Gregg Madsen
Distance duo
will dominate,
Dirksen says
Jay Dirksen has never coached
a pair of runners like Jonah Kiptarus
and Cleophas Boor.
The two Cornhuskers from
Kapsabet, Kenya, have just finished
the best cross country season in
Nebraska history, and they are
poised to carry their success into the
indoor and outdoor track seasons.
“They’re the two best long-dis
tance runners we’ve ever had at
Nebraska,” Dirksen said. “There’s
no question about that.”
Just by looking at Kiptarus and
Boor, it’s easy to tell that they are
both tremendously gifted athletes.
Well, maybe it’s not that easy.
Kiptarus stands 5 feet 4 inches
tall and Boor is only 5-6. Their pres
ence is less than intimidating—that
is, unless you plan on running
against them.
In one season, the two transfers
from Barton County (Kan.) Com
munity College have become a
force to be reckoned with. With the
exception of the NCAA Champion
ships, Kiptarus and Boor finished
1-2 in every race they entered this
season. Kiptarus was second at the
championships, and Boor was third.
The only other race of the sea
son that Kiptarus didn’t win was the
Pre-NCAA Meet on Oct. 19, when
Boor finished first.
“A lot of teams have two good
runners that run high,” Dirksen said,
“but (Kiptarus and Boor) only had
one guy beat them this year.”
That’s quite an accomplishment,
especially when you consider the
difficult schedule Nebraska faced
this season and the elite, 173-man
field that Kiptarus and Boor ran
away from at the NCAA Champi
onships.
That one runner who defeated
the duo was Godfrey Siamusiye of
Arkansas, who pulled away from
the NU runners to win his second
consecutive national title. But
Siamusiye has used all of his eligi
bility and won’t run again at the
collegiate level.
That leaves Kiptarus and Boor
optimistic for the rest of the track
season. The majority of the distance
runners in the indoor and outdoor
season have already been beaten by
Kiptarus and Boor this year.
“None of them are better than
our two guys,” Dirksen said. “They
may be in the same category, but not
better.”
Dirksen said Kiptarus will prob
ably run the 3,000 meter during the
indoor season and Boor will be in
the 5,000-meter race. Whatever the
distance. Boor and Kiptarus will
continue their dominance through
out the indoor and outdoor seasons.
They already have a running
start.
Madsen is a junior news-edi
torial major and a Daily Nebras
kan staff reporter.
Matt Miller/DN
NU FRESHMAN Lindsay Eddleman beats Duke’s Samantha Baggett (left) and Kristy Whelchel to
the ball in the Huskers’ 3-0 win during the second round of the NCAA Tburnament. NU beat Duke
twice during its 23-1 season, which ended last Sunday.
Husker soccer team lives
dream season in third year
By Vince IXAdamo
StaffReporter
Nebraska’s storybook soccer
season ended with a 1 -0 defeat to
Portland last Sunday, but the
Cornhuskers
say the 1996
season was
one of which
they will al
ways be
proud.
The Husk
ers began the
program’s
third season
poised to
reach the
NCAA Tournament. In August, NU
was ranked 25th in the nation, but
it ended with a No.-5 ranking, a
sparkling 23-1 record and a berth
in the NCAA Tournament
quarterfinals.
The Nebraska players began the
year unseasoned, but gained valu
able experience and will begin next
season ranked among the nation’s
top teams.
“I’m very pleased with how we
developed as a team,” said NU
Coach John Walker, one of six fi
nalists for the national coach-of-the
year award. “We came from no
where. It was just brutally disap
pointing that we came so close.”
Junior midfielder Kari
Uppinghouse enjoyed a spectacular
season, scoring a team-record 48
points on 19 goals — including
seven game-winners.
In addition, the Huskers re
ceived standout play from their
freshmen class. Striker Lindsay
Eddleman scored 42 points on 17
goals. Isabelle Momeau added 39
points on 16 goals, and Jenny
Benson contributed 35 points on 11
goals.
The Huskers outscored their op
position 92-15.
Goalkeeper Becky Hombacher
posted 14 shutouts. NU also made
its mark with solid defensive play
from Kim Ratliff, Tanya Franck,
Heather Brown and Becky Hogan,
among others.
After dusting Iowa State and
Oklahoma to begin the season, the
Huskers faced their First true test on
Sept. 8, playing on the road against
No. 6 Duke. The Huskers left
Durham, N.C., with a come-from
behind3-l win, a victory many NU
players felt jump-started their sea
son-long run.
“Being able to be at them on
their home Field just set the tone for
the whole season,” said Ratliff, a de
fender from Omaha and the
program’s First-ever senior. “We
looked at ourselves as a pretty good
team, but nobody knew how good.”
That win vaulted Nebraska 13
spots in the rankings. The Huskers
never looked back, passing their
next big test on Sept. 29, a 1-0 vic
Please see SOCCER on 11
Texas
hits its
stride
Mackovic says
Longhorns will need to
execute to near perfection*
By Sam McKewon
Staff Reporter
Unlike his starting quarterback,
Texas Football Coach John Mackovic
isn’t making any bold predictions on
Saturday’s Big
12 champion
ship game
against Ne
braska in St.
Louis.
Instead,
Mackovic has
taken the high
road in the
days leading
up to the fifth Mackovic
all-time meet
ing between Nebraska and Texas, a
game that will send one team to the
Bowl Alliance as the Big 12 champion.
“We have a lot of respect for
Nebraska’s program and their football
team,” Mackovic said. “It’s going to
be a great game between two great
teams.”
Mackovic brings to St. Louis a 7-4
team that has won four games in a row
since a 28-24 loss to Colorado on Oct.
26.
To gain the South Division’s spot
in the championship game, Texas
needed all four of those wins, includ
ing a 38-32 victory over Texas Tech in
Lubbock.
Nebraska faced a similar situation
in the North Division, ending confer
ence play with an 8-0 record after its
17-12 win over Colorado last Friday
in Lincoln.
Texas is coming off its best perfor
mance of the year, a 51-15 stomping
of Texas A&M last Friday in Austin.
The Longhorns amassed 594 yards
against the Aggies and allowed A&M
only 227 yards.
‘Texas A&M was a game where we
Please see TEXAS on 10
/LmmaJ H^aL mJa Baaa tala caaaa
upponim icsssn jOS* ran aeon
New Mexico St 203 276 41-7
Virginia 111 243 13-37
Oklahoma 117 227 27-30
Baylor 213 297 28-23
MHMK' I 1
Kansas 290 200 38-17
