Chris Solinsky
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Chris Solinsky (born December 5, 1984) is from Stevens Point, Wisconsin. He won eight State championships in high school and is currently an 11-time NCAA All-American at the University of Wisconsin.
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[edit] High School
[edit] Freshman Year
Solinsky attended high school at Stevens Point Area Senior High (SPASH). During his freshmen year he placed 25th overall at the State Championships with a time of 16:40 on the 5000 m course. He was beaten by one other freshman, Dustin Fier of Hudson, who became Solinsky's main rival at the high school level. At the WIAA State Track & FIeld Championships he was sixth in the 3200 m with a time of 9:30.92. This time, beating Fier (who placed 10th in 9:43.82).
[edit] Sophomore Year
At the 2000 WIAA State Cross Country Championships Solinsky was one of the favorites for the title. However, the defending champion, Matt Esche of Waukesha West, was a senior in the race. Early in the race, Esche took a big lead, but could not hold it, as Solinsky caught him with a mile to go. Solinsky won in 15:32 from Esche in 15:39.
At WIAA State Track & Field Championships, he had another duel with Matt Esche in the 3200 m. Solinsky won again with a personal best of 9:08.44 (Esche ran 9:12.17). The time ranked Solinsky as the 15th fastest high school 3200 m runner in Wisconsin history. In the 1600 m Solinsky was second (4:15.56 PR) to Ben Gregory, his future teammate at the University of Wisconsin.
[edit] Junior Year
By this time, Chris was obviously the premier distance runner in Wisconsin. He was making his way towards being the best high school distance runner in the history of the state of Wisconsin as well as one of the best distance runners in the nation. At the State Cross Country Championships, Chris had a chance to break the State meet record of 15:15, set by Tim Hacker of Menomonee Falls North in 1980. He did not disappoint, running 15:07 to break the State record and win by 32 seconds over Dustin Fier of Hudson. SPASH had a great chance to win the team title, but fell just one point short in losing to Neenah 130-131.
Qualifying for the Foot Locker Nationals seemed like a mere formality. Needing again to finish in the top eight, Chris finished second among the 332 runners from 13 states. At the 2001 Foot Locker Finals, Chris remained in contention for the National title right up to the very end. He would place third in 14:52, just two seconds behind winner Tim Moore (who had defeated him at the Regionals) and Bobby Lockhart (who would become his teammate at the University of Wisconsin). The third-place finish earned Solinsky 1st Team All-American honors.
Solinsky was now a major player in the national high school scene. On March 10th, 2002, before SPASH's high school season had started, Chris competed at the Nike Indoor Championships in Landover, MD. He placed second to Bobby Lockhart in the 2-Mile Run with a time of 9:01.96, making Chris the fastest indoor 2-Miler in Wisconsin high school history. At the WTFA Indoor Championships, Solinsky won the 1600 m Run by over 17 seconds in a personal best and meet record of 4:09.82 (a time which would hold up as the fastest high school indoor Mile time in the USA). The next week, on Saturday, April 13, Chris traveled out to Arcadia, California, to meet some of the best high school distance runners in the country at the prestigious Arcadia Invitational. Solinsky's time of 8:48.44 in the 3200 m would not only win the meet, but establish him as the fastest Wisconsin prep in history and the 13th fastest prep in USA history. Deep into the outdoor season, Solinsky would show his speed by winning the 37-team Monone Grove Invitational 800 m in a personal best time of 1:53.70.
Going into the 2002 WIAA State Track & Field Championships, Chris was once again aiming to break Wisconsin's existing State meet records. He breezed to a 4:09.60 victory in the 1600 m Run on Friday, then made a spirited attempt to break the 21-year old State meet record of 9:01.49 by Scott Jenkins of Kenosha Bradford. With the entire crowd standing and cheering the whole time, Chris opened up a huge lead and crossed the line in 8:58.39 to break the record. Two weeks later, Chris continued to run on the national level at the adidas Outdoor Track & Field Championships, where he finished second to Bobby Lockhart in the 2-Mile Run with a time of 8:59.92. His time from the Arcadia Invitational held up as the fastest 2-mile time for a high school athlete in 2003.
[edit] Senior Year
Even despite all his success, there was still some accomplishments Chris Solinsky had yet to achieve going into his senior year. At the 2002 WIAA State Cross Country Championships, Chris would reset his own State meet record with an unbelievable time of 14:54 over the hilly 5000 m terrain at The Ridges Golf Course in Wisconsin Rapids, WI. His winning margin (once again over Dustin Fier of Hudson) was an incredible 57 seconds. Stevens Point placed fifth as a team, which meant Solinsky's team had never won a state team title during his four year career. Incredibly, they would win in the years directly surrounding Chris's tenure (1998 and 2003).
For the second year in a row, Chris qualified for the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships, this time by winning the Midwest Championships by 19 seconds in a time of 14:49. As the top returner, Solinsky was the heavy favorite for the national title, and he did not disappoint. Chris won easily with a time of 14:41, and his 20-second winning margin the largest margin in history.
