Huskers Head to Big 12 Championships

Lincoln - This weekend the Nebraska cross country team will travel to Columbia, Mo., for the Big 12 Championships, hosted at A.L. Gustin Golf Course.

 

Last season the Husker women finished third for the third consecutive year, with Lara Crofford and Rachel Carrizales each earning All-Big 12 honors. On the men’s side, a young squad led by then-redshirt freshman David Adams placed seventh, their highest finish since 2002, when they also finished seventh.

 

The men will hit the course first on Saturday, running their 8K race at 10 a.m., with the women’s 6K race to follow at 11 a.m.

 

Saturday will mark the second time that the Tigers have hosted the conference meet, after also doing so in 2002. Saturday also marks the second straight year that Big 12 North school has hosted the meet, after it was hosted by Iowa State last season. It is the first time in conference history that the same division has hosted the meet two years in a row.

 

Recapping the 2008 Big 12 Championships

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.

 

Carrizales, a junior from Morrill, Neb., had a breakout season for the Husker women in 2008, 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.

 

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 was 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 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).

 

Doublin’ Up

At the past three Big 12 Championships the Husker women have had two runners earn All-Big 12 honors, with top-15 finishes. Last season, Lara Crofford earned her second straight honor and was joined by Rachel Carrizales. In 2007, Crofford earned her first award and Ari Goldstein picked up her second straight honor, while Goldstein was joined by Channing Anseth in 2006. Overall, the Husker women have had at least one runner earn All-Big 12 at eight of the previous 13 meets and at every meet dating back to the 2004 championships.

 

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.

 

The Husker women also produced three all-conference runners in 1985 and 1987, while the men have done it once, in 1987.

 

Adams Looks to Break Throw

Following a 26th-place finish at last season’s Big 12 Championships, sophomore David Adams will look to break into the top-15 this weekend and earn All-Big 12 honors. The Husker men have not had a runner earn the award since 2001, when James Bowler placed sixth. Overall the men have had four runners earn a total of five All-Big 12 honors, including Cleophas Boor (1996-97), Jeroen Broekzitter (1997) and Jonah Kiptarus (1996), with Kiptarus winning the inaugural meet in ?96.

 

Dirksen’s Conference Success

In his first 26 seasons as the Huskers’ leader, Jay Dirksen has put together a successful resume at the conference championships. Along with five conference titles, Dirksen has produced 35-top five finishes and 21 top-three finishes. He has also coached runners to 45 all-conference honors.

 

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).

 

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.