Huskers Compete for Big 12 Titles

Lincoln -- The Nebraska men’s and women’s cross country teams head south to Spicewood, Texas, on Friday, Oct. 31, for the Big 12 Cross Country Championships. Hosted by Texas, the men’s 8,000-meter race will begin at 9 a.m., followed by the women’s 6,000-meter race at 10 a.m. At the championships, the men will be looking to better last year’s seventh-place team finish, while the women will look to improve on an 11th-place finish from last season’s race. The meet should provide NU with a good test before the Midwest Region Championships on Nov. 15.

The women’s race features four teams ranked in the Oct. 20 FinishLynx Women’s Cross Country poll. No. 20 Nebraska will face ninth-ranked Colorado, No. 17 Missouri and 24th-ranked Baylor. Missouri will also compete in the Midwest Region Championships with Nebraska.

Husker Head Coach Jay Dirksen looks forward to the challenges his teams will face this Friday.

"We definitely want to improve on last year’s finish on the women’s side," Dirksen said. "We’d like to be in the top half of the conference."

In the men’s race, the Huskers will face three ranked teams in No. 4 Colorado, 25th-ranked Texas A&M and No. 28 Kansas. Kansas will also compete aginst NU in the Midwest Region Championships, Nov. 15.

Dirksen is hopeful that the bye week Nebraska enjoyed will prove beneficial this weekend.

"We’ll be more ready to run this week," Dirksen said. "We’re as close to 100 percent as we have been all year."

Huskers Get Healthy
For two NU runners, Friday’s Big 12 Championships mean a return to racing. Following injuries, freshman Farah Jadran and junior Tim Williams will return to the women’s and men’s courses, respectively, at this meet.  Jadran has not competed since the Roy Griak Invitational on Sept. 27, while Williams has not seen action since the Sean Earl Lakefront Invitational on Oct. 4.

Looking Ahead
After Friday’s Big 12 Championships, the Nebraska men’s and women’s cross country teams will have an off week before returning to competition at the Midwest Region Championships in Stillwater, Oklahoma on Saturday, Nov. 15. The men’s race will begin at 9 a.m. The Midwest Region Championships serve as a qualifier for teams and individuals to compete at the NCAA Championships on Nov. 24 in Waterloo, Iowa.

NU Women Move Up in Poll
The Nebraska women’s cross country team moved up five spots to No. 20 in the Oct. 20 FinishLynx Women’s Cross Country poll, following their eighth-place finish at the prestigious Division I Pre-National race on Oct. 18.

The women have climbed to their current ranking after starting the season unranked. They entered the poll on Sept. 29. When the new poll is released Tuesday, Oct. 28, it will mark the fourth straight week the Huskers have been ranked.

Senior Tribute
Following this season, Nebraska will say goodbye to four seniors, two each on the men’s and women’s teams. The women’s team will lose Ann Gaffigan and Kathryn Handrup, while the men’s team will lose Dana Carne and Paul Wilson. To honor these seniors and their accomplishments, a special senior tribute section will appear in this space on Tuesday, Nov. 11, before the teams compete at the Midwest Region Championships on Saturday, Nov. 15.