Wisconsin Runner team repeats victory in Shamrock Shuffle
Runners from Wisconsin raced away with victories Sunday in one of the country's biggest races, the Shamrock Shuffle in Chicago.
Simon Bairu, the Canadian who won national championships at the University of Wisconsin, topped the field of more than 32,400. Covering the 8K in 23:38, Bairu finished one second ahead of the 2010 champion, John Kemboi, of Kenya.
After his college career at UW, Bairu moved out to Portland to train and race for Nike's Oregon Track Club.
A group of runners that stayed home after their collegiate careers repeated as champions in the Elite Club Championship and earned bragging rights as one of the fastest squads in the country.
Tyler Sigl, of Green Bay, led the Wisconsin Runner Racing Team with a time of 24:14, and a solid fifth place overall. An All-American in track and cross country at UW-Platteville, Sigl has positioned himself as a dark horse in the 2012 Olympic trials.
Scott Mueller, a Marquette alum, and Matt Thull and Eamon McKenna, also scored for the Wisconsin Runner team. Both Thull and McKenna ran at UW-Oshkosh and are now coaching locally.
The women's Wisconsin Runer squad had another near miss, taking second place just 10 seconds behind the Runablaze team from Iowa.
Jessica Monson, of Powers Lake, Jenna Mitchler, of Marshfield, and Jessica Sigl (Tyler's spouse) scored for the Wisconsin team.