Postseason Begins for NU Harriers

The Nebraska men’s and women’s cross country teams enter the championship portion of their schedule this weekend when they travel to Topeka, Kan., for the Big 12 Championships on Saturday, Oct. 30. The women’s 6,000-meter race is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m., while the men’s 8,000-meter race starts at 11 a.m.

While the Huskers already have faced several conference foes in earlier meets, this is the lone competition of the season that pits each of the Big 12 squads against one another.

NU hopes for a successful weekend to use as a springboard for the remainder of the postseason, but success will not come easy. Three teams that are either ranked or receiving votes in each of the latest Division I men’s and women’s cross country polls will be participating (W--Colorado, Missouri, Texas Tech; M--Colorado, Oklahoma State, Texas), as well as several other talented squads.

"We have some really good teams in our conference," Head Coach Jay Dirksen said. "Our runners will have to be at their best this weekend. During the last couple of weeks, our practices have been really encouraging and our attitudes have been great. I think mentally and physically we’re ready to do as good as we are capable of doing."

Both Husker squads will feature the same lineup as in their last race. Senior captains Eric Rasmussen and Kyle Doperalski will lead the men’s team along with sophomores Bryce Dickmeyer, Alec Maduza and Mike Dorazil, and freshmen Kyle Ferry and Andrew Lind. The women’s squad will again be comprised of senior co-captain Anne Shadle, sophomores Lindsey Finkner and Kim Pancoast, and freshmen Joslyn Dalton, Elizabeth Lange, Betsy Miller and Val Zajac.

Women Look for Top-Six Finish
The Husker women hope their season-long improvement continues this weekend with a finish in the conference’s top six. Dirksen believes NU has a chance if progress continues to be made.

"I think the women are ready to run their best race all year," Dirksen said. "Our 1-4 runners have developed nicely up to now, we just need to close the gap between our four and five finishers."

Each member of the women’s squad has steadily improved up to this point in the season.

"Anne (Shadle) has been rounding into shape and could have a much better race this weekend," Dirksen said. "I’ve also been pleased with how Lindsey (Finkner), Kim (Pancoast) and Joslyn (Dalton) have progressed. (Elizabeth) Lange has looked better in practice lately and could have another breakthrough this week."

Men Continue to Improve
Dirksen also hopes to see the NU men maintain the course of development that has characterized their season.

"The major thrust of the men’s team this year has been to improve each week," Dirksen said. "We have to be pleased with how much better we’ve gotten. With as much youth as we have on that squad, it’s going to take time for the younger guys to get used to college running. But that’s happening."

Dirksen cites Eric Rasmussen, Kyle Doperalski and Bryce Dickmeyer as examples of athletes making solid progress, while saying Alec Maduza may be on the brink of emerging as one of the squad’s leading runners.

"I’m pleased with Rasmussen’s performance up to this point against some very good runners," Dirksen said. "Kyle has done a good job coming back in the short time we’ve had him, and Bryce has consistently improved. I also think Alec Maduza may be ready to break out this week."

Injured Huskers
While several NU runners have suffered from a variety of mid-season setbacks, four runners have been ruled out for the remainder of the year with season-ending injuries.

The men’s team will be without junior Aaron Nasers, who has not raced since the season-opening Creighton/UNO Invitational, for the rest of 2004. Meanwhile, senior co-captain Kayte Tranel, junior Michaela Lenihan and sophomore Shelly Langemeier have also been ruled out of any remaining competition due to injury. Neither Tranel nor Langemeier have seen any action at all this season. Lenihan filled the role of the team’s No. 5 runner prior to being ruled out after the Sean Earl Lakefront Loyola Invitational nearly a month into the season.

"We’re pretty banged up right now, more than I wish we were," Dirksen said. "There’s not a lot of room for error to lose anyone else. Along with our runners out for the season, we’ve got other nagging injuries. We have to get healthy, especially on the women’s side, if we want to keep improving."

Looking Ahead
Both teams will take a week off from competition following Saturday’s Big 12 Championships. Next up for the Huskers is the NCAA Midwest Region Championships in Peoria, Ill., where they will attempt to earn spots to compete in the NCAA Championships on Nov. 22.

NU Fares Well at Pre-Nationals
The men’s and women’s teams faced a difficult field composed of 87 Division I squads at the NCAA Pre-National Meet, hosted by Indiana State at LaVern Gibson Championship Course on Saturday, Oct. 16.

The women’s squad finished 28th out of 36 teams in the 6,000-meter White Race, while the Husker men finished fifth out of 13 teams in the 8,000-meter Open Race.

"We had a pretty good meet, overall," Dirksen said. "I think we’re making steady improvement, and that’s what we’ve been looking for since the beginning of the year."

Anne Shadle recorded the highest finish of any Husker woman, placing 66th in a season-best time of 21:48.8. Lindsey Finkner continued her steady improvement on the season by setting a new career-best time of 22:13.0, as she earned 101st place. Kim Pancoast (114th) claimed her highest placing in 2004 by being the third NU runner to cross the finish line, in a time of 22:21.2. Joslyn Dalton (179th) and Val Zajac (228th) rounded out the Huskers’ scoring spots in times of 23:03.3 and 23:52.6, respectively. Freshman Elizabeth Lange (230th) also competed for NU, setting a new personal-best time of 23:54.4, breaking her previous record of 25:21.

Eric Rasmussen led the Husker men with a 26th-place finish in 25:35.8, while Kyle Doperalski finished 49th in 25:59.8 in only his second race of the season. Bryce Dickmeyer (84th) and Alec Maduza (116th) finished in respective times of 26:23.9 and 26:50.8, while Kyle Ferry (157th) set a new personal best of 27:36.1 in his highest team-finish of the year. Mike Dorazil (173rd) and Andrew Lind (185th) also ran for the Huskers, finishing in times of 27:59.8 and 29:03.6, respectively.

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.