Husker Women Finish Third at Big 12 Championships

Lawrence, Kan. - The Nebraska women’s cross country team had one of its finest Big 12 Championship meets in school history on Friday, as it had multiple All-Big 12 honorees for the first time and recorded its best conference finish since 1997 by placing third. The men placed 11th with 320 points, ahead of <?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>KansasState.<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

 

“We are ecstatic,” Head Coach Jay Dirksen said. “We couldn’t have run much better. I really wish people could have seen our women run because it really was a fantastic performance. I think we surprised a lot of people today.”

 

Junior Channing Anseth and sophomore Ari Goldstein were NU’s All-Big 12 honorees as they finished an impressive 12th (21:32.21) and 13th (21:33.76), respectively. All-conference status requires a top-15 finish or higher. The last time Nebraska had multiple all-conference runners was at the 1992 Big Eight Championships, when former All-Americans Fran ten Bensel and Theresa Stelling both earned all-conference status.

 

Nebraska had a quartet of runners between 27th and 31st, an essential factor in the Husker women’s third-place finish, which tied the second-highest finish at the Big 12 Championships in school history. The Huskers were runner up in 1997 and third in 1996.

 

Sophomore Natalja Zarcenko finished 27th in 22:17.51, less than a second ahead of senior co-captain Kim Pancoast in 28th (22:18.36). Sophomore Jennifer Pancoast then ran one of the best races of her young career to place 29th in 22:25.43, while junior co-captain Betsy Miller was 31st in 22:29.12. Nebaska’s final scorer was junior Joslyn Dalton in 44th (22:45.96). The Huskers’ seven scoring runners in the top 44 was the second most of any team, trailing only OklahomaState, which finished fourth in the team standings.

 

“This team just has great chemisty,” Dirksen added. “They are a confident team, but not too uptight. They were competitive every step of the way and did everything great.”

 

The Husker women were defeated only by No. 10 Colorado and No. 21 Texas Tech. NU notably finished ahead of nationally-ranked Baylor (No. 30), which was fifth. The Bears had defeated the Huskers earlier this season at the Chile Pepper Festival in Fayetteville, Ark., on Oct. 15.

 

For the men, sophomore Brian Parr earned his fourth team-leading performance in a row, as he finished 46th overall in 25:52.00. Parr was 66th as a freshman at the 2005 Big 12 Championships before moving up 20 spots on Friday.

 

Nebraska also saw positive signs for the future in its second and third men’s finishers, as junior Alec Maduza and freshman Ethan Luebbe finished 75th (26:53.20) and 76th (26:54.20). Sophomore Kyle Custer placed 78th in 27:03.60 to give the Husker men four finishers in the top 80.

 

Senior captain Bryce Dickmeyer came in 84th (27:13.90) and freshman Bryce Somer was 102nd (30:56.70) to round out the scoring Husker men. Junior Peter van der Westhuizen, who led the Husker men with a 25th-place finish at the 2005 Big 12 Championships, was unable to finish the race due to his ongoing battle with compartment syndrome. Junior Vince Sickler and freshman Mackenzie Jeffrey also did not finish due to injuries.

 

“Brian Parr ran a strong race,” Dirksen said. “Ethan Luebbe has come a long way this year too, but it really hurts when you have as many guys get hurt as we did today. It’s a little disappointing because we made really good progress this season.”

 

Nebraska now looks to carry its success over to the NCAA Midwest Regional, which takes place in two weeks (Nov. 11) in St. Paul, Minn. The Husker women finished fifth at the 2005 Midwest Regional.

 

Big 12 Championships
Oct. 27, 2006 - Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Results
Rim Rock Farm ? Lawrence, Kan.

Women’s Team Scores
1. Colorado - 45
2. Texas Tech - 64
3. Nebraska - 110
4. OklahomaState - 120
5. Baylor ? 121

Top Five Finishers, School ? Time
1. Sally Kipyego, Texas Tech?20:00.28
2. Jennifer Barringer, Colorado ? 20:45.52
3. Irene Kimaiyo, Texas Tech?21:06.04
4. Jessica Eldridge, Oklahoma ? 21:08.29
5. Liza Pasciuto, Colorado ? 21:12.98

NU Finishers:
12. Channing Anseth?21:32.21
13. Ari Goldstein?21:33.76
27. Natalja Zarcenko?22:17.51
28. Kim Pancoast?22:18.36
30. Jennifer Pancoast?22:45.43
31. Betsy Miller?22:29.12
44. Joslyn Dalton?22:45.96

82. Elizabeth Marsh?24:12.89
96. Val Zajac?25:34.86

Men’s Team Scores

1. Colorado-36

2. Texas-80

3. Kansas-82

4. Oklahoma State-108

5. Iowa State-114

 

11. Nebraska-320

 

Top Five Finishers, School ? Time

1. Colby Wissel, Kansas?24:34.40

2. Joe Thorne, Texas?24:37.30
3. Brent Vaughn, Colorado?24:39.40
4. Paul Hefferon, Kansas?24:41.10
5. Kevin Chelimo, Texas Tech?24:45.40

 

NU Finishers

46. Brian Parr?25:52.00
75. Alec Maduza?26:53.20
76. Ethan Luebbe?26:54.20
78. Kyle Custer?27:03.60
84. Bryce Dickmeyer?27:13.90
102. Bryce Somer?30:56.70