Huskers Finish Season at NCAA Regionals

Lawrence, Kan. - The Nebraska cross country teams competed at their last meet of the season on Friday at the NCAA Midwest Regional at Rim Rock Farm.

The men's team finished 12th out of 26 teams with 368 points, while the women's team placed 22nd out of 32 with 610 points.

The men's team improved eight spots from last year's regional meet. Austin Post led the team for the first time all season, placing 45th with a time of 31:16.1. Alec Sery (61st, 31:31.9), Pat Letz (82nd, 31:48.1) and Jacob Olson (92nd, 31:56.3) followed behind.

Head Coach Dave Harris was pleased with the performance of the men and how they placed ahead of a conference foe.

"We were pleased with 12th. That's kind of where we were ranked coming in." Harris said. "We did beat Iowa. That was one of our goals, to beat a Big Ten team, so we're glad we accomplished that."

Coach Harris went on to talk about how he is optimistic about the future of the program.

"I think we're about a year away from being really, pretty good. I know we return our whole team next year, so that's really positive for the men's team." Harris said.

The women's team also improved its ranking at the regional meet from last year, as they were 29th in 2014. Bonnie Smith led the Husker women for the fifth time this season, placing 77th with a time of 21:52.5. Megan Lush was next at 22:19.8 to finish 115th. Katrina Santiago (121st, 22:25.3) and Kendall Cast (141st, 22:39.7) were just behind her.

"The women still have a ways to go," Coach Harris said. "We're still getting there in terms of being among the best in the region, and that is where we want to be."

Although no Huskers advanced to the NCAA Championship, the team's continued improvement and young squad will pay dividends heading into next year. 

The cross country team showed signs of improvement all year and will return plenty of runners next year, making the future for the program bright. Only one Husker runner at the regional meet was a senior (Lush).