PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers cross country will travel to Madison, Wisconsin for the 2023 Big Ten Championships on Friday, October 27. The Thomas Zimmer Championship Course will host the men's 8K race at 11:45 a.m., followed by the women's 6K at 12:45 p.m.
 
Coverage of the Big Ten Championships is available via live results and streamed on B1G+. Visit Championship Central for more details.
 
"We are very excited for this championship and looking to get our best finish in the Big Ten for the men and women," said Matthew Jelley, head cross country coach. "Our men have been working on running as a pack. They have improved all year long and had a 19 second gap from the first to fifth runner our last time out. They will use that tight pack to work their way up the standings.
 
"The women have a legit frontrunner in Alex Carlson who is gunning for an All-Big Ten finish. Our 2-3 have been solid and look to continue that, while the fourth-seventh runners have been improving on closing the gap to our 3rd runner.  If they continue to improve, we should have our best finish."
 
The Scarlet Knights are in midst of a solid 2023 campaign, highlighted by a team title on the men's side and two team victories for the women's squad.
 
Alex Carlson posted a pair of individual wins for the women as she led a 1-2-3 finish for the Scarlet Knights on two occasions. She led the entire field at the LIU Fall Festival and Delaware Invitational, while Sofia Condron and Rylee Ferretti placed second and third, respectively, in each of those races.
 
Carlson is coming off a top-20 finish at the 2022 Big Ten Championships where she placed 17th overall, the second-best finish in program history at the conference meet.
 
On the men's side, Rutgers enjoyed a successful run in its previous outing taking the top three spots at the Delaware Invitational. Kyle Rakitis, Zeb Hinker and Brian Pedretti went 1-2-3 in the men's 8K as the men earned nine of the top 10 spots.
 
Rutgers was previously scheduled to race at the championship site in September, however, inclement weather caused the squad to miss competing in the Big Ten Preview on the campus of Wisconsin.