MacDougall cites firing of longtime coach Boyd as primary reason for departure, will look to pursue geological engineering degree, along with adding depth for Badgers following graduation of All-Americans Monson and Davis

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Following the recent decision made by Alicia Monson to forgo her remaining collegiate eligibility at Wisconsin and pursue a professional running career by signing with Total Sports US, it didn’t take long for the program to fill a significant need on the women’s roster, with the Badgers announcing the addition of Canadian talent Brogan MacDougall, who is expected to join the team in the fall.

MacDougall, 19, will arrive at Wisconsin as a junior, having previously competed at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario.

MacDougall contributed to Queen’s capturing the program’s first U Sports national team championship in November at home at Fort Henry Hill, covering the 8-kilometer course in 28:20 to finish sixth overall. Senior Branna MacDougall, Brogan’s older sister placed third for the Gaels in 28:01.

Brogan MacDougall won the U Sports cross country individual title in 2018 during her freshman season, clocking 27:49, with Branna finishing ninth as Queen’s placed runner-up behind Laval University of Quebec City. She also captured the 2018 Canadian U-20 cross country title and placed 47th at the 2019 World U-20 Championships in Denmark.

MacDougall decided to leave Queen’s after head coach Steve Boyd was fired in February following a 10-year tenure with the Gaels. Boyd was dismissed after making public comments in the aftermath of the firing of another coach at the University of Guelph that his former employer didn’t endorse.

MacDougall spoke at length Tuesday with Christopher Kelsall of Athletics Illustrated regarding the decisions made by Queen’s administrators and her reasons for leaving.

In addition to the coaching experience of Mackenzie Wartenberger and Mick Byrne, MacDougall was also drawn to Wisconsin because of its geological engineering department, a niche major that isn’t supported by many high-profile NCAA Division 1 cross country programs.

MacDougall provides important depth for a program that also loses All-American Amy Davis after Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez announced April 9 that the Badgers would not be providing an extra year of eligibility for seniors competing in spring sports, despite the NCAA Division 1 Council announcing March 30 that universities would be able to allow student-athletes to return and provide scholarship relief for the 2020-21 school year.

MacDougall, who boasts track personal bests of 9:08.25 in the 3,000 and 16:06.75 in the 5,000, joins a roster that is projected to return five individuals who contributed to Wisconsin’s seventh-place finish at the NCAA Division 1 cross country championship meet in November.

She also joins a group of Canadian distance runners that previously enjoyed success at Wisconsin, including national record-holders Mohammed Ahmed and Simon Bairu.