Huskers Travel to NCAA Region Championships

Huskers Travel back to Illinois to Compete for NCAA Bids...

      The Nebraska cross country team heads back to Illinois this weekend for the NCAA Midwest Regional hosted by Northern Illinois at the Northern Illinois University Cross-Country Facility. The Husker men will be up first, running the 10K course at noon, with the women's 6K course to follow at 1:15 p.m.

   Fans wishing to attend the 2011 Midwest Regional can find all the information they need in the spectator guide. In the guide, fans can get information about driving directions to the NIU North 40, parking maps, local accommodations, dining and transportation.

As one of nine regional championships held nationally at the Division I level, Northern Illinois University will host the Midwest's 33 Division I cross country participating schools from the states of Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota. The Midwest Region includes schools from 10 conferences, including the Atlantic 10, Big 12, BIG EAST, Big Ten, Conference USA, Great West, Horizon League, Mid-American, Missouri Valley, Ohio Valley, and Summit League.

     Fans wishing to attend the 2011 Midwest Regional can find all the information they need in the spectator guide. In the guide, fans can get information about driving directions to the NIU North 40, parking maps, local accommodations, dining and transportation.

     Fans can also win great prizes by entering in the NCAA Midwest Regional Social Media Contest. All you have to do is click "Attending" on the 2011 NCAA Midwest Regional Facebook page. On Twitter, use #NIURegional when you tweet about your favorite team, encouraging your followers to attend or anything else related to the event. Each Thursday leading up to the event one Twitter user and one Facebook user will be selected to win free admission, free VIP parking and NCAA Championship apparel. Entrants may tweet multiple times to help their chances and Facebook users can increase their odds of winning by sharing the event page and inviting their Facebook friends to attend. Prize winners will be contacted through their Twitter and Facebook accounts.

     The top two teams from every region will advance automatically to the national meet. The rest of the 31-team field (13 at-large) will be announced on Sunday the 13th, no later than 7pm ET. USTFCCCA All-Region honors will be awarded to those who are part of member programs and finished in the overall top 25 in their respective region.

Doering and White Honored by Big Ten...

      The Big Ten recognized 11 Sportsmanship Award honorees in both the men's and women's divisions. The student-athletes chosen are individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. These student-athletes must also be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting. The complete list of honorees can be found below.

MEN'S

Athlete of the Year: Mohammed Ahmed, Wisconsin

Coach of the Year: Mick Byrne, Wisconsin

Freshman of the Year: David Madrigal, Michigan State

Sportsmanship Award Honorees

Jordan Hebert, Illinois

Zach Mayhew, Indiana

Cameron Rieger, Iowa

Zach Ornelas, Michigan

Joe Dimambro, Michigan State

Paul Hilsen, Minnesota

Brad Doering, Nebraska

Taylor Williams, Ohio State

Tyler Corkedale, Penn State

Stephen Schulz, Purdue

Michael Brice, Wisconsin

WOMEN'S

Athlete of the Year: Caitlin Lane, Penn State

Coach of the Year: Walt Drenth, Michigan State

Co-Freshman of the Year: Taylor Pogue, Michigan; Gabrielle Anzalone, Wisconsin

Sportsmanship Award Honorees

Meghan Frigo, Illinois

Helene DeLone, Indiana

Mareike Schrulle, Iowa

Danielle Tauro, Michigan

Carlie Green, Michigan State

Laura Docherty, Minnesota

Katie White, Nebraska

Rachel Kaminski, Northwestern

Jordan Jennewine, Ohio State

Emily Giannotti, Penn State

Blair Doney, Purdue

Dani Fischer, Wisconsin

Huskers Fought Hard at Big Ten Championships...

   The Nebraska cross country team traveled to Urbana, Illinois for the Big Ten Championships hosted at the University of Illinois Arboretum. Katie White's 22nd-place finish (in 20:53) led the Husker women to a seventh-place finish in a 6K race, and Trevor Vidlak's 35th-place finish (in 24:37) paced the men in an 8K race, as they finished last in the conference as a team.

   Wisconsin won its 13th consecutive and 45th overall Big Ten Men's Cross Country Championship, placing five runners in the top six. Wisconsin posted a team score of 17, tying the second-lowest score in championships history. The Huskers placed two runners in the top 50. Vidlak was joined in the top 50 by senior Brad Doering, who finished 42nd with a time of 24:42. Vidlak and Doering ran their fastest times ever, competing against some of the most talented runners in the country. Jesse Adams (59th), Jarren Heng (67th) and Tommy Brinn (74th) finished in the top 75, respectively. The Huskers faced tough competition with second ranked Wisconsin leading the field followed by seventh ranked Indiana. As a team, the Huskers finished last in their first appearance at the Big Ten Championship.

