Wisconsin men’s track and field head coach Ed Nuttycombe won’t admit to total satisfaction unless his team ends a season on top of all others.Though the Badgers didn’t finish at the top of the podium, Nuttycombe nevertheless holds much enthusiasm for the team that overcame injuries to finish second in the Big Ten Championships and collected numerous individual accolades over the course of the 2010 outdoor season.“I think I was overall pleased in the progress of the team in the sense that I definitely think we were better than we were the previous year,” Nuttycombe said. “We competed better at the Big Ten Championships and fared well at the NCAAs, both indoors and outdoors.“I think we had some injuries to some key athletes, and that didn’t help us, but that’s athletics.”Entering the season ranked No. 25, Wisconsin began the first month outdoors strong despite the absence of senior All-American mid-distance runner Jack Bolas, who was sidelined with a leg injury. Breakout performances, however, came soon enough in the Gateway Classic and the Drake Relays.Four Badgers won their respective events in Edwardsville, Ill., for the Gateway: Adam Hexum in the 110 meter hurdles, Zach Beth in the 1,500 meters, Josh Flax in the long jump and Paul Annear in the triple jump.In Des Moines, Iowa, for the Drake Relays, Wisconsin laid claim to the Jim Wheelock Distance Medley Relay in school-record-breaking pace. Ryan Gasper, James Groce, Zach Beth, and Craig Miller penciled in the new record at 9:32.84 – the second fastest in the nation at that time – and gave UW their first title in the event at the Drake Relays since 1949.On that same day, while most of the team competed at Des Moines, a few Badgers participated in the UW-Whitewater Invitational where personal bests and titles became abundant, as UW collected five victories in various events.Bolas finally returned to the track at the Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif. The senior wasted no time in his recovery, winning his section at the Cardinal and then posting a personal-best time in the 800 meters just a week later at the Wisconsin Twilight Invitational. Seven teammates joined Bolas at the winner’s stand at the Twilight, in what was seen as a “tune-up” to the upcoming conference championships.With the momentum at its back, Wisconsin entered the Big Ten Outdoor Championships and pushed to a second place finish after placing sixth in the meet a year earlier.On the first day of competition, true freshman Mohammed Ahmed claimed his first Big Ten title, winning the 10,000 meters in his first race of the outdoor season. The Badgers then closed out the tournament on day three in a flash.Seniors Bolas and Miller finished 1-2 in the 1,500 meters in the first race of the day. Immediately after that, UW surprised some by winning the 4×100 meter relay without even having any relay members participating in the open 100 meters.In the third race of the day, Beth finished second in the 800 meters, totaling seven All-Big Ten performances for the Badgers.“We had a great meet,” Nuttycombe said. “We ended up second – that’s not where we want to be – but it was a very good meet for us and we competed very well.”“I thought it was a phenomenal [third] day, I was very pleased with the way that meet started.”Wisconsin sent nine athletes in five events to the NCAA Outdoor Championships, including its 4×100 meter relay for the first time since 1978. Ahmed earned his first All-American honor while Bolas and Miller added their fourth and eighth as their collegiate careers came to a close.With “two very strong recruiting years back-to-back,” Nuttycombe believes the team is on its way bolster the potential even more. What’s more valuable though, is the team’s constant willingness to succeed when needed most, he says.“The last three meets of the year, meaning the Big Ten Championships, the regional NCAAs and the NCAAs themselves, the athletes that competed there competed very successfully and I was very proud of them,” he said. “In athletics, at least in [this] sport, it’s about being good when you’re supposed to be good and you’re supposed to be good during the championship part of the season and I think that we were able to accomplish that this year.”
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