Gaffigan Honored as Nebraska Student-Athlete of the Year

Lincoln - Senior distance runner Ann Gaffigan was honored as the 2004 Nebraska Female Student-Athlete of the Year at the 14th annual University of Nebraska Student-Athlete Academic Recognition Banquet Sunday night.

 

The Springfield, Ill., native has earned a 3.88 grade-point average in computer science as a member of the J.D. Edwards Honors Program and has had a stellar four-year career for the Nebraska cross country and track and field teams.

 

“I was really surprised when they announced my name,” Gaffigan said. “I went up there and I was shaking because it is a really big deal. There are so many other student-athletes that are amazing at what they do. It really made me feel good and it is a huge honor.”

 

Gaffigan opened the cross country season with a first-place finish at the Creighton/UNO Invitational with a time of 19:06 on the 5K course. She followed that up the next week with a second-place finish at the Woody Greeno.

 

The senior led the Huskers to an NCAA Midwest Regional Championship with her phenomenal second-place finish and a time of 21:23 on the 6K course in Stillwater, Okla. With that finish Gaffigan garnered her fourth consecutive All-Midwest Region honor.

 

Gaffigan tied her previous personal-best time in her final meet as a Husker, clocking a time of 21:04 at the NCAA Championships in Waterloo, Iowa. She finished 71st, for her best career finish at a national meet and led the Huskers to a 30th-place team finish in their first trip to the NCAA meet since 1999. She also finished 98th at the 2001 NCAA Cross Country Championships, where she was the only Nebraska competitor at the national meet.

 

The cross-country co-captain was named the Nebraska women’s most valuable runner for the third straight year at the conclusion of the 2003 season.

 

“This is a tremendously well-deserved honor,” head cross country coach Jay Dirksen said. “It is especially significant because of the quality of the student-athletes she was up against. For her to win this award is a great testimony to her and is a meaningful award because of the super young women we have in our programs.”

 

On the oval, Gaffigan has had a spectacular senior season. The day before learning of her student-athlete of the year honor, Gaffigan set the Nebraska school record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with her second-place time of 10:24.30, at the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif. That time ranks 11th in the NCAA this season.

 

She was also a member of the Nebraska distance medley relay team that broke the indoor school record with a time of 11:34.38 at the Big 12 Indoor Championships. Running the 1,600-meter relay leg, Gaffigan earned her first trip to the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, where the team reset the school record in 11:25.08 for an 11th-place finish.

 

Individually, Gaffigan took a fourth-place finish in the women’s 3,000-meter run and fifth in the mile at the Big 12 Indoor Championships. She provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships in the mile run, but did not make the final cut.

 

Her best finish at the Big 12 Championships came in her freshman campaign where she finished second in the mile indoors and was third outdoors in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.

 

“I don’t feel like I have done anything special,” Gaffigan said. “You just plug away every day and you have to balance all the things in your life on a daily basis. You just have to keep going. It isn’t like you do one thing and you are eligible for an award. You just have to do everything the best that you can.”

 

Gaffigan has been honored numerous times for her prowess in the classroom. She is a three-time academic All-Big 12 selection and has claimed a spot on the Big 12 Commissioner’s honor roll five times. She was named to the NCAA Division I Track Coaches Association All-Academic Team in 2003 and has been recognized as a WICCCA Academic All-American in 2001, 2002 and 2003.

 

Gaffigan will compete in her final Big 12 Conference Championships, April 29-May 1, in Norman, Okla.

 

“I would love it if our team won the Big 12 Championship again like we did indoors,” Gaffigan said. “I think we should go after the national championship, because I think we can win it. We were close indoors and there is no reason anyone can stop us. I would like to qualify for nationals so that I can help the team out and that would be a great ending to my career.”

 

Judd Davies was also honored as the male Student-Athlete of the Year after graduating with a 3.88 GPA in pre-medicine and communication studies last December. A three-year starter for the football team, the Omaha native helped the Huskers to a 10-3 record and an Alamo Bowl title in 2003.