B1G dominance for Bob Liking, Wisconsin men's cross country

It's hard to find new success when you've won 54 Big Ten men's cross country championships and six in a row, but the University of Wisconsin found a way Friday.

Senior Bob Liking confidently won his fourth conference individual championship in as many meets as the Badgers extended their dominance in the Big Ten.

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Make it 55 championships and 24 of the last 26 for the Badgers, whose five scoring runners all finished in the top 15 at the Orange and Blue Golf Course in Savoy, Illinois.

That was enough to beat Big Ten newcomers Washington and Oregon in the team competition.

What's new for Wisconsin: Liking became the Badgers' first men's runner to win four Big Ten cross country titles. He joined Craig Virgin of Illinois (1973-76), Bob Kennedy of Indiana (1988-90, 1992) and Kevin Sullivan of Michigan (1993-95, 1997) as four-time Big Ten champions. Only Virgin has managed it four years in a row.

Liking said he was nervous before the race because he wanted no fewer than four titles after the first three.

“After my first win, I feel like (coach) Mick (Byrne) pushed me to do it,” Liking said. “I knew it was going to be really difficult today, especially with the new teams. It was just great to get the team win, celebrate with the boys and also do the work for myself.”

Liking won in 22 minutes, 47.3 seconds — a Big Ten meet record of nearly 25 seconds — finishing 7.7 seconds ahead of runner-up Michael Mireles of UCLA.

He pulled away about five kilometers into the 8-kilometer race.

“The last K was really hard for me,” Liking said. “I was kind of grateful that no one was with me.”

Badgers freshmen Christian de Vaal (seventh) and Matan Ivri (tenth) joined Liking in earning first-team All-Big Ten honors with top-10 finishes. Sophomore Johnny Livingstone (13th) and senior Rowen Ellenberg (15th) made the second team.

Byrne extended his Big Ten record with a 14th-place finish at the men's cross country championship.

“It’s really special,” Liking said. “I’ve never been on a team that didn’t win. With all the new teams, we knew it would be a very competitive game.”

Wisconsin placed third in the women's team competition behind Oregon and Washington. Junior Leané Willemse led the Badgers to a 15th-place finish, earning second-team All-Big Ten honors.