Crofford Continues to Make Strides in the 2010 Season

Madison, Wis. – After staying in Nebraska for the first two meets of the 2010 cross country season, the Huskers traveled to Madison, Wis., on Saturday for the adidas Invitational at University Ridge Golf Course. Lara Crofford led the Husker women to an ninth-place showing with her 5th-place finish, while the men placed 15th behind David Adams’ 9th-place finish.

 

Entering the meet unranked in the latest USTFCCCA poll, the Husker women squared off against six nationally ranked teams, including top-20 schools Florida (No. 7), Syracuse (No.11) and Michigan State (No. 20). Crofford improved 14 places from her 2009 performance, placing fifth in the competition only seven seconds behind Florida's No. 1 runner Charlotte Browning. The Huskers finished with 248 points, just two places behind No. 7 Florida who finished seventh. The women ran very well as a group, with redshirt freshman Martina Barinova finishing 30 seconds behind Crofford and placing 28th. The Huskers did take down one ranked team, as host school Wisconsin (No. 26) placed 15th out of 20 teams.

 

“The women ran well as a team,” Head Coach Jay Dirksen said. “Lara Crofford really looked awesome today, running against some of the best runners in the country. She managed the race extremely well and really showed her maturity as a runner today.”

 

On the men’s side, the Husker had quite a battle as there were seven nationally ranked teams in the 20-team field, including No. 6 host school Wisconsin, who finished second to No. 25th ranked Indiana. Adams, ran well once again as his time of 23:51.0 placed him inside the top ten runners. 

 

“David (Adams) ran extremely well,” Dirksen said. “He made a great push at the end. He overtook at least 10 guys in the last half mile to put him in the top ten. As a team we’re making good progress.”

 

"If we keep building on what we've got started, I think this could be a really solid year for both teams," Dirksen said.

 

The Huskers will now have two weeks off before they head back on the road to Terre Haute, Ind., for the Indiana State Pre-Nationals. Hosted on the same course as the NCAA Championships in November, the meet is one of the premier events of the regular season. It will be the Huskers last meet before starting the postseason on Oct. 30 in Columbia, Mo., for the Big 12 Championships. Check back with Huskers.com during race week for more information.