Husker Harriers Headed to Nationals

Indianapolis - The wait is over.

University of Nebraska Cross Country Coach Jay Dirksen was informed Monday afternoon that the men's team, as well as sophomore Ann Gaffigan from the women's squad, were chosen to compete at the NCAA championships in Greenville, S.C., on Nov. 19. The NCAA Men's and Women's Track and Field Committee chose 31 teams and 38 individuals from nine regions to compete in the meet hosted by Furman University. Nebraska's men's squad, which consists of juniors Jed Barta, James Bowler, Ian Gray, and Mike Kamm, sophomores Eric Rasmussen and Paul Wilson and freshman Luke Garringer, was one of 13 at-large teams selected, while Gaffigan was one of two at-large individuals chosen for the women's competition.

"I had a pretty good idea the men would get in, and I was confident Ann would too," Dirksen said. "I was pretty certain after analyzing the results from the other regionals Saturday night that we stood a good chance."

Nebraska's third-place finish at the Midwest Regional on Nov. 10 proved to be just enough, as the Huskers were the only at-large team chosen from the region. It marked the second straight year Nebraska has earned an at-large berth to the championships. In 2000, the Huskers finished fifth at the regional, which led to a 26th-place finish at the national meet.

"It's a better team across the board this year, however that doesn't guarantee a better finish," Dirksen said. "The thing we have to guard against is just being content with being in the race. You have to be ready to put it all on the line, because if you don't, someone else will."

Gaffigan, who has been the Huskers' top runner all season, will make her first appearance at the national meet. Gaffigan, who posted NCAA qualifying marks in both the 5,000-meter run and 3,000-meter steeplechase during the outdoor track season last year, is the first Husker to compete as an individual since 1995, when Dirksen accompanied Christina Blackmer and Nora Shepard, who finished 108th and 118th, respectively.

"It's a big relief," Gaffigan said of finally learning her fate. "Now I can relax and concentrate on the race itself."

Even though she didn't enter the season with the expectation of being one of the 255 competitors, it wasn't long before Gaffigan started to realize that it was a definite possibility.

"Midway through the season I started expecting myself to make it," she said. "I felt like I had the ability to make it, I just needed to put in the effort."

And put in the effort she did. Gaffigan, who hails from Springfield, Ill., has been especially impressive in her last three races. After a 20th-place showing against many of the nation's top runners at the Furman Invitational, a meet held on the same course as the NCAA Championships, Gaffigan ran her way to a seventh-place finish at the Big 12 conference meet, becoming the first Husker since Shepard in1995 to earn All-Big 12 honors as a sophomore. Gaffigan was also impressive at the NCAA Midwest Region meet, in what Dirksen described as "the best race of her life."

"She's capable of running really well there," Dirksen said. "Certainly people who finished that high in their respective regions have the capability of being among the top 50 or 60 runners."

The men's race is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m., followed by the women's event at 12:15 p.m. (EST)