Huskers Look for Success at Chile Pepper Festival

The Nebraska men’s and women’s cross country teams will run at another meet stocked with national powers this Saturday, when they compete at the 18th annual Chile Pepper Festival in Fayetteville, Ark.

 

This year’s competition is the largest in meet history with over 40 teams scheduled to run, including seven ranked teams on the women’s side and three in the men’s field, including No. 2 (men) and No. 4 (women) Arkansas, the hosts of the meet.

 

The men will run the 10K distance for the first time this season after running three 8Ks and one 6K. They will run at 9:45 a.m., followed by the women’s 6K at 10:30 a.m.

 

The Husker women have finished in the top 10 every meet this season and will have a big challenge on their hands. The men were fourth at the Huskers’ last meet on Sept. 30 at the South Dakota State Classic.

 

Sophomore Brian Parr has stepped up for the men this season, and finished fourth overall at the South Dakota State Classic two weeks ago with an 8K time of 25:13.05. Parr has led NU twice this season while sophomore Peter van der Westhuizen continues to battle compartment syndrome.

           

Anseth Comes on Strong

Nebraska junior Channing Anseth has been one of greatest surprises for the Husker women over the past 12 months. The Lincoln native did not compete in the first four meets of the 2005 season after transferring from St. CloudState, but quickly became one of the women’s top runners.

 

On Sept. 23 at the Roy Griak Invite, Anseth had her first team-leading finish of 2006 as she placed 34th overall, one spot ahead of sophomore teammate Ari Goldstein.

 

“Channing did very good last year, and she has continued to improve this year,” Head Coach Jay Dirksen said. “She redshirted the track season in order to correct some imbalances in her muscle groups (causing her injuries). But at the moment she is not having any problems and she is running very well for us.”

 

In the five meets Anseth has competed in as a Husker dating back to last season, she has placed in the top three on the team in four of them, capped by her Griak performance. At the Woody Greeno, she finished runner-up overall, only nine seconds behind Goldstein.

 

20 Questions with Kim Pancoast:

1. First of all, how is your senior season going?

“It’s going really good. It’s kind of weird actually because I feel really old, but it’s going good. I’m the only one left from when I started (in 2002).”

2. We’re getting toward the end of the season, how do you think the women are looking?

“I think we’re coming together really good, but we have definitely not had our best meet yet.”

3. Did you have any personal goals for this year?

“Not really, I just want to help the team out as much as I can.”

4. What is it like being able to run with your sister on the team?

“It’s fun. We’re good friends and we get along good. It’s nice to have someone there talk to.”

5. Did you have any influence on her decision, or did she know this was the place for her?

“I wanted her to come here, but it was all her decision. I like to think she came because of me, though.”

6. You guys are from Cape Girardeau, Mo. Can you tell me a little about your hometown?

“It’s right on the Mississippi River. And my coach (Dirksen) always makes fun of me because it’s the home of Rush Limbaugh.”

7. What was the recruiting process like for you, and what other schools did you look at?

“I looked at a really small school in Colorado - WesternState. I just came on an unofficial visit here and then walked on.”

8. When do you plan to graduate, and what are you looking to do after graduation?

“I will graduate this spring-in May. I have no idea what I’m going to do after that.”

9. What’s the best part about the University of Nebraska?

“Probably just the way the athletes get treated. We get spoiled here. And the people are so nice.”

10. What’s been the best part about your cross country career at Nebraska so far?

“It has to be my redshirt freshman season four years ago when we won regionals. That’s probably my favorite cross country moment.”

11. What can you say about Coach Dirksen as a coach and how much he has helped you?

“He has helped me a lot. I’m a quiet person at practice, so he’s there to support me. If I cry or something he’ll give me a hug. He’s a father figure.”

12. What do you think has helped you most in achieving all your success so far?

“Hard work and having people older than me, like Anne Shadle and Ann Gaiffigan, helped me and give me advice and support. Other than that, just lots of hard work.”

13. What’s your favorite food?

“Pizza.”

14. Favorite T.V. show?

“Usually we can watch “Friends” all day long, but now “Grey’s Anatomy” might be taking over.”

15. Favorite movie?

“I don’t know if I have favorite movie. I like girly movies, though. Just not scary ones.”

16. Favorite pro sports team?

“I always watched the Cardinals. And I like watching Peyton Manning ? so whatever team he plays for.”

17. What do you like to do in your free time?

“I’m lazy. I like to hang out with my friends and sister. And a lot of rest during the season. I like to go to coffee shops and hang out, too.”

18. Do you have a favorite book?

“Harry Potter. All of them.”

19. What was your first memory of the Huskers growing up?

“I went to a football game once with my dad ? the 1996 Big 12 Championship in St. Louis.”

20. What do you think about to pass the time when you’re on a long run?

“My sister always gets bad at me because I’m quiet when I run. I like to listen to music or run with people and have them tell me stories. I don’t’ usually talk a lot when I’m running.”

 

Last Year: Huskers Run Well at Chile Pepper Festival

Fayetteville, Ark. - Against some of the toughest competition in the nation, the Nebraska men’s and women’s cross country teams ran their best races of the year last season at the Chile Pepper Festival.

 

Led by tri-captain Kayte Tranel, the Husker women placed fifth in the team standings with 220 points. NU trailed only No. 16 Oklahoma State, No. 12 Arkansas, No. 14 Baylor and WichitaState, while defeating conference foes Texas Tech, Oklahoma and KansasState.

 

Tranel placed 17th overall in a career-best 6K time of 21:12, and was followed by Ari Goldstein in 32nd place (21:40) and Channing Anseth in 44th (21:58), who was running in her first meet of the year.

 

Kim Pancoast placed 59th in a time of 22:19, and Natalja Zarcenko slipped to 93rd (22:56) after suffering an injury during the race.

 

“I was really pleased with our finish,” Dirksen said. “Kayte ran the best I have ever seen her run, and Ari ran very good and moved up in the last half of the race. Those top three teams are very good teams, and if we would have ran our very best, we might have been able to get into the top three or four.”

 

Joslyn Dalton (107th, 23:10), tri-captain Michaela Lenihan (117th, 23:15), Betsy Miller (120th, 23:17) and Jennifer Pancoast (125th, 23:19) all placed in the top half of the field of nearly 300 runners.

 

On the men’s side, Peter van der Westhuizen ran one of the best 10K races in recent Nebraska history with a time of 30:00 to finish 28th overall. His effort led the men’s team to a 16th-place finish out of 35 teams with 449 points, while edging Big 12 opponents KansasState and Baylor.

 

Co-captain Bryce Dickmeyer nearly cracked the top 100 with his 103rd-place finish in a career-best time of 32:06, while another Fremont native, Brian Parr was 108th (32:09).

 

Parr, along with Kyle Custer and Chris Clymer, were running the 10K distance for the first time in their careers after running 5K in high school and 8K in previous 2005 meets. Custer finished 152nd (32:57) and Clymer was 165th (33:20), while co-captain Aaron Nasers finished 137th in 32:40.

 

“This is the best the men have run all season,” Dirksen said. “Peter (van der Westhuizen) was awesome, and it was really encouraging to see the freshmen run that well competition-wise and time-wise in their first 10K race. I thought we made significant improvement.”