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Nebraska turns its focus toward one of its most important goals of the season as the Huskers travel to Lubbock, Texas for the 2007 Big 12 Championships this Friday.
Under the direction of 25th year head coach Jay Dirksen, Nebraska has a chance for one of its best conference meets in recent years. The women are coming off a third-place finish at the 2006 meet in Lawrence, Kan., while the men are running for its best placing since 2002, when it finished seventh.
Action from The Rawls Golf Course begins at 10 a.m. with the men’s 8K, followed by the women’s 6K at 11 a.m. The top 15 finishers in each race are named to the all-conference team in addition to a men’s and women’s team champion.
The Nebraska women’s lineup is one of the best in Dirksen’s career, as it enters the Big 12 Championships ranked as the 30th team in the nation in the latest USTFCCA poll. The women are coming off a 13th-place finish at the NCAA Pre-Nationals in Terre Haute, Ind., Oct. 13. The squad opened the season with back-to-back team titles at the Creighton/UNO Classic and Woody Greeno/Nebraska Invitational before also finishing fifth at the Roy Griak Invite in St. Paul, Minn. Junior captain Ari Goldstein returns to the 2007 conference meet after an All-Big 12 performance last year when she finished 13th.
The Husker men’s lineup includes two of NU’s past four highest finishers at the Big 12 Championships in senior captains Peter van der Westhuizen and Alec Maduza. As a sophomore in 2005, van der Westhuizen led Nebraska with a 25th-place finish, while Maduza was the Huskers’ top finisher in 2003 with a 59th-place finish. The 2007 men won one team title this season, capturing the University division championship at the Woody Greeno/Nebraska Invitational in September.
The 2007 conference meet marks the first time Texas Tech has hosted the Big 12 Championships. Colorado is hoping to carry on a long line of success, as the Buffaloes have won every men’s title, while the women have won all but one (1997) since the Big 12 was instituted in 1996. Last year’s individual champions, Colby Wissel (Kansas) and Sally Kipyego (Texas Tech) return to the field in 2007.
After Friday’s meet, Nebraska will continue postseason competition in Peoria, Ill., Nov. 10 at the NCAA Midwest Region meet., where the Husker women finished fourth in 2006 and the men were 13th.
Nebraska’s Entry Lists
Big 12 Championships
Women Men
Rachel Carrizales Matt Conahan
Jennifer Pancoast Bryce Somer
Natalja Zarcenko Mike Thomas
History: Nebraska at the Big 12 Championships
The Husker women own five top-five finishes at the Big 12 Championships, including last year’s third-place finish in Lawrence, Kan., the highest since 1997. Channing Anseth and Ari Goldstein were All-Big 12 selections as they finished 12th and 13th. Nebraska’s highest finish at the Big 12 Championships was second in 1997 when Amy Wiseman placed sixth. As members of the Big Eight Conference, the Huskers won five conference titles in an 11-year span from 1985 to 1995.
The men’s best finish in Big 12 Championship history is also second, after Johah Kiptarus led the Huskers by winning the individual Big 12 title in the conference’s 1996 inaugural meet. Nebraska’s best meet in the past five years came in 2002 when the Huskers finished seventh. The Nebraska men have three All-Big 12 runners (James Bowler, 2001; Cleophas Boor, 1997; Jonah Kiptarus, 1st) in school history. During Big Eight Conference history, the Huskers had 11 top-three finishes from 1957 to 1995. Nebraska was crowned Big Six champions in 1940.
Huskers Remain in National Rankings
The Nebraska women held its stop in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCA) Division I cross country poll (Oct. 23), as it is ranked No. 30 with 14 points.
The ranking marks the third-straight week the Huskers have been in the poll, since it was No. 29 the week of Oct. 9 and No. 30 last week. This year is the first time the Husker women have been ranked since 2003, when it won the NCAA Midwest Regional behind Ann Gaffigan’s second-place finish before placing 30th as a team at the NCAA Championships.
Colorado has dropped to No. 15 in the poll, while Texas Tech has jumped to No. 14.
