Meanwhile in Wisconsin, the Hacker legacy lives on

see you in 2048 · 2014-11-02T09:10:56-05:00

Madison West's Olin Hacker ran to an even paced 14:59 on the challenging Ridges Golf Course in Wisconsin Rapids yesterday afternoon which not only scared Chris Solinsky's seemingly immortal 5000 meter course record of 14:54 but nearly returned the all-time state meet record for cross country back to the family name. Olin's win marked the 7th individual victory for the Hacker family in Class A/Division 1 state championships competition. Like Olin, Tim (father) and Jeff (uncle) were consecutive state champions. Here's a brief overview of the Gen X champion Hacker's of Menomonee Falls North high school: 2014 - Olin '14 2013 - Olin '14 1984 - Bill '85 1980 - Tim '81 1979 - Tim '81 1977 - Jeff '78 1976 - Jeff '78 Non-winning Hackers: Mike Hacker '76 (9:39 2-miler), Dave Hacker '80 (4:14 miler, 15:40c guy), Sam '11 (4:17/9:27), Wilson '13 (4:19) First cousins: Cathy Hacker married 1984 Olympian Steve Lacy of McFarland, WI who between he and his son Andrew bring four more Class C/Division 2 cross country state titles to the table (1972, 1973, 2004, 2005) Thirty-four years ago on November 1st, 1980, Olin's father, Tim, ran to his second consecutive Class A individual title recording a 15:15 on the American Legion Golf Course. This was the first year Wisconsin contested the 5000 meters. Tim, of course, went on to place 4th at the Kinney National meet that same year and eventually ran to an individual NCAA title in 1985 before running a 3:34 1500 in Koblenz. Tim Hacker's 15:15 became recognized as the all-time state meet record from that point forward. It wasn't until October 27th, 2001 that a high school junior boy by the name of Chris Solinsky bettered that all-time record with a 15:08 (4:42 opening mile). Solinsky placed third at Footlocker Nationals that year surprising many pundits in the national circles. Solinsky then lowered the all-time mark a year later with a 14:54 (4:35 opening mile) before wining Footlocker Nationals in 14:41. Spectators from yesterday's meet have noted that Olin looked contained after a 4:49 opening mile and could have taken Solinsky's record with a faster start. Others have suggested Olin simply has another gear. For the record, the next fastest times on the Ridges are Derek Storkel (15:26), Chris Rombough (15:27) and Ryan Kromer (15:27). Both Rombough and Kromer were 5th and 8th at Footlocker during their respective years. WIAA Course talk: Even though the venue changed several times before eventually ending up at the Ridges Golf Course where it is held today and has been held since 1988, the WIAA has ensured a challenging terrain for their championship cross country courses since 1964. In 1964, future UW legend Bob Gordon of Madison West chopped an astonishing 25 seconds off the existing Hartford Country Club 2.2 mile course record with a time of 10:09.6 which called for a lot of skepticism as a 9:14 two miles were not yet overly common especially on grass. Although courses vary from one to the next it has been a consensus assumption that the 5000 meter American Legion Golf Course in Wausau and the Ridges in Wisconsin Rapids are relatively equal in difficulty. The American Legion Golf Course is still home of the Bill Smiley Invitational today where Chris Solinsky recorded an easy win when seeting the meet record of 15:32 in 2002. Below is a link to an interesting 1984 article on the Falls North Hacker bunch and strikingly similar images of both Olin and Tim winning their state meets as juniors in high school. http://www.tracktalk.net/hacker-name-running-game-t14257.html Thank you for reading!

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11 years ago 12/18/2014 10:33pm EST

re: jfgfdre

jfgfdre wrote:
The obit linked by ?????????? says that this Randy Berndt attended Breckenridge, MN public schools, NDSU and I think Mankato (MSUM).

You are correct. This is NOT the same Randy Berndt. He is from Wisconsin and went to Plymouth High School and straight to Wisconsin. The other Randy Berndt is the correct age and it says he was an avid runner, but not the same person.

11 years ago 12/19/2014 7:10am EST

re: jjjjj

jjjjj wrote:
Oh, how many mentions on letsrun were there of Hacker prior to last month?

I commented that he would be a major force way back at the start of his junior year; I think most people in Wisconsin already recognized his potential at that time.

http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=5310012&page=1

9 years ago 09/23/2016 12:21am EDT

re: lucKY2b

Great thread on WI distance running - both past and present.

3 years ago 06/10/2022 11:09pm EDT

re: see you in 2048

3 years ago 06/10/2022 11:24pm EDT

re: Very Bitter about 1983

Very Bitter about 1983 wrote:
newname wrote:
I watched the 1985 team win at Dretzka Park when I was very young. It was not an "all-Wisconsin" team, but it was an all-Midwest team I believe.
No foreigners.
Here are the 1982 and 1983 teams:
4 (4) Tim Hacker, Menomonee Falls North (WI)
5 (5) Scott Jenkins, Kenosha Bradford (WI)
16 (12) John Easker, Wittenberg-Birnamwood (WI)
23 (18) Joe Stintzi, Menomonee Falls North (WI)
26 (20) Jim Brice, Wrightstown (WI)
47 (31) Randy Berndt, Plymouth (WI)
84 (62) Don Volkey, Belvidere (IL)
3 (3) John Easker, Wittenberg-Birnamwood (WI)
11 (11) Scott Jenkins, Kenosha Bradford (WI)
25 (20) Joe Stintzi, Menomonee Falls North (WI)
43 (32) Randy Berndt, Plymouth (WI)
126 (98) Mark Sisson, Indian Creek (IN)
168 (138) John Jacobson, Cornell (IL)
181 (151) Kelly Delaney, Madison Edgewood (WI)

BTW, that is Emily's father.

3 years ago 06/11/2022 10:37am EDT

re: See you in 2052

Holy s*** this guy got to college in 2015. Can’t hate on BYU if you don’t hate on this situation too - this is the 7th track season he’s been there??

3 years ago 06/12/2022 12:03pm EDT

re: Alexi Santana

Hacker is one month younger than Grant Fisher.

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