Solinsky's track season would once again begin at the Nike Indoor Championships in Landover, MD. This time, Chris would win the 2-Mile Run in a time of 8:56.26. Next up, Chris set a Wisconsin indoor record by running a 4:07.60 in the 1600 m Run at the Point Indoor Invitational on March 22. Both times would remain as the best indoor high school times for 2003. He would then run a 1:54.62 in the indoor 800 m at the Madison West Relays. All this was leading up to Chris's return to the Arcadia Invitational in California, where he would once again meet the best distance runners in the nation. A record 11 high school athletes would break 9:00 during the 3200 m Run, making it arguably the deepest high school distance race in history. Solinsky would come out on top with a time of 8:43.24, breaking Chris's own State record in the event. Three days later, perhaps trying to prepare for such a triple at the upcoming State Championships, Chris won the 800 m, 1600 m and 3200 m at the WVC Indoor Conference Championships. On March 16, Chris would make an attempt on his own State record at the Monona Grove Invitational. Unforunately, the race was recalled when the athletes had already run 100 m. The race resumed after a brief period of time, and Chris won easily in 8:52.64 (the fastest time by a high school athlete on Wisconsin soil). Solinsky would again pull off the distance triple at the WVC Outdoor Conference Championships, easily winning the 800 m (1:57.8), 1600 m (4:30.0) and 3200 m (9:24.3). All that was left was the State meet, where Chris would attempt to win three individual events.
The last time an athlete had won the 800 m, 1600 m and 3200 m at the WIAA Division 1 State Track & Field Championships was when Gabe Jennings pulled the triple as a junior in 1996. Jennings is still the Wisconsin state record holder in the 1600 m Run at 4:04.97, won three NCAA titles at Stanford University and qualified for the 2000 Olympics in the 1500 m Run. In order to duplicate Jennings's feat, Chris would have to run the 800 m Run prelims on Friday, then come back an hour later to run the 3200 m Run final. On Saturday, he would run the 1600 m Run finals in mid-day, then the 800 m Run finals in the afternoon. Chris won his 800 m prelim in 1:55.83, then easily won the 3200 m Run in a time of 9:04.37. The next day, Chris made an attempt to break Gabe Jennings's state record in the 1600 m Run, but he barely fell short with a personal best of 4:05.25. Still, the race produced a victory, and Chris needed to just win the 800 m Run to pull off the triple. He started out in the lead, and used every ounce of his energy to hold off the field until the final homestretch, when John Mickowski of Mukwonago and Steve Ludwig of Kenosha Bradford slipped past. Chris would end up third with a time of 1:55.38. It was the first time Chris had lost to a high school athlete since June of 2002, and the first time he had lost to a Wisconsin high school athlete since June of 2001. Chris contributed 26 points to his team, but SPASH missed out on a team trophy by five points, finishing third overall.
Chris Solinsky's season, of course was not finished. The next weekend he ran at the adidas Outdoor Track & Field Championships, where he finished second in the 1-Mile Run with a personal best time of 4:05.30. That time would convert to a 4:03.80 in the 1600 m Run, which left Chris as the second fastest Wisconsin high school athlete ever (behind Gabe Jennings at a converted 4:01.30). He also graduated with the 18th fastest 800 m Run time (1:53.70i) and of course the fastest time in the 3200 m Run (8:43.24). In his high school career, he won 11 State medals, eight State titles, led the nation in time on six different occasions, and earned four 1st Team All-American awards.
[edit] College
[edit] Freshman Year
In the fall of 2003, Chris Solinsky joined one of the best recruiting classes in the history of the University of Wisconsin, a team already rich with talent. The next most heralded member of the incoming class was Tim Nelson of Liberty Christian High School in California. Nelson was a four-time State champion in California, a two-time Foot Locker finalist and held a personal best of 8:53.59, the eighth fastest time in the nation. Nelson was the only recruit not from Wisconsin. Three athletes who won Division 2 State titles in Wisconsin were also in the class: Tim Lacy of McFarland, Ben Porter of East Troy and Zach Vircks of Stanley Boyd. Solinsky was named the Big Ten Conference Freshman of the Year after placing third overall at the Big Ten Championships. He then finished 15 overall (top freshman) at the NCAA Championships to earn All-American honors and help the Badgers to a second place finish.
The All-American accolades would continue during the track & field season. Chris ran the 1200 m leg of Wisconsin's eighth place Distance Medley Relay team at the 2004 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships. He came back the next day to place sixth in the 3000 m Run. At the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Chris qualified in the 5000 m Run, but did not finish the race after collapsing due to the humidity. He ended the season with new personal bests of 3:42.13 in the 1500 m, 4:01.44 in the Mile, 7:57.58 in the 3000 m and 13:42.44 in the 5000 m.
