Huskers Co-Host Annual Woody Greeno/Nebraska Invitational

Following a week off from competition, the Nebraska men’s and women’s cross country teams return to action this week when they co-host the Woody Greeno/Nebraska Invitational with Nebraska Wesleyan on Saturday, Sept. 18 at Pioneer’s Park. The day begins with the women’s 6k race at 10 a.m., while the men’s 8k follows at 10:45.

The races will be split into college and university divisions. Nebraska will compete in the university division along with opponents Air Force, Kansas State, Missouri, Northern Colorado, South Dakota State and Wichita State.

The Huskers will feature all of their available healthy runners for the first time this season. Senior co-captain Eric Rasmussen is expected to compete in his first race for the men’s team since 2002, while senior Anne Shadle also will make her first appearance this season.

"Our opening meet was not a strong performance for either the men’s or women’s team," Head Coach Jay Dirksen said. "We will add the full complament of runners we have available, and that should help tell us where we are at. We’re really going into this season in the dark as to how good we can be."

While NU possesses quality runners at the top end of each roster, depth could prove to be a problem. The women’s team will be missing senior Kayte Tranel and redshirt freshman Shelly Langemeier, while the men will be without senior Kyle Doperalski, junior Aaron Nasers and freshman Charles Riley. All except for Doperalski are suffering from injury setbacks that possibly could cause them to miss the remainder of the 2004 cross country season.

"Lack of depth has become a major issue with both men’s and women’s squads," Dirksen said. "We couldn’t afford to lose anyone before, and those setbacks to a some of our better runners have really left us thin. "

Rasmussen Returns ...

Senior co-captain Eric Rasmussen is expected to appear in his first cross country race this week since the 2002 NCAA Midwest Region Championships.

Rasmussen, who redshirted during the 2003 season, is the only member of the men’s squad with NCAA Championships experience. The North Platte, Neb., native ran in the national meet in 2000 and 2001, his freshman and sophomore seasons.

...Another Husker on the Way

Injuries forced the other men’s co-captain, Kyle Doperalski, to redshirt last season and will also slow his progress early on this year. But Dirksen expects his return sometime in the next few weeks.

"Kyle and Eric are our two leaders as captains," Dirksen said. "Kyle scored points in our conference track meet, so we know he’s one of the better runners in the Big 12. Eric is a potential top-10 individual in the conference if he is healthy. We have good leadership with those two."

Shadle Returns for Husker Women

Anne Shadle will look to make her mark on Nebraska cross country in 2004, starting at this weekend’s Woody Greeno/Nebraska invitational. The women’s co-captain earned All-Midwest Region honors with her 11th-place finish at last seaon’s NCAA Midwest Region meet.

Shadle also earned NU’s Most Improved Runner Award for the second straight year in 2003 after finishing as the top Husker runner in four of seven races.

"Anne has looked good early on in workouts," Dirksen said. "I think she will run very well this season."

NU will need a strong season from Shadle to become a player in the Big 12 and Midwest Region race.

Looking Ahead

Following this weekend’s Woody Greeno/Nebraska Invitational, the Nebraska cross country teams will travel to St. Paul, Minn., for the Roy Griak Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 25. Hosted by the University of Minnesota, the meet begins with the women’s 6k race at 11 p.m., followed immediately by the men’s 8k race at noon.

NU Men 2nd, Women 3rd in Season-Opening CU/UNO Invitational

The Husker men’s and women’s squads opened the season with second- and third-place finishes at the Creighton/UNO Invitational in Omaha on Sept. 4.

NU runners earned two of the top four finishes in the men’s 8k race, with sophomore Bryce Dickmeyer capturing second in a time of 28:31.49, 33 seconds behind individual champion Chas Davis of Creighton (27:58.41). Junior Aaron Nasers finished fourth in 29:05.98. The remaining trio of Huskers, freshman Andrew Lind (30:42.90), sophomore Mike Dorazil (30:56.27) and freshman Kyle Ferry (31:01.27) garnered the ninth through 11th placings.

Junior Michaela Lenihan set the pace for Nebraska in the women’s 5k race, finishing seventh in a time of 21:06.23. Sophomore Lindsey Finkner finished close behind with an eighth-place time of 21:17.74. Redshirt freshman Val Zajac nearly claimed a top-10 finish in her first official race as a Husker, taking 11th in a time of 21:34.56. The duo of freshmen Betsy Miller (22:09.57) and Elizabeth Lange (23:03.47) closed out the NU effort in 17th and 22nd place, respectively. Creighton’s Angela Fisher claimed the individual title in a time of 19:43.42.

"We looked like a team that hadn’t run a race yet, but we have a place to start from now," Dirksen said. "There were a lot of new kids competing for us, some who haven’t run that far before, or even at all."

About Head Coach Jay Dirksen

Head Coach Jay Dirksen has seen much success in his 21 years at the helm of Nebraska’s men’s and women’s cross country teams.

Dirksen has guided Huskers women’s teams to five conference titles, which is the second-most by any active coach in the Big 12. His women’s teams have also qualified for the NCAA Championships 13 of the last 20 years, finishing in the top 25 all but one of those years.

Dirksen’s success is not limited only to the Husker women. For the men, eight of their nine NCAA appearances have occurred during Dirksen’s tenure, with six of those eight teams finishing among the top 15.

Under his guidance 13 athletes have received a total of 19 All-America honors in cross country.

In the classroom, Dirksen’s teams have been just as successful. The 2003 men’s squad earned its second-straight Herman Award, given to the Nebraska team with the highest cumulative GPA. Overall, the men’s team has collected two Herman Awards in the 10-year history of the honor, while the women have won a record seven, the last of which came in 2001.