Goldstein, Crofford Provide Force Behind NU Women
Freshman Lara Crofford and junior captain Ari Goldstein have provided a dynamic 1-2 force for the 2007 Husker women. Crofford has led Nebraska in all four meets, including a first-place finish at the season-opening Creighton/UNO Classic. The Big Spring, Pa., native was then runner-up at the Woody Greeno/Nebraska Invitational and had top-20 finishes at the Roy Griak Invite and NCAA Pre-Nationals, when she placed 18th and was the second-highest freshman finisher in the meet.
Goldstein, a 2006 All-Big 12 selection, has continued to progress as a leader for the Huskers, opening her season with a third-place showing at the Woody Greeno/Nebraska Invitational. She was three spots behind Crofford at the Roy Griak to finish 23rd and was 82nd overall at NCAA Pre-Nationals.
South African van der Westhuizen Aims for Breakout Big 12 Meet
Although senior Peter van der Westhuizen has been one of the most talented NU men’s runners in recent history, he has been slowed by compartment syndrome the past two years. The injury forced van der Westhuizen out of the 2006 Big 12 Championships after finishing 25th in 2005. Now in his final year with the Huskers, van der Westhuizen is aiming for his best conference meet this Friday. He’s led Nebraska in two-of-three meets this season, including a fourth-place finish at the Woody Greeno/Nebraska Invitational to lead the Huskers to the University Division team championship. He also finished 84th at the Roy Griak Invite and then 82nd at the NCAA Pre-Nationals.
Last Year: 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 last year in Lawrence, Kan., 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 KansasState.
“We are ecstatic,” Head Coach Jay Dirksen said after the meet. “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.”
Channing Anseth and 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.
Natalja Zarcenko finished 27th in 22:17.51, less than a second ahead of Kim Pancoast in 28th (22:18.36). Jennifer Pancoast then ran one of the best races of her young career to place 29th in 22:25.43, while Betsy Miller was 31st in 22:29.12. Nebaska’s final scorer was 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, 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 last year.
Nebraska also saw positive signs for the future in its second and third men’s finishers, as Alec Maduza and Ethan Luebbe finished 75th (26:53.20) and 76th (26:54.20). Kyle Custer placed 78th in 27:03.60 to give the Husker men four finishers in the top 80.
Bryce Dickmeyer came in 84th (27:13.90) and Bryce Somer was 102nd (30:56.70) to round out the scoring Husker men. 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. Vince Sickler and Mackenzie Jeffrey also did not finish due to injuries.
Review: Husker Women Finish 13th at NCAA Pre-Nationals
St. Paul, Minn. - The Nebraska cross country teams left the state of Nebraska for the first time in 2007 on Sept. 29 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.
Nine Huskers Named to Academic All-Big 12 Teams
Nine Husker cross country runners were named to the 2007 Academic All-Big 12 teams, announced Tuesday by the league office.
Nebraska led the conference in 4.0 grade-point averages as three student-athletes achieved the perfect mark in seniors Joslyn Dalton and Alec Maduza and sophomore Bryce Somer. OklahomaState and Texas Tech each boasted a pair of 4.0’s, while IowaState and KansasState had one.
The Huskers had five women and four men named Academic All-Big 12. First team honors require a cumulative 3.20 GPA or better, while the second team consists of those with a 3.00 to 3.19 GPA.
All five of Nebraska’s women’s selections were named to the first team, marking the fifth-straight year the Husker women have had at least five first-team selections. Juniors Rachel Carrizales, Ari Goldstein, Jen Pancoast and Natalja Zarcenko joined Dalton on the list.
The men had three first-team selections for the second consecutive year as junior Kyle Custer met the required 3.20 GPA in addition to Maduza and Somer. Sophomore Ethan Luebbe gave the Huskers representation on the second team to give the Husker squads a total of nine runners on either the first or second teams.
In addition to the required 3.0 GPA, student-athletes must have also participated in at least 60 percent of his/her team’s scheduled meets. Freshmen and transfers are not eligible in their first year of academic residence. A total of 112 cross country runners from the conference were named to the Academic All-Big 12 teams.
The Husker cross country teams have deep roots in academic success as the two squads have earned 13-of-26 Herman Awards, which are given annually to Nebraska’s team with the highest grade-point average.