Huskers Face Tough Road Test in Wisconsin

Lincoln - The Nebraska cross country team will hit the road this weekend for the Wisconsin adidas Invitational on Saturday morning at University Ridge Golf Course in Madison, Wisc. For the first time all season the Huskers will be running against some of the top programs in the country.

 

The Husker men will be first up at 11 a.m. as they take on the 8K course. Ranked 10th in the Midwest Region entering Saturday, the Huskers will battle with seven nationally ranked teams, including host school Wisconsin, who holds the highest ranking at fourth. Other ranked teams include Georgetown (10th), BYU (12th), Arkansas (17th), Auburn (t-20th), Michigan (23rd) and Duke (27th).

 

Following the men’s race, the Husker women will then take to the course at 11:45 a.m. for the 6K race. After receiving votes in the national poll this week, the Huskers will have a shot to make a case to move into the nation’s top-30 with a strong performance as they battle eight nationally ranked teams.  Illinois enters the meet as the highest ranked team at 10th, with the Fighting Illini joined by Georgetown (11th), Michigan (17th), Syracuse (21st), BYU (23rd), Wisconsin (26th), Arkansas (28th) and Duke (29th).

 

Huskers Sweep Woody Greeno Titles

The Nebraska cross country teams put on an impressive show for the home crowd at Pioneers Park on Saturday, Sept 19., for the 20th Annual Woody Greeno/Nebraska Invitational. The Huskers swept the university division team crowns, while junior Lara Crofford and sophomore David Adams won the individual titles.

 

The team wins marked the fourth straight year that the Huskers have swept the team titles and the ninth time overall in the meet’s 20-year history that the Huskers have pulled off the clean sweep. Individually, it was the third time that the Huskers have won both titles, as Fran ten Bensel and Joe Kirby pulled off the sweep in 1990 and ten Bensel and David Iteffa repeated the feat in 1991.

 

Overall for the women, Crofford led a 1-2 Husker finish with senior Rachel Carrizales placing second. The Huskers placed three more in the top 15, with sophomore Jessica Furlan finishing seventh, Goldstein coming in 10th and Ashley Miller finished 12th. The team win was the Huskers fifth straight, their second longest streak at the meet, as they won nine straight from 1990-98.

 

The team win for the men was their fourth straight, setting their longest run at the meet after also winning three straight from 1995-97. Powered by Adams’ meet title, the Huskers placed two more in the top-25 out of 341 runners. Brad Doering joined Adams in the top 10 with a tenth-place time of 25:31.2, while Todd Gulizia finished 22nd.

 

Third Time’s a Charm

After finishing runner-up at the Woody Greeno/Nebraska Invitational the past two seasons, Lara Crofford became the first Husker to win the individual crown since Ari Goldstein won it as a sophomore in 2006. A native of Newville, Pa., Crofford became the sixth Husker woman to win the individual crown, joining Goldstein (2006), Anne Shadle (2003) and Fran ten Bensel (1990-92).

 

Movin’ on Up

With his win at the Woody Greeno/Nebraska Invitational, sophomore David Adams posted the sixth-best all-time time on the course at 24:29.4. Adams was all alone on the course, finishing nearly 20 seconds ahead of the next closest runner. The York, Neb., native’s time is second-best time ever by a Husker, trailing Cleophas Boor’s time of 24:05.3 in 1996, which ranks third overall. Adams joins former Husker winners James Bowler (2002), Boor (1996), David Iteffa (1991) and Joe Kirby (1990).

 

Chasing 1988

With three All-Big 12 runners on the women’s team in 2009, the Nebraska women have a shot at becoming the first Husker squad in the Big 12 era to have three runners earn All-Big 12 accolades at the same meet.

 

Junior Lara Crofford earned the honor in her first two seasons and was joined last year by senior Rachel Carrizales. Prior to Crofford, Ari Goldstein was the only Husker in the Big 12 era to earn the honor twice, earning it in 2006 and 2007. Goldstein redshirted last season with mononucleosis.

 

The Huskers last had three all-conference selections at the same meet when Sammie Resh, Tracy Smith and Yvonne van der Kork achieved the feat at the 1988 Big Eight Championships.

 

Adams Leads Young Squad in ?09

The Husker men return a deep team in 2009, only losing 2008 team co-captain Kyle Custer. However, the team will once again be a young, with only two seniors out of 17 runners.

 

The men’s squad will look to team captain David Adams to lead it in 2009, after the sophomore led the Huskers at all but one race as a redshirt freshman last season. Following a stellar first season on the course, Adams continued to improve during the 2009 track and field season. A native of York, Neb., Adams ended the year at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, where he placed 13th in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.

 

Huskers Make Clean Sweep at Creighton/UNO Classic

The Nebraska cross country team started 2009 on a high note at the Chili Greens in Omaha, Neb., as the Huskers swept the Creighton/UNO Classic team titles behind individual champions Erica Hamik and Brad Doering. The wins marked the second straight year that the Huskers have won both individual titles, after Jen Webers and David Adams won their first career races last season. It is also the second straight team title for the Husker men and the fourth title for the Husker women in the last five years.

 

The Husker women were dominant over Creighton and Nebraska-Omaha as Hamik, a sophomore, led a 1-2-3-4-5 finish for the Huskers with a time of 18.57 in the 5K race. Hamik was followed by Webers, Ashley Miller, Ari Goldstein and Katie White.

 

For the men, the Huskers placed six runners in the top 10 and eight in the top 15. Doering paced the pack with an 8K time of 26:19. A junior from Yuba City, Calif., Doering was joined in the top 10 by Jesse Adams (3rd), Bryce Somer (4th), Eric Thies (5th), Anthony Oberle (6th) and Tommy Brinn (9th).

 

Goldstein Receives Second Shot at Senior Year

One of the biggest additions to the 2009 women’s cross country team will be the return of senior Ari Goldstein. Goldstein was forced to redshirt last season after suffering from mononucleosis in the fall. An All-Big 12 performer in 2006 and 2007, Goldstein will add to the fire power that Jay Dirksen already has in frontrunners Lara Crofford and Rachel Carrizales, who each earned All-Big 12 and All-Midwest Regional accolades last season.

 

10-Year Itch

The Nebraska women’s cross country team will look to achieve something in 2009 that it hasn’t done in 10 years - make a repeat trip to the NCAA Championships. From 1996 to 1999, the Huskers made four consecutive trips to the national meet, including three top-20 finishes.

 

Absent from the national meet since 2003, Coach Jay Dirksen’s 2008 team earned an at-large bid to the national meet in Terre Haute, Ind., after placing third at the NCAA Midwest Regional. Led by sophomore Lara Crofford, who finished 45th out of 252 runners, the Huskers placed 25th in the team standings at the NCAA meet. It was the squads’ top finish since 1999, when NU placed 16th.

 

Even with the departure of seniors Natalja Callahan, Jen Pancoast and Betsy Miller, the 2009 Huskers return a strong nucleus from last year that includes four runners who ran at the national meet. Leading the way will be Crofford, the team’s Most Valuable Runner in her first two seasons and a two-time All-Big 12 and All-Midwest Regional honoree. Joining Crofford is senior Rachel Carrizales, who also earned All-Big 12 and All-Midwest Region honors last season. Rounding out the returning NCAA qualifiers are junior Jen Webers and sophomore Ashley Miller, who will each be expected to take a step forward in 2009.