Crofford Advances to NCAA Championships

Following a ninth-place finish at Saturday’s NCAA Midwest Regional in Peoria, Ill., freshman Lara Crofford has been invited to the 2007 NCAA Championships, which take place Nov. 19 in Terre Haute, Ind.

 

By qualifying for the NCAA Championships, Crofford will give Nebraska a presence at the national meet for the fourth time in the past seven years. The Huskers' last qualifier was Kayte Tranel in 2005, who finished 28th. It also gives head coach Jay Dirksen a women's qualifier for the 19th time in his 25 seasons as Nebraska's head coach. 

 

Crofford has had a spectacular first season of collegiate running, which reached a new level Saturday when she was named to the 2007 All-Midwest Regional team. Her ninth-place finish in a season-best 6K time of 20:24 led the Husker women to fourth in the team standings.

 

The Big Spring, Pa., native led Nebraska in all six meets this season, including a first-place finish back in the season-opening Creighton/UNO Classic on Aug. 31.

 

Crofford ran at the site of the 2007 NCAA Championships (Terre Haute, Ind.) on Oct. 13, finishing 18th at the NCAA Pre-Nationals as the second-highest freshman finisher in the meet. She also had an All-Big 12 ninth-place finish at the 2007 Big 12 Championships in Lubbock, Texas on Oct. 26.

 

Hosted by Indiana State University, the NCAA Championships will be broadcasted live on CSTV for the first time in history. The women's race is set to begin at 12:55 p.m.