Husker Women Finish Fifth in Minnesota

St. Paul, Minn.? The Nebraska cross country teams left the state of Nebraska for the first time in 2007 on Saturday and turned in their best Roy Griak Invitational performance in recent history.

 

Led by freshman Lara Crofford’s 20th-place finish, the Husker women defeated five Big 12 teams and 10th-ranked Virginia on the way to their highest finish at the Griak Invite since 1999, when it also finished fifth. The men turned in a marquee performance as well, matching its highest finish since 2002 with a 15th-place showing.

 

The NU women had three runners finish in the top 30 as junior captain Ari Goldstein was 23rd (22:02.5) and senior Joslyn Dalton was 28th, easily surpassing her previous Griak career-best finish of 70th from 2004. Junior Rachel Carrizales saw the biggest improvement on Saturday, placing 51st after finishing 250th at the 2006 Roy Griak Invite. The women were competing without 2006 All-Big 12 performer Channing Anseth, who was held out of the meet due to a foot injury.

 

The men were led by a solid performance from freshman Todd Gulizia, who finished 43rd in a season-best 8K time of 25:38. The Omaha native was one of three freshmen to set season-best times, joining Brad Doering (26:49.2) and Eric Thies (27:28.9).

 

Senior Peter van der Westhuizen was the Huskers’ second finisher in 84th (26:07.9), just ahead of junior teammate Kyle Custer, who finished 86th (26:10.9). Custer’s finish was a career best at the Roy Griak Invitational after he placed 167th in 2006 and 196th in 2005. Senior Vince Sickler (125th) and sophomores Ethan Luebbe (138th) and Bryce Somer (128th) also bettered their 2006 finishes from the Roy Griak.

 

Nebraska will now take a week off before splitting up to the Chile Pepper Festival (Fayetteville, Ark.) and NCAA Pre-Nationals (Terre Haute, Ind.) on Oct. 13.

 

Roy Griak Invitational
Sept. 29, 2007 ? Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Results
Les Bolstad Golf Course ? St. Paul, Minn.

 

Women’s Team Scores (University Division)

1. Minnesota ? 97

2. ArizonaState ? 100

3. MichiganState ? 109

4. UC Santa Barbara ? 156

5. Nebraska ? 163

 

Top Five Finishers, School ? Time

1. Emily Harrison, Virginia ? 20:51.4

2. Lisa Koll, Iowa State ? 21:09.0

3. Grace Kemmey, Iowa State ? 21:17.5

4. Kari Hardt, Arizona Staste ? 21:21.0

5. Nicole Bush, Michigan State ? 21:21.1

 

Nebraska Finishers

20. Lara Crofford, 21:58.2

23. Ari Goldstein, 22:02.5

28. Joslyn Dalton, 22:06.2

42. Natalja Zarcenko, 22:27.8

51. Rachel Carrizales, 22:37.8

67. Jen Pancoast, 22:51.2

144. Jen Webers, 24:09.5

217. Elizabeth Marsh, 25:47.2

 

Men’s Team Scores

1. Northern Arizona ? 84

2. ArizonaState ? 88

3. IowaState ? 99

4. Minnesota ? 107

5. Virginia ? 126

15. Nebraska ? 420

 

Top Five Finishers, School ? Time

1. Lopez Lomong, NorthernArizona ? 24:04.2

2. David McNeill, NorthernArizona ? 24:26.5

3. Chris Rombough, Minnesota ? 24:29.9

4. KielUhl, Iowa State ? 24:32.3

5. Kyle Alcorn, Arizona State ? 24:37.5

 

Nebraska Finishers

43. Todd Gulizia ? 25:38.0

84. Peter van der Westhuizen ? 26:07.9

86. Kyle Custer ? 26:10.9

115. Peter Falcon ? 26:36.9

122. Matt Conahan 26:43.3

125. Vince Sickler ? 26:45.0

128. Bryce Somer ? 26:46.9

132. Brad Doering ? 26:49.2

138. Ethan Luebbe ? 26:59.5

154. Mikel Thomas ? 27:18.1

163. Eric Thies ? 27:28.9

188. Alec Maduza ? 28:24.0