   Michigan State won its second straight Big Ten Women's Cross Country Championship, placing three runners in the top 10 to earn its fourth consecutive title all-time. As a team, the Husker women posted a seventh place finish in their first showing at the Big Ten Championships. Overall, the Huskers put two runners in the top 30. White was following by senior co-captains Jessica Furlan who finished 29th with a time of 21:01, and Ashley Miller finished eight seconds behind Furlan placing 35th overall. White ran her best race ever, as she helped the women beat Indiana and Northwestern who beat them at the Wisconsin adidas Invitational. Erica Hamik and Isabel Andrade finished 46th and 70th, respectively.

Huskers Defeated by Nationally Ranked Teams...

   After an impressive showing in South Dakota, the Huskers traveled to Madison, Wis., on Friday for the adidas Invitational at University Ridge Golf Course where they faced stiff competition. Senior co-captain Ashley Miller led the Husker women to a 32nd-place showing with her 91st-place finish, while the men were led once again by Trevor Vidlak who placed 171st while the team finished 38th.

    Entering the meet unranked in the latest USTFCCCA poll, and ranked seventh in the regional team rankings entering Friday, the Huskers took on 19 nationally ranked teams. Top-ranked Villanova was taken down by 24th ranked Washington who won the meet with a team score of 199. Villanova was also trumped by unranked Vanderbilt and 14th ranked Arizona. The Husker women took down three Big Ten foes in Ohio State, Purdue and Illinois. Ashley Miller led the pack with her 91st-place finish, she was followed by seniors Katie White who finished 108th, Jessica Furlan who placed 125th and Erica Hamik ran to a 174th-place finish.

    On the men's side, the Husker faced the same stiff competition as they raced against 19 nationally ranked teams in the 39-team field. Second-ranked Wisconsin destroyed the field with a 54-point victory with a team score of 66. The Huskers were coming off a first-place team finish at the SDSU Classic but the tough competition proved too much for the Huskers. Junior co-captain Trevor Vidlak led the Husker men for the third time this season with his 171st-place finish. He was followed by teammate Jesse Adams who finished 12 seconds behind Vidlak with a time of 25:30.

Husker Men Take Title at SDSU Classic...

    Trevor Vidlak raced to an individual title to lead the Nebraska men's cross country team to the team crown at the South Dakota State Classic at the Edgebrooke Golf Course on Saturday. NU's Katie White added a third-place finish to lead the women to a runner-up finish in the team race.

    Vidlak led the Husker men to a 23-point victory with an impressive showing. Vidlak, a junior co-captain from Lincoln, cruised to victory in a winning time of 24:46.7. Teammate Jarren Heng, a sophomore from Norfolk, Neb., finished second while senior Brad Doering added a third-place finish to give the Huskers a sweep of the top-three spots.

     Three additional Huskers produced top-15 performances to give the men their first team title of 2011.

   On the women's side, the Huskers went head-to-head with nationally ranked Minnesota, and the Golden Gophers placed all seven of their runners in the top 10 in the individual standings.

    White led the Huskers with her third-place finish, while co-captains Jessica Furlan (8th) and Ashley Miller (9th) added top-10 finishes of their own, as NU joined the Gophers as the only teams with runners to finish in the individual top 10. Senior Erica Hamik added an 11th-place effort, while sophomore Isabel Andrade (15th) gave the Huskers five top-15 finishes. One of NU's top runners, Martina Barinova, did not compete for the third straight week.

Husker Women Claim Seventh Straight Greeno Title...

   The Nebraska women's cross country team captured its 17th title at the 22nd annual Woody Greeno/Nebraska Invitational Saturday at Pioneers Park. The women's university division victory marked their seventh consecutive Woody Greeno title, while the Husker men added a third-place finish.

   Jessica Furlan led the Huskers with a third-place individual finish in a time of 21:32.08, which placed her 11th on the all-time Pioneers Park performance list. The Huskers placed three more in the top 15, including senior Erica Hamik's fifth-place showing and Katie White's sixth-place effort. Ashley Miller added a 12th-place performance.

   Sophomore Sarah Plambeck just missed a top-15 showing with her 16th-place showing in a time of 22:25.08.

   Trevor Vidlak led the Nebraska men with a fourth-place finish in a time of 24:46.22. Vidlak's time was more than 2:30 faster than his time at the Woody Greeno a year ago. Jim Walmsley of Air Force claiming the individual title. Walmsley claimed his second straight Greeno title in the sixth-fastest time (24:15.3) in Pioneers Park history. Wyoming's Greg Miller took second and Air Force's Jeremy Drenckhahn finished third.

   Nebraska's Brad Doering added a top-10 finish by placing ninth, while Jesse Adams took 19th. Jarren Heng finished 22nd, and Connor Gibson placed 33rd.

   The Huskers ended the 22nd annual Woody Greeno/Nebraska Invitational on a bittersweet note, by paying tribute to Head Coach Jay Dirksen. A major contributor to the historic success of the annual meet, Dirksen led the way in helping the Huskers host nearly 60 teams and more than 700 student-athletes on an annual basis. Dirksen was also honored by Nebraska Wesleyan's Head Coach Ted Bulling, with a plaque commemorating all the hard work Dirksen has done for Nebraska's cross country program and for the Woody Greeno/Nebraska Invitational.