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The Nebraska cross country team began its season at the Augustana Twilight on Friday night in Sioux Falls, S.D., at Yankton Trail Park. The Husker men won the meet with a score of 69 points in the four-mile race, while the women placed second in the 5K with a score of 67 points. The Nebraska men have won the Augustana Twilight six of the last seven seasons and this is the second consecutive win for the Huskers at the meet.
Ryan Martins led the men's squad and was 10th with a time of 19:26.02. Jordan De Spong, Mark Freyhof and Ryan Kennedy also finished in the top 15 and placed 12th (19:27.44), 13th (19:28.48) and 15th (19:29.52), respectively. Ryan Eastman rounded out the top five finishers for the Big Red and was 30th in a time of 20:01.33.
"The men won the meet again, which was nice," Coach Harris said. "We actually had some new guys up in the top of our order which was nice to see. Ryan Martins, Jordan De Spong and Ryan Kennedy showed the work they put in this summer. We have got to put in some tough work with everyone. This is just the start of being a very good men's team."
The Nebraska women's team had two top-five finishes with Erika Freyhof placing third (17:01.13) and Judi Jones finishing fifth (17:34.35). Elsa Forsberg was also in the top 10 and placed ninth with a time of 17:47.81. Gabrielle Boucher and Gillian Filer were the next Huskers to cross the finish line and were 24th (18:32.05) and 26th (18:36.90), respectively. South Dakota won the women's competition with 40 points.
"South Dakota has a very nice team," said Harris. "Front-runners and depth through the top 7-10 runners. They beat us good. Maybe we need that because we are going to have to put in some good work to get closer. Everyone has to step up to some tougher training over the next eight weeks."
The Huskers will return to action on Saturday, Sept. 21 for the 30th annual Greeno/Dirksen Invitational. Races will commence at 9 a.m. and the meet will take place at the Mahoney Golf Course in Lincoln for the second year in a row.