[edit] Sophomore Year
The Badgers were primed for an NCAA championship in cross country during the 2004 season. They even went so far as to redshirt their entire freshmen class, which included the athletes who had placed first, seventh and eighth at the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships the year before (Matt Withrow, Christian Wagner and Stuart Eagon, respectively). Another redshirt was Antony Ford, a transfer from Montana who was already a two-time All-American in cross country. The Badgers walked through the regular season, absolutely dominating the heralded Roy Griak Invitational with a 1-2-3-7-8-9 finish. They won the Jim Drews Invitational just as handily, then went onto smoke everybody at the Big Ten Championships, with Solinsky placing second behind junior Simon Bairu (who won for the second year in a row). The table seemed set for another dominating victory at the NCAA Championships; but somebody forgot to tell the Colorado Buffaloes. While everybody on the Badgers had an average to below-average day (besides Bairu, who won the individual title), the Buffaloes ran out of their mind to score a 90-94 victory. Solinsky placed 16th overall, one spot worse than the year before.
Despite the disappointment at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, Solinsky and his distance teammates had an excellent track & field season. The Badgers breezed to another Big Ten title, with Solinsky placing in the top three in both the 5000 m and 3000 m events. At the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships, Solinsky and teammate Matt Tegenkamp placed third and fifth, respectively, in the 5000 m Run on Friday afternoon. The next day, both of them were vying for the lead in the 3000 m Run with only laps to go. Tegenkamp would eventually fall back and finish third, but Solinsky crossed the finish line in the lead to win his first NCAA title. He had yet to even win a Conference title. The Badgers would earn a trophy by placing third overall as a team. At the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Solinsky would place eighth in the 5000 m Run to earn his seventh NCAA All-American plaque. Later in the summer, he would set his personal best in the 5000 m by running a 13:37.55 at the USATF Outdoor Championships.
[edit] Junior Year
The Badgers graduated three members (Tim Keller, Josh Spiker, Matt Tegenkamp) of their NCAA runner-up team from a year ago, but were still poised to win their first NCAA cross country title since 1988. They would be gaining the three Foot Locker finalists from a year ago who had red-shirted in 2004. Those three athletes (Matt Withrow, Stuart Eagon, Christian Wagner) had proved their worth by running 5000 m times of 13:35.32, 13:53.64 and 14:04.71, respectively, during the 2005 track & field season. The Badgers were also welcoming a new freshmen class that included two more Foot Locker finalists (Brandon Bethke and Ryan Gasper), but all the freshmen would once again sit out the season as redshirts. Unlike in previous years, the Badgers did not run all their best athletes together until the Big Ten Championships. The strategy seemed to work as Wisconsin took home eight of the top nine spots in the Big Ten. Simon Bairu would win for the third year in a row while Solinsky would finish second for the second year in a row. The only athlete who stopped a complete Badger sweep was John Jefferson of Indiana, who placed fifth overall. The Badgers set Big Ten records for lowest total score and largest margin of victory.
At the NCAA Cross Country Championships, the Badgers set out to break their three-year streak of second-place finishes. It appeared the Badgers were in great position early in the race, with six of their seven runners all in the top pack. When none of those athletes began to faulter, it appeared that Wisconsin would finally get its NCAA title. Simon Bairu won his second straight individual title by fighting off Richard Kiplagat of Iona up the final hill. Chris Solinsky would finish right behind in third place after passing Josh McDougal of Liberty up that same hill. The Badgers would keep on coming, as Matt Withrow (9th), Antony Ford (14th), Stuart Eagon (17th) and Tim Nelson (18th) all finished in the top 20. Their final score was just 37 points, an incredible 68 points ahead of runner-up Arkansas. As it turns out, Wisconsin had enough firepower to win even without Bairu or Solinsky.
During the track season, Solinsky would win his first Big Ten title by capturing the indoor 5000 m crown, then made it a double by winning the 3000 m title the next day. His luck wasn't much worse at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships, where he placed third in the 5000 m and then successfully defended his 3000 m title. Solinsky would go into the spring track season without an outdoor Big Ten or NCAA title to his credit. He would come away with both, but first he took a stab at becoming the first person to break 4:00 in the Mile on Wisconsin soil. At the Badger Twilight on May 6 (52 years to the day after Roger Bannister broke the barrier for the first time), Solinsky and four other athletes ran in front of a raucous crowd at the Dan McClimon track, with former Badger Matt Tegenkamp finishing first in 3:56.58 and Solinsky taking second in 3:57.80. Solinsky's championship season started at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships, where he won the 1500 m title in 3:43.78. During the season, he had run a personal best and school record of 13:27.94 to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in the 5000 m. At NCAAs, Chris was stuck on the inside of the track while the 5000 m final went out very slow. He was finally able to break free and take the lead with just over four laps to go. He completed those last four laps in 4:01 to win the race in a time of 14:11.71.
With a year still remaining in his college career, Chris Solinsky has won three Big Ten titles, three NCAA titles, 11 All-American plaques and set three school records. In nine seasons his teams have won nine Big Ten titles.
[edit] Senior Year
At the NCAA Cross Country Championships, the Badgers, favored to repeat as national champions, faultered and finished 2nd for the 4th time in 5 years. Coming off a 3rd place showing last year, Solinsky took a stunning 73rd place. Teammates Stuart Eagon finished 11th, Tim Nelson finished 18th, and Matt Winthrow finished 24th. An otherwise solid team performance.
