SEELYVILLE, Ind. - The memory of last year's awards ceremony at the NCAA cross country meet was fresh in the minds of the University of Wisconsin runners as they stepped to the line Monday for the 2008 championships.

A year ago, Wisconsin was frozen out of a podium finish, failing to finish in the top four for the first time in six seasons. So accustomed to being on the podium, the Badgers were mere spectators for an awards ceremony for the first time since before any of them set foot on campus.

"We didn't want that to happen again," sophomore Landon Peacock said.

Peacock and his teammates made sure it wouldn't, securing a fourth-place showing at the national meet on a chilly afternoon at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course just outside of Terre Haute, Ind.

Peacock earned All-American honors with his 24th-place finish, traversing the 10,000-meter course in 30 minutes even as the No. 4 Badgers totaled 229 points, just a step behind third-place Stanford's 227.

"Those trophies are not easy to come by," said first-year UW coach Mick Byrne. "There are 31 teams out there, and a lot of coaches would love one of those trophies. To be able to get another one is fantastic."

The Badgers finished in the top five for the 10th straight year, and 28th time in program history.

Oregon, behind individual winner Galen Rupp's course record-setting performance, easily won the men's team race with 93 points. Iona, where Byrne coached for 24 years prior to joining the Badgers this season, was second with 147.

Seniors Stuart Eagon (34th, 30:09) and Matt Withrow (39th, 30:13) each earned All-American accolades for the fourth consecutive year.

"After everything we've been through, after the changes and all the trials we had, we're on the podium," Withrow said. "That's something we're definitely proud of."

The Badgers ran in a tightly bunched pack through most of the first half of the race. Peacock, Eagon, Withrow, senior Christian Wagner and junior Craig Miller were all within a second of each other at the 3K mark.

Peacock surged toward the front of the pack, but the other four Badgers came through the 5K within a five-second gap.

Peacock continued to push with the chase pack - Rupp and runner-up Samuel Chelanga of Liberty had run away early - until fading a bit over the final 1,500 meters. Still, Peacock, the Big Ten individual champion, became the program's 54th athlete to earn All-American status.

"I remember Mick telling me just to stay relaxed through the first 5K, and the second 5K is kind of where the race starts," Peacock said.

Wisconsin had its five scoring runners in the top 65 at the halfway point, as the Badgers came through in third behind Oregon and Iona. But Wagner - who had lost a shoe at the 4K mark - and Miller struggled to maintain their pace. Miller finished in 90th place in 30:50, while sophomore Jack Bolas came from behind to edge out Wagner for the Badgers' final scoring slot in 97th place in 30:53.

Wisconsin still held third place at the 8K mark by about 15 places, but Stanford was able to make up just enough ground over the final 2,000 meters to slide ahead of the Badgers.

"We went after it maybe a little too aggressively the first 4K, but hey, they came out here to compete for a national title and the kids did that and it's just fantastic," Byrne said. "I'm very proud of them."

Junior Ryan Gasper, a former Fort Atkinson athlete, was the Badgers' final finisher in 218th place (32:04).

Temperatures hovered around 50 degrees for the early-afternoon race, held under gray skies with a healthy breeze. Despite a morning drizzle, the course conditions were excellent, in stark contrast to previous years when rainfall left standing water and a muddy track.

"This course has come along so much," Withrow said. "With the rain they got, even though it was a mist, it would have trashed this course a couple years ago. Now, it's a nice course. There's a reason this is the best course in the country."

Former Monroe athlete Matt Barrett, a Minnesota junior, took 160th place for the Gophers. Barrett was Minnesota's fourth runner in 31:24.