NU Women Finish 6th at Big 12 Championships

Spicewood, Texas - The Nebraska women’s and women’s cross country teams finished sixth and 12th, respectively, at the Big 12 Cross Country Championships, held in Spicewood, Texas, Friday morning. Colorado won both team titles, finishing first in the men’s race for the eight consecutive year with 38 points, and first in the women’s race for the fifth consecutive year with 45 points.

Junior Anne Shadle was the top NU finisher in the women’s 6,000-meter race, finishing 19th out of 92 competitors in a time of 22:34. Colorado’s Natalie Florence won the event in a time of 21:25. In the men’s race, freshman Alec Maduza led the Huskers, finishing the 8,000-meter course in 27:00, finishing 59th out of 92 total competitors. Colorado’s Dathan Ritzenhein won the event in a time of 24:11.

In the women’s race, NU again ran well as a team, as only 39 seconds separated the Huskers scoring runners and 43 seconds separated the top five runners. The top five runners were only separated by 19 places.

Shadle’s 19th-place finish helped No. 20 Nebraska improve six places from last year’s race, when it finished 11th. Senior Ann Gaffigan finished two places behind Shadle in 21st with a time of 22:37, junior Kayte Tranel placed 35th, finishing in 23:07 and redshirt freshman Kim Pancoast rounded out the team scoring by finishing in 36th place in a time of 23:10.

Senior Kathryn Handrup finished 38th (23:14), redshirt freshman Lindsey Finkner finished 83rd (25:59) and sophomore Michaela Lenihan finished 89th (26:48). Freshman Farah Jadran ran well in her first competition since Sept. 27, finishing in a time of 24:27, which earned her 67th.

"We ran a good, solid race and really improved from a year ago," said Nebraska Head Coach Jay Dirksen. "We’re a little disappointed with the finish, but we’re not disappointed with the effort."

In the men’s race, freshmen Alec Maduza and Bryce Dickmeyer had their best showings of the year, finishing first and second, respectively, on the team. Maduza’s 59th-place finish led NU, wile Dickmeyer was close behind, finishing 72nd in a time of 27:27, 27 seconds behind Maduza.

Seniors Dana Carne and Paul Wilson rounded out NU’s scoring. Carne completed the 8,000-meter course 27:43 to finish 76th, while Wilson finished 83rd, in a time of 27:54.Sophomore Eric Dall finished 83rd in a time of 28:08, while freshman Mike Dorazil earned 88th place, finishing in a time of 28:55. Junior Tim Williams, coming back from an injury to see his first action since Oct. 4, finished 89th, in a time of 29:07.

"We have a lot of work to do before the Midwest Region Championships," Dirksen said. "But I was pleased to see Dorazil and Maduza really compete well."

Nebraska has next weekend off before returning to competition Saturday, Nov. 15 at the NCAA Midwest Region Championships in Stillwater, Okla. The meet serves as a qualifier for the NCAA Championships, which will be held in Waterloo, Iowa on Monday, Nov. 24.