NU Heads North for Roy Griak Invite

One week after hosting their only home meet of the season, the Nebraska men’s and women’s cross country teams will be back on the road for the Roy Griak Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 25 in St. Paul, Minn. One of the more popular and challenging meets of the year, it will be hosted by the University of Minnesota at its own Les Bolstad Golf Course. The day begins with the men’s 8k race at 11:20 p.m. and will be followed immediately by the women’s 6k race at 12:20 p.m.

Other Division I teams the Huskers will face include Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, Baylor, Belmont, Butler, California, Colorado State, Columbia, Duke, Illinois, Iowa, Iowa State, James Madison, Kansas, Kent State, Minnesota, North Dakota State, Northwestern, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, Princeton, Providence, South Dakota State, Southern Utah, Texas Tech, UC-Santa Barbara, Utah State, Vanderbilt, Washington State, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Both NU squads will face several of the country’s top teams on Saturday. Head Coach Jay Dirksen believes the competition will be a good opportunity for his runners to see where they stack up with the nation’s elite.

"This meet is not for the faint of heart," Dirksen said. "It’s going to have a lot of top-25 teams, but it will be good for us. If you want to be good, you have to run against good people. We’ll have to grow up quick if we’re going to be very competitive."

NU will feature the same lineup as last week’s home meet. Senior co-captain Eric Rasmussen, sophomores Bryce Dickmeyer, Alec Maduza and Mike Dorazil, and freshmen Kyle Ferry and Andrew Lind will suit up for the men’s team. The women’s squad will be comprised of senior co-captain Anne Shadle, junior Michaela Lenihan, sophomores Lindsey Finkner and Kim Pancoast, and freshmen Joslyn Dalton, Elizabeth Lange, Betsy Miller and Val Zajac.

Rasmussen Makes Return

Eric Rasmussen appeared in his first cross country race since the 2002 NCAA Midwest Region Championships during Saturday’s meet.

Rasmussen, who redshirted during the 2003 season, earned a ninth-place finish in the University division and 14th overall with a time of 26:17.0.

"I thought he looked pretty good for his first race. He hasn’t raced cross country for two years," Dirksen said. "He’ll get better this week. He always seems to start slow and get better as the year goes along."

Shadle Returns

Anne Shadle also faced her first competition this season last weekend. Her 6k time of 22:08 was good for fourth place in the University division and sixth place overall.

Similar to Rasmussen, Dirksen expects Shadle to exhibit marked improvement throughout the season.

"I think Anne is going to get better every week," Dirksen said. "Right now she’s not in racing mode, but she’s getting there."

Up-and-Coming Huskers

Along with the performance of NU’s upperclassmen, Dirksen was excited to see the continued development of some of NU’s younger runners in Saturday’s meet.

Dirksen said Lindsey Finkner and Alec Maduza, who both claimed second-place finishes on their respective squads, were particularly impressive.

"Lindsey ran great," Dirksen said. "I thought it was the best race she’s ever run here. Alec also ran very well. He had a fast second half of the race."

Injuries Deplete NU Rosters

The Huskers suffered no new injuries over the weekend, a bit of good news considering the high number of runners absent from the lineup with health issues.

The men’s team is still without senior co-captain Kyle Doperalski and junior Aaron Nasers, two of the Huskers’ top runners, for an undetermined length of time. Meanwhile, senior co-captain Kayte Tranel and sophomore Shelly Langemeier continue to recover from injuries for the NU women. It is feared that Tranel may be out for the season.

Looking Ahead

Following this weekend’s Roy Griak Invitational, the Nebraska cross country teams will travel to Chicago, Ill., for the Sean Earl Lakefront Loyola Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 2. Hosted by Loyola University of Chicago, the meet begins with the women’s 6k race at 10:30 a.m. and is followed immediately by the men’s 8k race at 12:30 p.m.

Husker Women Third, Men Fourth at Woody Greeno/Nebraska Invitational

NU hosted its only home meet of the season Saturday, Sept. 18, the Woody Greeno/Nebraska Invitational at Pioneer’s Park.

Anne Shadle led NU to a third-place team finish in the women’s University division, which was won by team champion Missouri. Eric Rasmussen helped the Huskers finish fifth in the men’s University division, which was won by team champion Air Force.

Shadle earned fourth place in her first race of 2004 with a time of 22:08 over the 6,000-meter course. Aiming to use her first race as a stepping stone into the season, Shadle believes she will continue to improve as the year rolls along.

"I didn’t really have a strategy for today," Shadle said. "I just wanted to go out there and relax, have a confidence builder. You always want to do better, know you can do better. But that’s why you have other races, to get better and better every time."

Lindsey Finkner was the second Husker to cross the finish line, earning 11th place in a time of 23:04. Joslyn Dalton made her Husker debut, finishing 16th in a time of 23:29, while Kim Pancoast improved on last year’s 31st-place finish by taking 20th in 23:42. Michaela Lenihan earned 28th place with a clocking of 24:17, while the freshman trio of Val Zajac (25:41), Betsy Miller (26:32) and Elizabeth Lange (27:01) finished 36th, 43rd and 47th, repectively, for NU.

"I thought our women ran pretty well as a group," Head Coach Jay Dirksen said. "Anne (Shadle) wasn’t bad for her first race of the season. It will get better for her. With all of the training she’s been doing, in two or three weeks you’ll see her race much better. Joslyn (Dalton) is going to be good, and Lindsey Finkner ran the best race that she’s ever run for us."

In his first competition since the 2002 NCAA Midwest Regional, Rasmussen finished ninth in the men’s 8,000-meter race in a time of 26:17. He was pleased to hit the course again for competition after redshirting in 2003.

"I’m not necessarily happy with it, but I guess it’s a good place to start from," Rasmussen said. "It gives me a good indicator of where I’m at. It felt really good to get back out on a cross country course again and compete."

Alec Maduza earned the 25th individual placing in a time of 27:23, while Bryce Dickmeyer followed in 31st place with a time of 27:36. Mike Dorazil crossed the finish line in 53rd (28:50), while Kyle Ferry earned 70th (30:52) in his second collegiate race.

Head Coach Jay Dirksen was pleased with the effort of the men’s squad, but believes it still has plenty of work to do.

"They’re making progress. We’ve just got to stay with it, not get down and just get better," Dirksen said. "There’s a process they will have to go through, and we’ve got to stick to the process to get better."

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 Husker 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 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.