Huskers Conclude Regular Season

Huskers Conclude Regular Season

The Nebraska cross country team will be on the road for the second straight week this weekend when they travel to Terre Haute, Ind., for the Indiana State Pre-Nationals. The same site for the 2009 NCAA Championships, the meet is one of the premier meets of the regular season and is ran at LaVern Gibson Cross Country Course.

 

With 72 teams entered on the women’s side and 70 entered on the men’s side, each field will be broken up into two equally matched races, named the white and blue races.

 

The Husker men will run in the second men’s race (white), which is set to start at 10:40 a.m. (Central). The men will face their stiffest competition of the year as 10 of the 35 teams in the race are ranked in the latest USTFCCCA poll, including No. 1 Stanford. The field also includes top-10 teams Colorado (No. 4), BYU (No. 6) and Portland (No. 8).

 

The women will follow when they run in the first race (blue) at 11:20 a.m. The women will have it a bit easier with only seven top-30 teams in their 37-team field. However, there will be four top-15 teams, including No. 4 Oregon, No. 6 Stanford, No. 11 Florida State and No. 13 Georgetown.

 

Nebraska will also have athletes in both open races, with the men’s race at 12:30 p.m. and the women’s at 1:10 p.m.

 

Last Season at the Indiana State Pre-Nationals

The Nebraska women’s cross country team made a strong statement at the 2008 Indiana State Pre-Nationals as the Huskers finished ninth overall. The Huskers competed in a 42-team field that included 14 top-40 ranked teams including top-five teams Florida State (No. 3) and Princeton (No. 5).

 

The Huskers, who entered the meet unranked, received a strong outing from then-sophomore Lara Crofford who finished 10th overall with a time of 20:39 in the white race. Crofford’s finish propelled the women’s team to a ninth-place finish, downing six top-40 teams.

 

Recapping the adidas Invitational

After staying in Nebraska for the first two meets of the 2009 cross country season, the Huskers traveled to Madison, Wis., on for the adidas Invitational at University Ridge Golf Course. Lara Crofford led the Husker women to an eighth-place showing with her 18th-place finish, while the men placed 11th behind David Adams’ 11th-place finish, as both teams defeated a team ranked in the USTFCCCA top 30.

 

Entering the meet unranked in the latest USTFCCCA poll, the Husker women squared off against seven nationally ranked teams, including top-20 schools Illinois (No. 10) and Michigan (No. 17). Led by Crofford, the Huskers finished with 188 points, just 14 points behind No. 28 Arkansas who finished seventh. The women ran very well as a group, with the top five runners only separated by 32 seconds. The Huskers did take down one ranked team, as host school Wisconsin (No. 26) placed 11th out of 12 teams.

 

On the men’s side, the Husker had quite a battle as there were five nationally ranked teams in the 13-team field, including No. 10 Georgetown, who finished second to unranked Syracuse. Adams, just a sophomore, ran well once again as his time of 24:11.0 was only 10 seconds away from being a top-five time. The men’s squad was also able to take down a ranked foe as the Huskers took out No. 20 Auburn by 10 points, 256-266.

 

Huskers Look to Break into National Polls

Last season the Nebraska women made a national splash when they finished ninth out of 42 teams at the Indiana State Pre-Nationals. The Huskers took down six top-40 teams, which earned them a No. 27 ranking the following week. Even with a win over then No. 26 Wisconsin two week ago, the Badgers are currently No. 28, the Huskers are still on the outside looking in. A strong showing this weekend could once again move the Huskers into the top 30, with the Big 12 Championships are just over two weeks away.

 

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.

 

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.