Second at Wisco

Published by Dave Kiefer/Stanford SID on October 14th, 2016

MADISON, Wis. – Grant Fisher led a full-strength Stanford men's cross country squad to second at the high-powered Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational on Friday, fortifying hope for the postseason.

Fisher was fourth and Sean McGorty sixth in an 8K (4.97-mile) race that brought together 19 of the nation's top 30 teams. Stanford placed five among the top 41 to score 118 points, but it wasn't enough to offset the 78 points of top-ranked Northern Arizona, which had all five scorers ahead of Stanford's No. 3 runner.

However, the Cardinal did beat No. 3 BYU (third with 144), and defending NCAA champion Syracuse, the No. 2-ranked team which was fourth with 167.

"This was a huge step forward for our team," said Chris Miltenberg, Stanford's fifth-year Franklin P. Johnson Director of Track and Field. "This is by far the best we've ever been at this point in the season."

Stanford entered the race with a No. 11 ranking, based on three results without Fisher and McGorty, who were making their season debut. Miltenberg wanted to bring them along slowly after a long season of track that culminated with the Olympic Trials in July.