Brooks leads Huskers to Fourth Place Finish

Led by senior Michelle Brooks, the University of Nebraska women's cross country team placed fourth at the Big 12 Championships on Saturday, Oct. 30.

Brooks' seventh-place finish was the second highest finish by a Husker in the four-year history of the conference meet. Her time of 17:20 was her best this season by more than 30 seconds. Her previous best came at the Wolverine Inter-Regional on Oct. 17, where she placed ninth in 17:58.

Senior Jaime Pauli continues to improve, cracking the top 20 with a 17th-place finish in 17:44. Pauli eclipsed her previous best, set three weeks ago at the National Invitational meet, by 10 seconds.

The Huskers, who accumulated 121 points, just two shy of third-place Missouri, competed without sophomore Jeannette Zimmer. Zimmer, who has been one of the Huskers' top finishers this season, is suffering from three stress fractures in her legs.

Head Coach Jay Dirksen said that without Zimmer, some schools doubted the ability of his team.

"When they heard that Zimmer wasn't running, they kind of wrote us off," he said. "They don't realize how much depth we have."

That depth comes from runners like Kathryn Handrup. Although a freshman, Handrup tackled the Texas A&M University Golf Course like a veteran, surprising even her coach. She finished 22nd in 17:57, her best performance of the season.

"Handrup had a spectacular race," Dirksen said. "I've had a lot of confidence in her ability. (Her finish) shows she's really talented."

Kearney native Jaimie Kruger, ran a strong race to finish 35th in 18:15. Senior Melinda Oliver and freshman Mirjana Glisovic finished back-to-back, taking the 40th and 41st places in times of 18:19 and 18:21 respectively. Junior Amie Finkner finished 49th in 18:33, while Jenna Lucas took 63rd in 18:56.

Dirksen said what he admired most about his team was the way they reacted to the loss of Zimmer.

"Despite losing Jeannette, this team really went after it," he said. "Everybody ran close to the best time they've ever run. They never really thought much about it."

Kara Wheeler won the event in 16:48 to help Colorado reclaim the team title with 62 points, marking the third time in four years the Buffaloes have won the championship.

On the men's side, junior Marcus Witter led the Huskers to a sixth-place finish with 173 points. Witter ran a solid race to finish 23rd in 25:46. Team captain Aaron Carrizales set a personal best by finishing 31st in 26:01.

"I think Aaron ran the best race of his life," Dirksen said. "This is the best race he's had this year."

Despite its youth, Nebraska was able to turn in some solid performances. Four freshmen were among Nebraska's top finishers including Mike Kamm, who took 35th in 26:04. Jed Barta set a personal best over the 8,000-meter course to take 39th in 26:09, followed by James De Bruhl, who finished 54th in 26:38, while Ian Gray crossed the line in 26:51 to take 60th. Sophomore Jared Carlson rounded out the scoring for Nebraska taking 72nd in 27:17.

Dirksen said he was pleased with the effort the team displayed.

"I think it was about as good as we could expect," Dirksen said. "We had people that just put out the best effort they could give us. With that, you just can't ask for anymore."

Colorado won their fourth team title with 22 points behind Ron Roybal's first-place finish in 24:23.

The Huskers will compete at the NCAA Midwest Region Championships on Saturday, Nov. 13th, in Savoy, Illinois. The men will tackle the 10,000-meter course at 11 a.m. followed by the women's 5,000-meter race at noon.