Huskers Dominate UNO/Creighton Classic

Omaha - The Nebraska men’s and women’s cross country teams opened the 2005 season by dominating the UNO/Creighton Classic at Chalco Hills Recreation Area on a warm Saturday morning.

The Huskers swept the top three spots in both races as the women tallied 34 points to defeat Nebraska-Omaha (41), Creighton (93), Northwest Missouri State (126) and the College of Saint Mary's, while the men scored 20 points to defeat Creighton (35) in a head-to-head contest.

Senior Kayte Tranel, who redshirted last season, wasted little time getting back into form as she took the lead in the women's race and never looked back en route to the victory in 18:51.  The Hampton, Neb., native was followed by teammates Kim Pancoast (19:34.32) and Ari Goldstein (19:36.58).

"It was just great to run with the team again," Tranel said.  "I haven't done that in a long time and we all did really well.  I am definetely proud of us for doing so well in our first race of the season."

Sophomore Betsy Miller and freshman Sara Prince also cracked the top 15 with 13th- and 15-place finishes out of 51 total runners.  Freshmen Rachel Carrizales and Natalija Zarcenko and sophomore Joslyn Dalton also placed in the top 20.

Sophomore Peter van der Westhuizen ran a solid race in his first cross country contest at Nebraska, winning in a time of 28:04.  The South African trailed Creighton's John Krumsee through much of the early portion of the race, but made his move on a downhill stretch before the half-way point and cruised to the finish line.

"Peter is in really good shape," Nebraska Head Coach Jay Dirksen said.  "He is an excellent athlete.  You need to have a front runner, and he looks like he is going to be one.  If a team is going to be really good they have to have one or two front runners and he could be a good one for us."

Fremont natives Brian Parr and Bryce Dickmeyer placed second (28:11) and third (28:16), ahead of freshman Chris Clymer in sixth place (29:47).  Senior Aaron Nasers added an eighth-place finish in 30:10 after battling through recent injuries.  The Huskers nearly placed all six runners in the top 10 as freshman Kyle Custer finished 11th (31:11).

The Huskers will take the next week off of competition before co-hosting the Woody Greeno Invitational at Pioneer's Park in Lincoln.  Action starts with the women's race at 10 a.m., while the men will run at 10:45 a.m.

Creighton/UNO Classic
Sept. 3, 2005 -- Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Results
Chalco HIlls Recreation Area -- Omaha, Neb.

Women’s Team Scores
1. Nebraska - 34
2. UNO - 41
3. Creighton - 93
4. Northwest Missouri State - 126
5. College of Saint Mary's - 151

Top Five Finishers School Time
1. Kayte Tranel, NU - 18:50.15
2. Kim Pancoast, NU - 19:34.32
3. Ari Goldstein, NU - 19:36.58
4. Angela Fisher, CU - 19:47.30
5. Krystal Williams, CSM - 19:52.41

NU Finishers:
1. Kayte Tranel, NU - 18:50.15
2. Kim Pancoast, NU - 19:34.32
3. Ari Goldstein, NU - 19:36.58
13. Betsy Miller, NU - 20:55.17
15. Sara Prince, NU - 21:09.48
17. Rachel Carrizales, NU - 21:24.71
19. Nataljia Zarcenko, NU - 21:28.69
20. Joslyn Dalton, NU - 21:30.51
21. Michaela Lenihan, NU - 21:31.34
24. Jennifer Pancoast, NU - 21:47.42
32. Val Zajac, NU - 22:34.56

Men’s Team Scores
1. Nebraska - 20
2. Creighton - 35

Top Five Finishers School Time
1. Peter van der Westhuizen, NU - 28:04.78
2. Brian Parr, NU - 28:11.26
3. Bryce Dickmeyer, NU - 28:16.64
4. John Krumsee, CU - 28:25.93
5. Robby Kampen, CU - 29:28.23

NU Finishers
1. Peter van der Westhuizen, NU - 28:04.78
2. Brian Parr, NU - 28:11.26
3. Bryce Dickmeyer, NU - 28:16.64
6. Chris Clymer, NU - 29:47.01
8. Aaron Nasers, NU - 30:10.71
11. Kyle Custer, NU - 31:11.12

Click the link below for complete results