NU Men Hold Slim Chance of NCAA Berth after Regional Performance

Waterloo, Iowa - Both the Nebraska men's and women's cross country teams saw their seasons come to an end Saturday at the NCAA Midwest Region meet, hosted by Northern Iowa. The Husker men finished fifth with 156 points, while the women took eighth with 196 points. The top two teams from each of nine regional meets automatically qualified for nationals, while 13 additional teams will earn at-large bids to the NCAA meet in Ames, Iowa.

On the men's side the Midwest will be represented by Oklahoma State, which claimed the meet title with 68 points, and Missouri, which finished second with 98 points. Both teams placed a runner in the top five with Sooner senior David Vasquez finishing second (30:29) and Tiger senior Nick Smith (30:31) claiming third. Iowa State senior Daniel Kinyua won the race in 30:28.

Although Nebraska's fifth-place showing was not enough to qualify as a team, Nebraska will be represented in Ames by senior Aaron Carrizales. Carrizales, who hails from Morrill, Neb., finished the 10,000-meter race in 30:40 to finish sixth. In addition to the qualifying teams, the top four individual finishers not qualifying with a team also advance to the national meet. With two of the top spots going to Oklahoma State and Missouri runners, Carrizales qualified for the fourth and final individual spot, marking the first time in his career that he will compete at the NCAA Championships.

For the second consecutive year, senior Marcus Witter barely missed qualifying for the national meet. Witter finished seventh (30:42), a mere two seconds behind Carrizales. The Kearney, Neb. native has been the first Husker to cross the finish line in every meet for the past two years, but he may still get a chance to compete in his second national meet. Witter could still qualify as one of two individual at large bids, but he will not find out his fate until Monday.

Sophomore Mike Kamm finished 45th in 31:47, followed closely by freshman Kyle Wyatt, who finished 48th in 31:48. Sophomore Ian Gray rounded out the team scoring, finishing 53rd in 31:56. Sophomore Jed Barta (66th, 32:20) and freshman Eric Rasmussen (67th, 32:31) also competed.

In the women's race, sophomore Kathryn Handrup was the first Husker to cross the line, finishing the 6,000-meter race in 21:33 for 21st. Freshman Ann Gaffigan finished 25th (21:39) with senior Amie Jorgensen close on her heels. Jorgensen's 27th-place showing at the regional meet marked the second-highest finish of her career, surpassed only by a 25th-place finish as a freshman in 1996.

Junior Jenna Lucas making her first appearance at the regional meet, finished 54th in 22:26, while Jaimie Kurger capped her senior year with a 77th-place finish in 22:47. Freshman Hillary Laird (122nd, 23:42) and sophomore Christy Linnell (141st, 24:17) also competed for Nebraska.

Kansas State sophomore Amy Mortimer claimed the individual title in 20:54, leading the Wildcats to a first-place finish with 61 points. Minnesota will also travel to Ames as the Golden Golphers finished second with 84 points.

The NCAA Championships, hosted by Iowa State, are scheduled for Monday, Nov. 20 with the women's race kicking off at 11 a.m., followed by the men's race at noon.