2001 Men's Cross Country Season in Review

The 2001 Nebraska men's cross country team produced one of its best seasons in recent history, qualifying for the NCAA Championships for the second consecutive year. An extremely young squad, the Huskers showed that depth and determination are often as valuable as experience. Led by four talented juniors, Nebraska finished in the top half of a highly competitive conference, and earned the highest finish at a regional by an NU team since 1997.

"We really improved a lot from the beginning of the season to the end," Coach Jay Dirksen said. "We had great depth. For being in as tough of a conference as we are, to finish fifth at the conference meet, third at the regional and qualify for nationals is a pretty good feat."

With many new faces on the roster, questions still lingered as to who would make the top seven. But it didn't take long to realize that several newcomers would make an immediate impact. The first sign of the future came at the Bearcat Distance Classic, where Dirksen sent seven runners, many of whom were racing in their first Division I race. With a team composed primarily of freshmen, six NU runners finished among the top seven. Sophomore transfer Dana Carne impressed many in his first competition, capturing the individual title and propelling the men to the team title.

Although the official season started a little later than usual because of the events of Sept. 11, Nebraska runners were tested at the familiar venue of Pioneers Park, where they competed unattached in the Woody Greeno/Nebraska Invitational on Sept. 15.

Following a hard week of training, Nebraska's runners were eager to take to the course. Several Huskers were capable of battling for the top spot on the team, but it was Mike Kamm who would lead NU's runners across the line. Kamm finished third, and showed a glimpse of what was to come throughout the season. Carne, Ian Gray and Kyle Wyatt also turned in solid individual performances.

The Huskers would not run as a team until late September when they headed to St. Paul, Minn., to face some of the toughest teams in the country in the Roy Griak Invitational. With 13 ranked teams in attendance, including three ranked in the top 10, Nebraska's first team test would be a stiff one. Less than a minute separated Nebraska's first finisher from its eighth, as the Huskers finished 12th overall, the team's best showing at the meet since 1997.

Finishing ahead of five ranked teams, the Huskers proved they could indeed compete with the nation's best. The meet also marked the emergence of James Bowler. A native of Alcester, England, Bowler was the first Husker to cross the line, a situation he would find himself in many times throughout the season.

Nebraska's performance didn't go unnoticed on the national scene either, as the Huskers earned their first ranking of the season, entering the poll at No. 25.

Another test awaited the Huskers two weeks later at the Furman Invitational in Greenville, S.C., the site of the NCAA Championships. In what proved to be one of the toughest meets of the season, Nebraska, competing in the "Black" division, faced off against many of the same teams that would compete at the national championships. Bowler was again the Huskers' top runner, with Gray hot on his heels and Kamm finishing 12 seconds back, helping NU to a 12th-place team finish. Nebraska's chances of a better showing were hurt when Jed Barta was forced to drop out of the race after twisting his ankle. Eric Rasmussen also turned in a strong performance in the unseeded race, finishing 17th.

"I thought our first three guys ran and competed well," Dirksen said. "But our fourth and fifth runners weren't as close as they had been in other meets and that hurt us."

Competing in the Big 12, one of the toughest conferences in the nation, left little time for rest. Oklahoma would serve as host of the Big 12 Championships on Oct. 27, with top-ranked Colorado looking to secure its sixth consecutive conference crown. Although Colorado was the clear favorite to win the team title, a number of talented runners were capable of capturing the individual crown.

In a tightly contested battle, NU's Bowler completed the 8,000-meter course in 24:30.2 to finish sixth, the highest individual showing by a Husker at the conference meet since Cleophas Boor's runner-up finish in 1997. Nebraska's second through fifth runners all finished within 19 seconds of each other to help the Huskers to a fifth-place team finish, which matched their 2000 showing.

Although individually the Huskers' times were relatively close, 17 runners finished between NU's second and fifth finishers, pushing the team down in the standings. Nebraska accumulated 136 points, just 11 points off fourth-place Baylor, and 32 points shy of No. 3 Texas A&M.

After testing themselves against some of the top talent in collegiate running, Nebraska knew it could compete on the national scene.

"I think the team gained confidence as it went through the season," Dirksen said. "They ran against really good people at the Griak and Furman races. They were used to running against good competition. When you have the national championship team in your conference, that makes for tough races."

But the tough schedule took its toll on Wyatt and Carne. After a spectacular rookie campaign where he won the USATF Junior National steeple-chase title, Wyatt had little time to rest between the track and cross country seasons. The training proved too much, as Wyatt fell ill with a viral infection which forced him to miss the rest of the season. In addition, Carne was slowed by nagging injuries which prevented him from performing up to his potential.

Even though two of Nebraska's top runners were sidelined, others were waiting in the wings. With its national hopes on the line, Nebraska needed a strong showing at the regional meet in Carbondale, Ill., to qualify for nationals.

Bolstered by the strong front running of Bowler, whose sixth-place finish was one spot shy of automatically qualifying him as an individual, the Huskers finished fifth, the best showing by an NU team in five years.

The performances of sophomore Paul Wilson and freshman Luke Garringer may have made the biggest impact. Wilson crossed the line in 28th place, marking the first time during the season that the Wahoo, Neb., native had broken into Nebraska's top five. Wilson had flashed signs of his potential, but it wasn't until late in the season that he really blossomed.

Meanwhile Garringer, making his first postseason appearance, also ran a strong race solidifying his place in Nebraska's top seven runners.

Dirksen, who had taken at least one Nebraska team to the national meet every year since 1995, remained optimistic about his team's chances of qualifying for the national meet, an outlook that proved fruitful as the Huskers earned one of 13 at-large team bids.

Following up on what was arguably their best performance of the season at the regional meet proved a daunting task, but Nebraska came away from the national meet with a 27th-place finish and a wealth of experience. The Huskers finished second among Big 12 competitors, placing ahead of both Oklahoma State and Texas.

"We had to put a lot of emotion into qualifying for the national meet," Dirksen said. "To turn around nine days later and do it again is a lot to ask of any team. I thought we came ready to run. What we did is going to be a good start for the future. Our guys are not satisfied. They want to return next year and finish higher than this season."