Handrup Earns Runner-Up Finish at Dean White Invite

Crete, Neb. - In her first meet of the season, junior Kathryn Handrup ran a strong race, finishing second at the Dean White Invitational in Crete on Saturday. Handrup, who is making her way back from a stress fracture, finished the 5,000-meter course in 18:56.35, just seconds off Mary Livengood's winning time of 18:45.46. Nebraska's top runner last season, Handrup is still working on getting back into racing form, but NU Coach Jay Dirksen said he's happy to have Handrup competing.

"It's great to see her running again," Dirksen said. "She ran a great race for the first meet of the year."

The Huskers were also represented by freshman Michele Steube, who finished eighth in 19:53.74, to claim the highest individual finish of her career. A strong distance runner in high school, Steube has been out of competitive running for a few years, but is slowly returning to form.

"I thought Michele ran much better this week," Dirksen said. "She looked much more competitive."

Nebraska was also represented by junior Melissa Drozda, who finished 17th in 20:37.44, and sophomore Hillary Laird, who finished 25th (31:39.82).

On the men's side, the Huskers had four runners finish in the top 20, including Lincoln native Scott Wandzilak, who earned his second top 10 finish of the season with a fifth-place showing. A product of Lincoln Southeast, Wandzilak finished the 8,000-meter course in 27:41.98. Sophomore Marc Clinard also ran a solid race, finishing 11th in 28:11.61, a marked improvement from his performance at the Woody Greeno/Nebraska Invitational last week.

"March and Scott both ran well," Dirksen said. "I was glad to see Marc move up this week. He was much improved over a week ago."

Meanwhile freshmen Tim Williams and Joe Shreve finished 13th (28:21.12) and 20th (29:03.84), respectively. Hunter Kosman, a sophomore on the NU squad, competed unattached, finishing 34th in 30:47.07.

Dean White Invitational (Top five finishers plus Nebraska)
Women	Men
1. Mary Livengood (Aunt Sadies Old) - 18:45.46	1. Zack Reeves (Doane)- 26:56.41
2. Kathryn Handrup (Nebraska) - 18:56.35	2. Luke Meduna (Doane)- 27:10.96
3. Brittany Price (Doane) - 19:08.38	3. Sam Malmberg (Doane) - 27:13.77
4. Natalie Flynn (College of St. Mary)- 19:10.92	4. Genta Terashima (Unattached)- 27:15.14
5. Michelle Quinlan (Concordia) - 19:28.09	5. Scott Wandzilak (Nebraska) - 27:41.98
8. Michele Steube (Nebraska) - 19:53.74	11. Marc Clinard (Nebraska) - 28:11.61
17. Melissa Drozda (Nebraska) - 20:37.44	13. Tim Williams (Nebraska) - 28:21.12
25. Hillary Laird (Nebraska) - 21:39.82	20. Joe Shreve (Nebraska) - 29:03.84