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Springfield, Mo. ? For the second time in three weeks the Nebraska cross country team made a trip to Missouri for a postseason meet. After traveling to Columbia, Mo., two weeks ago for the Big 12 Championships, the Huskers competed on Saturday at the NCAA Midwest Regional, hosted at the Missouri State Cross Country Course in Springfield, Mo. In the team race, the women finished fourth and the men finished eighth, while individually, Lara Crofford and David Adams each earned All-Midwest Region honors.
The Husker women, who entered the meet ranked No. 5 in the latest USTFCCCA regional poll and unranked in the national poll, placed fourth behind nationally ranked Minnesota (No. 17), Illinois (No. 13) and Iowa State (No. 18), respectively. However, for the second straight year the Huskers were able to finish ahead of the Iowa Hawkeyes, who entered the meet ranked No. 30 nationally. After downing Iowa by two points last season to finish third, the Huskers topped the Hawkeyes by 13 points, 147-160. In one of the most completive regions, the Huskers will have a shot at earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships.
Individually, Crofford earned all-region honors for the third consecutive year with her 11th-place finish (21:06.8), to become just the third Husker on the women’s side to earn three or more all-region honors, joining four-time honorees Ann Gaffigan (2000-2003) and Kathryn Handrup (1999-01 and 2003). The women competed well as a team with five runners in the top 50. Along with Crofford, Jessica Furlan finished 31st, Rachel Carrizales 33rd, Ashley Miller 38th and Ari Goldstein 47th.
On the men’s side, the Huskers’ eighth-place showing in the 10K race was one spot higher than their No. 9 ranking in the latest USTFCCCA regional poll. Adams, a sophomore from York, Neb., continued to lead the way for the Huskers, finishing 20th (31:19.5) overall to earn his first career All-Midwest Region honor. His finish was tops for a Husker on the men’s side since 2002, when James Bowler finished sixth. Fellow sophomore Anthony Oberle joined Adams in the top 50 with a 41st-place showing (32:11.6), improving on his 85th-place finish in 2008.
It marked the second straight year that the Husker men have finished in the top 10, after finishing 10th last season. Saturday also marked the highest finish for the men since 2002, when Bowler led the Huskers to a fourth-place finish.
The men ran a young team all season, as one freshman, three sophomores and three juniors competed at the regional. Out of the nine regional meets across the country, the Midwest is arguably one of the toughest, as the 25-team field included four top-30 nationally ranked teams, including No. 2 Oklahoma State.
The Huskers will now wait until tomorrow night to find out if they earn any of the at-large bids to the NCAA Championships. Both the team and individual at-large selections will be released by the NCAA at no later than 6 p.m. (Central).