%20--%3e%3csvg%20version='1.1'%20id='Nebraska_N'%20xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20xmlns:xlink='http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink'%20x='0px'%20y='0px'%20viewBox='0%200%20163%20152'%20style='enable-background:new%200%200%20163%20152;'%20xml:space='preserve'%3e%3cstyle%20type='text/css'%3e%20.st0{fill:%23FFFFFF;}%20%3c/style%3e%3cg%3e%3cpath%20class='st0'%20d='M159.1,144c-2.3,0-4.1,1.8-4.1,4s1.8,4,4,4s4-1.8,4-4S161.2,144,159.1,144z%20M159,151.2c-1.8,0-3.2-1.4-3.2-3.2%20s1.4-3.2,3.2-3.2c1.7,0,3.2,1.5,3.2,3.2C162.2,149.8,160.8,151.2,159,151.2z'/%3e%3cg%3e%3cpath%20class='st0'%20d='M157.4,145.6h1.4c0.6,0,0.8,0,1.1,0.2c0.4,0.2,0.6,0.6,0.6,1.1c0,0.4-0.1,0.7-0.3,1c-0.1,0.2-0.3,0.2-0.6,0.4%20h-0.1l1.1,2.1h-0.8l-1-2h-0.6v2h-0.8L157.4,145.6L157.4,145.6z%20M158.6,147.7c0,0,0.3,0,0.4,0c0.4-0.1,0.6-0.3,0.6-0.8%20c0-0.3-0.1-0.5-0.4-0.6c-0.1,0-0.1,0-0.6,0h-0.4v1.4L158.6,147.7L158.6,147.7z'/%3e%3c/g%3e%3c/g%3e%3cg%3e%3cpath%20class='st0'%20d='M147,0H93h-5v5v35v5h5h5v24.8L55.2,2.3L53.7,0H51H5H0v5v35v5h5h5v62H5H0v5v35v5h5h54h5v-5v-35v-5h-5h-5V82.2%20l42.8,67.5l1.5,2.3h2.7h46h5v-5v-35v-5h-5h-5V45h5h5v-5V5V0H147z%20M150,5v35v3h-3h-7v66h7h3v3v35v3h-3h-46h-1.6l-0.9-1.4L52,75.3%20V109h7h3v3v35v3h-3H5H2v-3v-35v-3h3h7V43H5H2v-3V5V2h3h46h1.7l0.9,1.4L100,76.7V43h-7h-3v-3V5V2h3h54h3V5z'/%3e%3c/g%3e%3cpath%20class='st0'%20d='M103,87L103,87L51,5H5v35c0,0,7.8,0,10,0c0,3.3,0,68.7,0,72l0,0c-2.2,0-10,0-10,0v35h54v-35c0,0-7.8,0-10,0l0,0%20c0-2.6,0-47,0-47l52,82h46v-35c0,0-7.8,0-10,0l0,0c0-3.3,0-68.7,0-72c2.2,0,10,0,10,0V5H93v35c0,0,7.8,0,10,0%20C103,42.6,103,87,103,87z'/%3e%3c/svg%3e)
As the Nebraska cross country runners wrap up a successful outdoor track & field season, head coach Jay Dirksen is already looking forward to the 2007 cross country season as he named team captains on Tuesday.
All three Huskers will be first-year captains as junior Ari Goldstein will serve as the women’s leader, while seniors Alec Maduza and Peter van der Westhuizen will direct the men’s team.
Goldstein had a spectacular sophomore season, winning the Creighton/UNO Classic and Woody Greeno individual titles to start the year before adding top-15 finishes at the South Dakota State Invite (6th) and Big 12 Championships (13th). She ended the season with a team-leading 22nd-place finish at the NCAA Midwest Regional, taking the Husker women to a fourth-place team finish. Goldstein ran a season-best 6K time of 21:24.30 at the Chile Pepper Festival, where she finished 37th.
Alec Maduza returned to Nebraska in 2006 after a short stint at the University of Wisconsin and made an immediate impact for the Big Red. In the first meet of the year, Maduza placed third overall at the Creighton/UNO Classic, and then finished as the Huskers’ second runner at the Big 12 Championships (75th) and NCAA Midwest Regional (92nd).
Fighting through injuries during much of the fall, van der Westhuizen finished in just three meets during the 2006 season. He had a team-leading fourth-place finish at the Woody Greeno Invitational and also finished 39th and 53rd overall at the South Dakota State Invite and Chile Pepper Festival. In 2005, van der Westhuizen had an impressive 25th-place finish at the Big 12 Championships, while leading the Husker men in five meets.
Both Husker squads have high hopes for the fall season, as the Husker women will look to improve their third-place conference finish behind a strong senior class by Channing Anseth, Joslyn Dalton, Betsy Miller and Val Zajac. The men will also have veteran leadership in addition to Maduza and van der Westhuizen with senior Vince Sickler and juniors Kyle Custer and Brian Parr.