Huskers Begin Season at Creighton/UNO Classic

The Nebraska men’s and women’s cross country teams begin their quest toward another climb up the Big 12 ladder this Saturday, Sept. 3, when they travel down Interstate-80 to compete in the Creighton/UNO Classic in Omaha, Neb.

 

The morning of events will begin with the women’s 5K at 10:30 a.m., followed by the men’s 8K at 11 a.m.

 

“We’re really excited to start the season this Saturday,” Head Coach Jay Dirksen said. “It’s a low-key meet but it will be good to get out and see some competition. We’ve got a lot of new runners and it will be good for them to have their first experience in collegiate cross country.”

 

Nebraska will not be featuring top runners Peter van der Weshuizen and Brian Parr for the men and Kim Pancoast and Channing Anseth for the women. But the Huskers still have goals to continue their dominance in Omaha, as they have won four of the six team titles at the Creighton/UNO Classic over the past three years. In 2005, the Nebraska men and women swept the competition as Peter van der Westhuizen and Kayte Tranel won the individual crowns and the Huskers took the top three spots in each race en route to both team titles.

 

Nebraska captains Bryce Dickmeyer and Betsy Miller will be looked upon for leadership this Saturday. Dickmeyer, a senior, is a team captain for the second consecutive season, while Miller, a junior, was named the women’s Most Improved Runner a year ago and is poised to have another solid season.

 

After this weekend, the Huskers will have their first of four off weeks during the 2006 season as they prepare for the 17th annual Woody Greeno/Nebraska Invitational, which takes place on Saturday, Sept. 16, at Pioneer’s Park in Lincoln.

 

Last Year: Huskers Dominate Creighton/UNO Classic

Omaha - The Nebraska men’s and women’s cross country teams opened the 2005 season by dominating the UNO/Creighton Classic.

 

The Huskers swept the top three spots in both races. 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.

 

Kayte Tranel, who redshirted the 2004 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 definitely proud of us for doing so well in our first race of the season.”

 

Betsy Miller and freshman Sara Prince also cracked the top 15 with 13th- and 15th-place finishes out of 51 total runners. Rachel Carrizales (17th) and Natalija Zarcenko (19th) and Joslyn Dalton (20th) also placed in the top 20.

 

Peter van der Westhuizen ran a solid race in his first cross country contest at Nebraska, winning the men’s competition 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 halfway point and cruised to the finish line.

 

“Peter is in really good shape,” Nebraska Head Coach Jay Dirksen said after the meet.  “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, it has 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 Chris Clymer in sixth place (29:47).  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 Kyle Custer finished 11th (31:11).

 

Up Next:

Following the Creighton/UNO Classic, the Huskers will take a week off before co-hosting the 17th annual Woody Greeno/Nebraska Invitational at Pioneer’s Park on Saturday, Sept. 16.