1998 Preview

Nebraska Head Coach Jay Dirksen describes the upcoming cross country season as "optimistic" when considering his women's team. The engineer of the program for the past 16 years has good reason to describe the team in such a manner, as eight runners return with letters and NCAA Championships experience, including NU's top five runners from the second-place 1997 NCAA Midwest Regional team.

Nebraska has qualified for the NCAA Championships as a team in six of the past seven seasons, finishing no lower than 20th on any of the occasions and placing 12th in 1991. NU's best days at the national meet were a pair of third-place finishes in 1988 and 1989. Coach Dirksen said this team has the potential to once again crack the top 15.

"I think that our team knows what it is they are up against," Dirksen said. "Potentially, we have an opportunity to be a lot better than we were last season."

Among the eight letterwinners returning, are Amy Wiseman, Jaime Pauli, Kate Centerwall, Melinda Mohr, Melissa Wilson and Amie Finkner, all of whom have finished in the top 30 at a Regional contest. Over the past two seasons, NU has garnered a reputation for running as a team, and Coach Dirksen predicts there could be a lot of trading places among the top seven runners.

"The fact that we have a lot of good people makes the runners somewhat homogeneous in their ability," Dirksen said. "There should be a lot of changing, the more competition there is among our top seven, the better we can be."

The Huskers will have several opportunities to test their talent, as well as their depth, as an all-star schedule awaits in the fall. Competition begins on Sept. 19, when NU host the Woody Greeno Invitational. Traditionally a gathering for the smaller non-university schools around the area, the Woody Greeno will attract a number of Big 12 teams as they prepare for the Big 12 Championships in Lincoln on Oct. 31.

The week following the Woody Greeno, NU makes their annual trip to Minneapolis, Minn., for the Roy Griak Invite, a meet which annually draws the top competition in the country. Two weeks later, Nebraska heads to Lawrence, Kan., the sight of the 1998 NCAA Championships, to run in the Pre-NCAA Invitational, which is expected to boast the toughest field of the season aside from the NCAA meet. On Oct. 17, NU will be in Eugene, Ore., for the Oregon Invitational, which will provide competition from prime Pacific-10 opponents.

"We are going to find every meet to be a challenge," Dirksen said. "How they meet that challenge is going to determine how good they are."

NU will run again in Lincoln when the entire Big 12 conference arrives for the Big 12 Championships. The conference annually proves itself to be one of the toughest nationally, as four teams were represented last year at the NCAA Championships, including Colorado, which placed third. Dirksen expects the Buffaloes, the defending Big 12 champions, to be the favorite with NU, Baylor and Missouri all vying for the upset.

On Nov. 14, the Huskers will be in Wichita, Kan., for the Midwest Regional meet where they must finish among the top two teams for an automatic berth to the NCAA meet. If they fail to place among the top two, they still stand a chance at qualifying with an at-large bid. Dirksen forecasts NU to be one of the favorites in the Regional, along with Minnesota, Missouri and Wichita State.

With eight letterwinners back and the addition of four newcomers, NU will have sufficient firepower to attack the schedule.

Wiseman, a sophomore, returns after a brilliant freshman season, finishing as NU's No. 1 runner in every major meet. The Lee's Summit, Mo., native was named all-conference after finishing 6th at the Big 12 meet. Two weeks later she placed fifth at the Midwest Regional. Wiseman was also among the top 15 runners at the Woody Greeno Invite, the Roy Griak Invite and the Wolverine Inter-Regional. She is expected to lead NU's talented roster this fall and possibly contend for All-America honors.

Pauli has been a mainstay among NU's top five runners over the past two seasons. Last year, Pauli consistently challenged Wiseman for the top spot on the team before being diagnosed with a stress fracture before the Big 12 Championships. Highlighting her season was a 35th-place finish at the Pre-NCAA Invitational, an 18th-place showing at the Wolverine Inter-Regional and a 17th-place finish at the Big 12 Championships.

Just a sophomore, Centerwall is also expected to compete among the team's top five. Running as a true freshman last season, Centerwall came up big filling in for key runners who were nursing injuries. The Bellevue, Wash., product had her biggest performance at the Midwest Regional, where she placed 11th as NU's second runner. Centerwall was also 23rd at the Big 12 meet and NU's fourth runner (109th overall) at the NCAA Championships.

Wilson, the 1998 team captain, is back this fall after missing all of last season with a pelvic stress fracture. Wilson redshirted last season after consistently finishing among the team's top three during the 1996 campaign. At the 1996 NCAA Championships, she was NU's top finisher while placing 86th overall.

Another junior, Mohr, ran among NU's top five in every meet last season. Mohr peaked at the ideal time last season, finishing just behind Centerwall as NU's third runner and 13th overall at the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships, helping propel NU to nationals.

Finkner, a sophomore, was granted a medical redshirt after last season when a back injury limited her to just two meets. Expected to be a key to NU's success, she was injured just before NU's first competition and never recovered. Finkner has returned to prime form for this fall and should be among the team's top seven runners.

Competing as true freshmen last season, Deb Osteen and Liz Biehl filled in for injured personnel among the Huskers' top seven. Osteen and Biehl both lettered and competed at the national meet, giving them much needed experience. They are both improved, and will challenge for a spot in the top seven.

Four newcomers join the squad this season, including Jeanette Zimmer of Port Orchard, Wash., Zimmer, the Washington class 4A state champ in the 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs, could contribute immediately, according to Dirksen.

Tammy Hoyt, originally from Culbertson, Neb., arrives at NU after competing at Colby (Kan.) Community College, where she was an All-American and NJCAA indoor champion at 5,000 meters in 1996. Freshman Jenna Lucas of Rapid City, S.D., and Stephanie Stewart of Lincoln, Neb., also join the team. Lucas, the 1997 South Dakota class 2A cross country champ, along with Stewart, are expected to add depth to NU's team as they make the transition to Division I competition.