Kusche, Freyhof Gear Up for National Championships

Sophomore Mark Freyhof and freshman George Kusche are gearing up for the NCAA Championships on Saturday, November 17. The men’s 10K race will begin at 11:45 a.m. at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course in Madison, Wisconsin.

"For our program this means a lot to have two guys at the National Championships and the fact they are a freshman and sophomore makes it even better," Harris said. "They will be the leaders of our team for years to come. They have two different stories... George, the star middle distance recruit out of South Africa and one of the top 19 year olds in the world, and Mark, who I had to tell he needed to run faster in high school to even be considered to walk-on to our team. It is a joy to coach both of them - the star and the ultimate developer. They work well with each other and bring out the best each day in practice."

Kusche punched his ticket to the National Championships at the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships on Friday, November 9. Kusche automatically qualified for the championships by finishing in fourth place of the 10K with a time of 31:02.8. His finish was the best finish for a Nebraska male runner at the event since Jeroen Broekzitter won the meet in 1997.

One day later, on November 10, Freyhof learned he will be joining Kusche at the National Championships. Freyhof finished in 10th place of the men’s 10K at the Midwest Regional Championships with a time of 31:08.9. His finish gave him a shot at snagging an at-large bid as an individual. During Selection Saturday, the NCAA announced Freyhof would be appearing at the National Championships as an at-large selection from the Midwest Region.

"The thing that people don't know is George has put in a good amount of work to be able to be effective in cross country this fall," said Harris. "He is really enjoying the base work of training. Mark has always been one to put in the work and now it is paying off. I am very proud to coach them for Nebraska. The goal for both of them is to finish as high in their first NCAA Championship as possible. There are no time or place goals, but just get in the race and fight for every spot."

Live results can be found here. A live stream is also provided by FloTrack and can be viewed with a subscription. Complete results will be posted on Huskers.com at the conclusion of the event.

 

NCAA National Championships

Host: The NCAA National Championships are hosted by the University of Wisconsin.

Course: Thomas Zimmer Championship Course

9002 County Road PD, Madison, WI 53593

Course Map (10K Map)

Start Time: 11:45 a.m. (10,000 Meters)

Box Draws: Both George Kusche and Mark Freyhof will come out of Individual Starting Box #8 with Koby Pederson from Loyola Marymount.

Awards: Awards will be presented at the projected time of 12:45 p.m. for both the men and women. Team awards are presented to the top four teams. The top 15 individuals will be recognized and receive an NCAA award. The USTFCCCA All America awards presentation, recognizing the top 40 individuals, will take place in a separate awards ceremony immediately following the conclusion of the NCAA awards ceremony. The award ceremonies will take place in the awards area located adjacent to the finish line trailer.

Timing & Results: The race will be timed and scored by Record Timing. Live results can be found here. Complete results will also be posted to Huskers.com at the conclusion of the event.

Making History
This will be the first time since the 2010 season that Nebraska will have two athletes competing at the National Championships. Lara Crofford and David Adams were the last two Huskers to represent Nebraska at the National Championships at the same time. This feat also marks the first time since 1997 that Nebraska has two male individuals selected for the National Meet. Broekzitter and Cleophas Boor both qualified as individuals in 1997.

All-Region Accolades
Kusche, Mark Freyhof and Erika Freyhof each earned All-Region honors at the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships. Kusche (fourth), Mark Freyhof (10th) and Erika Freyhof (11th) all garnered All-Region honors by finishing in the top-25 of their perspective races. This was the first time since 2011 the Huskers had multiple athlete’s on the All-Region team and the first time since 2010 Nebraska has All-Region members on both the men’s and women’s teams in the same year.

Kusche Garners Freshman of the Year
Kusche was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year this season. He was the first Nebraska runner to earn the conference freshman of the year honor in the last 20 years. Kusche made headlines at the Big Ten Championships, finishing in third place of the 8K with a personal-best time of 23:39.0. The third-place finish was the highest a Husker has ever finished at the meet and earned Kusche first-team All-Big Ten accolades. Kusche’s finish was also the best finish by a Nebraska male runner at a conference championship since 1997, when Boor finished as the runner-up at the Big XII Championships.

Kusche Makes Headlines at Big Ten Championships
Kusche ran a personal-best time of 23:39.0 in the 8K and finished third at the Big Ten Championships. His third-place finish was the best finish ever by a Husker at the Big Ten Championships and the best finish by a Nebraska male runner at a conference championship since 1997. Kusche’s performance earned him first-team All-Big Ten accolades.

Mark Freyhof also made a jump at the Big Ten Championships, placing 18th with a PR time of 24:10.0 in the 8K. He was the second Husker to cross the finish line. His finish was a 29-place improvement from his 47th place finish at the 2017 Big Ten Championships.

Regular Season Dominance
Kusche and Freyhof consistently led the Big Red throughout the regular season. Kusche paced the Huskers in three meets during the regular season, tallying up three top-five finishes and he was the second member of the Nebraska men’s squad to cross the finish line in the fourth meet. Freyhof recorded two top-five finishes and posted one top 10 finish during the regular season.