MADISON, Wis. – Bob Liking, after earning a fourth-straight Big Ten individual title and leading the No. 9 Wisconsin men’s cross country program to its seventh-consecutive Big Ten Conference Championship, was named the National Athlete of the Week by the USTFCCCA on Monday.
With his victory on Friday, Liking joined Craig Virgin of Illinois as the only athlete in the Big Ten’s history to win four consecutive Big Ten Individual Titles throughout the course of his college career.
The St. Charles East, Illinois, native also broke the conference-meet record during Friday’s 8K race, turning in a time of 22 minutes, 47.3 seconds—breaking Matt McClintock’s record of 23:12 when he competed at Purdue in 2015.
As for Badgers’ alumni, Liking became the winningest men’s cross country athlete in school history—passing Simon Bairu and Tim Hacker for most individual titles after notching his fourth.
Wisconsin went on to win the Big Ten Championships with a total of 46 points—besting No. 18 Washington, who finished with 58 points as a unit. The Badgers have now tallied 57 Big Ten Championships as a team, in addition to Director of Cross Country and Track & Field Mick Byrne‘s 14th in 17 seasons.
Liking and the Badgers will take the course next at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional on Friday, Nov. 15 in Norton, Ohio, at the Silver Creek Metro Park. They will then prepare for the NCAA Championships at their home course on Saturday, Nov. 23 at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course.
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