Husker Runners Fare Well at Pre-National Meet

Waterloo, Iowa- The Nebraska women’s cross country team finished eighth out of 32 teams at the Division I Pre-National Meet in Waterloo, Iowa, Saturday, Oct. 18. Senior Ann Gaffigan finished 30th out of 210 runners to lead NU in the 6,000-meter Purple race, which was won by top-ranked BYU.

In the men’s race, the Huskers finished 33rd out of 35 teams that competed in the 8,000-meter Purple race that saw No. 1 Stanford earn the team title. Senior Dana Carne led the men, finishing 138th out of 238 total runners.

Nebraska Head Coach Jay Dirksen was pleased with how well the women ran.

"I was real proud of their effort," Dirksen said. "They ran awesome and this shows that we’re for real."

The 25th-ranked Husker women again saw their top four runners hang close together, as only 28 places separated Gaffigan from NU’s fourth runner, junior Anne Shadle. Senior Kathryn Handrup finished 50th in 21:29, junior Kayte Tranel took 54th place in a time of 21:33 and Shadle finished 58th with a time of 21:39. The Huskers’ close proximity to each other led Nebraska to finish ahead of 14th-ranked Baylor, which placed 10th.

"They did a great job of running as a team," Dirksen said. "They were very consistent."

In the race, two Husker runners set season-best times and three set career-best marks. Gaffigan’s time was her best finish of the year, as was Tranel, who missed her career-best time by only one second. Handrup and redshirt freshman Kim Pancoast surpassed their previous personal-best times by four and 15 seconds, respectively. Redshirt freshman Lindsey Finkner tied her previous career-low time by finishing in 23:40.

The Nebraska men also continued to improve. Husker senior Paul Wilson recorded a season-best time of 25:40 in the 8,000-meter race, while three other Huskers set career-best times. Sophomore Eric Dall finished in 25:52, bettering his previous best time by 18 seconds, freshman Alec Maduza crossed the tape in 26:07, eclisping his previous best time by five seconds, and freshman Bryce Dickmeyer shed four seconds off of his previous career-best with a time of 26:37.

Dirksen was encouraged by the men’s performance in such a tough field.

"They’re making some improvement," Dirksen said. "It’s tough when every team in the race is so good."

The Pre-National meet was divided into two races, a Gold and a Purple race, with each NU team running in the Purple race. The women’s Gold race was won by Alicia Craig of Stanford, which also earned the team title with 66 points, 35 points ahead of second-place North Carolina State (101). The men’s Gold race saw Dathan Ritzenhein of Colorado place first while leading his team to a first-place team finish, edging second-place Northern Arizona, 109-114.

The Huskers will take next weekend off before returning to competition at the Big 12 Championships, Oct. 31, in Spicewood, Texas.