Nebraska cross country runners George Kusche and Erika Freyhof have been selected to compete at the NCAA Championships next Monday, March 15 in Stillwater, Okla.
Kusche earned his third career NCAA Championships bid after winning the Big Ten cross country individual gold medal on January 30 in Shelbyville, Ind. Kusche became the Husker's first Big Ten cross country champion, racing a time of 24:01.2 in the 8K to reach the historic feat. Kusche is Nebraska's first conference champion since 1992 and just the seventh conference champion in program history. Kusche is the second Husker male in school history to qualify for the NCAA Championships three times, joining Jean Verster (1985-87). Kusche's career best finish at nationals was 55th place in 2018.
Freyhof earned her first bid to nationals after finishing sixth at the Big Ten Championships with a personal-best time of 20:41.2, also earning first-team All-Big Ten honors. Freyhof's finish was the best individual result at the Big Ten Championships by a Nebraska female runner and marks the best individual finish on the women's side since Lara Crofford finished sixth at the 2008 Big 12 Championships. Freyhof is the first Husker female to qualify for the NCAA Championships since Crofford in 2010.
The NCAA Cross Country Championships will be held at the Oklahoma State Cross Country Course in Stillwater, Okla., on Monday, March 15. The women's 6K race will begin at 11:50 a.m. The men's 10K race will begin at 12:40 p.m. The meet will be televised on ESPNU.
