Huskers Head to South Dakota State Invitational

Coming off a highly competitive meet at the Roy Griak Invite last weekend, the Husker men’s and women’s cross country teams will head north again to the South Dakota State Invitational this Saturday at Edgebrook Golf Course in Brookings, S.D.

 

The women’s 5K race will begin at 10 a.m., followed by the men’s 8K at 10:40 a.m.

 

The Nebraska women continued to impress last weekend by placing 14th in the team standings among a talented field at the Roy Griak Invitational.

 

Led by senior Kayte Tranel’s 27th-place finish, the Huskers defeated two nationally- ranked teams in North Carolina (No. 26) and Southern Methodist (No. 31).

 

The Husker men were led by junior co-captain Aaron Nasers, who ran his best race of the season with a 162nd-place showing in 26:43.  The squad suffered in the team standings from the loss of sophomore Peter van der Westhuizen, who did not finish the 8K race due to injury.

 

Both squads will see some tough competition once again this week in the 12-team field, as Big 12 opponent IowaState is in the field, as well as Minnesota (women only) and Drake.

 

Also competing is host South DakotaState, Northern Iowa, North Dakota State, MinnesotaState-Mankato, South Dakota, Black Hills State (S.D.), Mary (N.D.) and the University of Sioux Falls. 

 

Huskers will face familiar competition this week

The competition at this weekend’s South Dakota State Invitational will not be a stranger to the Huskers, as they have faced five teams in the field in previous meets this season.

 

On the women’s side, Nebraska will once again face the 11th-ranked Minnesota Gophers, runners-up at the Roy Griak Invite last weekend in which NU was 14th. The Husker women will also compete against four teams they have already defeated this season in South DakotaState (Woody Greeno and Roy Griak), Drake (Woody Greeno), North DakotaState (Roy Griak) and Big 12 opponent IowaState (Roy Griak).

 

DrakeUniversity is a favorite in the men’s field, runner-up at the Woody Greeno Inviational two weeks ago. North DakotaState narrowly defeated the Huskers at the Roy Griak Invite last weekend, as the men suffered in the team standings from the loss of sophomore Peter van der Westhuizen. Nebraska was fifth at the Woody Greeno ahead of seventh-place South DakotaState, before the Jackrabbits finished ahead of the Huskers at the Roy Griak Invite in 18th place. The Nebraska men will get another taste of Big 12 competition versus IowaState, who placed 18th at the Roy Griak Invite.

 

Review: Tranel Leads Huskers at Roy Griak Invitational

   St. Paul, Minn. - Senior tri-captain Kayte Tranel led all Husker runners with a 27th-place finish in the women’s 6K race as the Husker men’s and women’s cross country teams competed among a talented racing field at the Roy Griak Invitational on Sept. 24.

 

Tranel, who earned Big 12 Runner-of-the-Week honors on Sept. 7, ran a season-best 6K time of 21:53 to lead the NU women to a 14th-place team finish.

 

Tranel was one of four NU women to place in the top 100, along with senior tri-captain Kim Pancoast (41st, 22:09), and freshmen Ari Goldstein (60th, 22:23) and Natalja Zarcenko (100th, 22:57).

 

Zarcenko’s time was a season best, as well as sophomore Betsy Miller’s 23:23 (143rd).

 

After fighting through recent injuries, junior co-captain Aaron Nasers led the Husker men for the first time this season with a 162nd-place showing in a season-best 8K time of 26:43.

 

Freshman Brian Parr also set a season-best mark of 26:59 on his way to becoming the runner-up Husker male finisher for the second time this year. Another Fremont native, junior co-captain Bryce Dickmeyer, finished two seconds behind Parr in 177th (27:01).

 

Up Next:    

Following this weekend, the Huskers will take a week off before traveling to the Chile Pepper Festival in Fayetteville, Ark., on Oct. 15.

 

The meet will take place at the University of Arkansas Cross Country Course, with the men’s 10K at 9:30 a.m., and the women’s 6K at 10:30 a.m.