST meet. Mary Hanson (28th) paced the women's team to a sixth-place finish.
The University of Wisconsin will host the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championship two weeks after the conference meet. Last year, UW hosted the NCAA Championships for the first time since 1978. The Great Lakes Regional meet will take place at the Zimmer XC Course on Friday, Nov. 15.
After hosting the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championship for two straight years, Indiana State University gets the honors to hold the 2019 NCAA Championships at the Lavern Gibson XC Course in Terre Haute, Ind. This course is no stranger to big meets, having hosted 12 national championships in addition to numerous regionals and other championship-caliber meets.
Keep up with the Marquette cross country program on social media by following on Twitter (@MUTFXC) and Instagram (@MUTFXC) and `liking' on Facebook (/MUTFXC).
"The 2019 cross-country schedule gives our student-athletes excellent opportunities to compete against some of the best runners in the NCAA all while staying relatively close to home," Coach Nelson said. "We are fortunate to have so many great courses and competitive meets within a few hours of our home in Milwaukee."
The Golden Eagles will compete in six meets before the postseason begins Nov. 2 at the BIG EAST Championships. For the second time in three years, MU will host the conference championships, which will take place at the Wayne Dannehl XC Course in Somers, Wis.
"For the 2019 season, each of our meets builds upon the one before. The competition will get stronger throughout the season. Our student-athletes will be well prepared for the championship portion of the season in November," Nelson said.
MU's season begins on Saturday, Aug. 31 with the Phoenix Open, which will be hosted at Arboretum Trails by the University of Green Bay.
13 days later, Nelson's group will be back in action at the Illinois State Invitational. The meet will take place in Normal, Ill., on Friday, Sept. 13 at Maxwell Park. It will be the first time in program history that MU competes at the Illinois State Invitational.
After another two-week hiatus, MU will head back to the state of Illinois, this time to the windy city for the Lakefront Invitational at Lincoln Park. This meet will be hosted by Loyola-Chicago.
"The Chicago Lakefront meet has been brought back after a 10-year hiatus," Nelson said. "The meet has some historical precedent for Marquette as we competed in this meet for many years well before my tenure began at MU. It will be fun to reignite the tradition as we compete along Chicago's Lakefront."
On Friday, Oct. 5, the Golden Eagles make the trip out to Louisville, Ky., to compete in the Louisville Classic. Nelson has taken his team out the University of Louisville to compete at E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park in each of the last three seasons and seven of the last nine overall. During this time, the men's team had its top finish at UofL in 2011 (6th), while the women took ninth place at the 2013 meet in Louisville. In 2018, the men's team tied for 14th and the women took 17th at this event.
Next up, MU returns to the Bradley "Pink" Classic (Oct. 18) for the third year-in-a-row and eighth time in nine years. They'll head out to Peoria, Ill., to race at the spectator-friendly Newman Golf Course. Last year at the "Pink" Classic, the men finished ninth, paced by Daniel Pederson's top-25 finish, while the MU women's team took 26th.
One week after the meet at Bradley, the Golden Eagles will travel to Macomb, Ill., to compete at the Leatherneck Open at Spring Lake Park. Hosted by Western Illinois University, this will mark the first time in program history MU will compete at the Leatherneck Open.
For the second time in three years, Marquette will have the chance to host the BIG EAST Cross-Country Championships. The meet will take place at Wayne Dannehl XC Course in Somers, Wis.
The last time MU hosted was in 2017, and the women's team posted its best conference championships finish since 2005. The men's team also made history, with two earning All-BIG EAST honors and sophomore Daniel Pederson taking the program's first-ever top-10 individual placement, taking eighth.
"Being able to host the Big East Cross-Country Championships is a great honor for our team and our institution," Nelson said. "We are very much looking forward to this opportunity. Our student-athletes will be able to compete in front of friends and family against the elite competition of the Big East."
Pederson went on to take ninth place at the BIG EAST Championships last year as the men's team registered its lowest-ever score and highest-ever finish (4th) at a BIG EAST meet. Mary Hanson (28th) paced the women's team to a sixth-place finish.
The University of Wisconsin will host the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championship two weeks after the conference meet. Last year, UW hosted the NCAA Championships for the first time since 1978. The Great Lakes Regional meet will take place at the Zimmer XC Course on Friday, Nov. 15.
After hosting the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championship for two straight years, Indiana State University gets the honors to hold the 2019 NCAA Championships at the Lavern Gibson XC Course in Terre Haute, Ind. This course is no stranger to big meets, having hosted 12 national championships in addition to numerous regionals and other championship-caliber meets.
Keep up with the Marquette cross country program on social media by following on Twitter (@MUTFXC) and Instagram (@MUTFXC) and `liking' on Facebook (/MUTFXC).
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