Crofford, Carrizales Earn All-Big 12 Honors

Ames, Iowa ? A sunny morning with temperatures in the 50’s welcomed the Nebraska cross country team to the 13th running of the Big 12 Cross Country Championships at the Iowa State Cross Country Course in Ames, Iowa.

The Husker women started the day at 10 a.m., finishing third in the 6K race for the third straight year with 102 points, trailing Texas Tech (44) and Baylor (71). The Big Red was carried by All-Big 12 performers Lara Crofford (sixth) and Rachel Carrizales (ninth).

Crofford, a sophomore from Newville, Pa., earned the second All-Big 12 honor of her young career, joining teammate Ari Goldstein as the only women in Husker history to earn All-Big 12 accolades twice. Crofford’s sixth-place finish was the highest finish for a Husker woman in over 10 years at the conference meet, tying Amy Wiseman (1997) for the highest finish by a Husker on the women’s side in the Big 12 era.

“This course is tough and I didn’t run as well as I wanted but I am happy I could help the team,” Crofford said. “Our goal is to make the national meet and I think we have a lot of confidence heading into regionals.”

 Carrizales, a junior from Morrill, Neb., has had a breakout season for the Husker women, running as the team’s No. 2 runner behind Crofford all season. Carrizales was expected to play a big role on the team entering the year, but saw her role become even more important after Goldstein was forced to redshirt the 2008 season due to mononucleosis.

“My goal coming is was to finish in the top 15, but finishing ninth was a bit higher than I expected,” Carrizales said. “We have a really good team and I am excited to see how we do at regionals.”

Senior Natalja Callahan (formerly Zarcenko) was the next Husker to finish at 23rd, directly followed by senior teammate Jen Pancoast at 24th.  The Big Red was rounded out by Jen Webers (40th), Ashley Miller (64th), Betsy Miller (65th), Katie White (73rd) and Jessica Furlan (88th).

The Husker men took to the 8K course at 11 a.m., finishing seventh with 200 points, the top finish for the men’s squad since 2002. The Huskers were within striking distance of Texas (179 points) and may have caught the Longhorns with a healthy squad. The men were running without one of its top runners in Todd Gulizia who was a mid-week scratch due to a back injury and has been without team co-captain Brian Parr all season following ankle surgery.

Redshirt freshman David Adams continued to carry the men, finishing 26th with a time of 25:16.2. Adams has been the top finisher for the Big Red at every meet this season.

“I thought I ran well at my first Big 12 meet,” Adams said. “Running at the Pre-National meet two weeks ago really helped me prepare for today.

Adams was followed by Mikel Thomas (33rd), Kyle Custer (44th), Brad Doering (46th), Anthony Oberle (67th), Bryce Somer (72nd), Peter Falcon (75th) and Jesse Adams (82nd).

The Huskers now have two weeks off in preparation of the NCAA Midwest Regional. The meet will be held in Stillwater, Okla., on Nov. 15. The women are set to run their 6K race first at 10 a.m. with the men’s 10K race to follow at 11 a.m. Crofford and Callahan each earned All-Midwest Region honors last season.