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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 5, 1997)
■ ■ f - . • . t : 1% • . £ , ;• V" Lane Hickenbottom/DN NEBRASKA FRESHMAH Jeroea Broekzitter prepares for bis first cress coaatry meet ia the United States. Brockzittef, who is from Utrecht, the Hetberlands, will participate ie the Wildcat Invitational on Satorday. Broekzitter expected to star By Sam McKewon Staff Reporter With the loss of two of its top five runners for the season, the Nebraska men’s cross country team has had to turn to a freshman - one who has never run a cross country race in the United States - to carry the load this season. Jeroen Broekzitter, a freshman from Utrecht, the Netherlands, will run his first race Saturday at the Wildcat Invite in Manhattan, Kan. Broekzitter is expected to help fill the loss of seniors Jonah Kiptarus and Philip Maiyo. Kiptarus has not returned to the Huskers this season, and Maiyo is out with a knee injury. Broekzitter said he wasn’t going to be nervous for his meet on Saturday. “It’s really just a practice meet,” he said. “It’s going to be a shorter race and I’m not too worried about running it.” Nebraska coach Jay Dirksen said that while it will be tough for Broekzitter to make a wholesale replacement for the two runners, he does have the talent to become as good as either of the two by his senior sea son T.ast vear K intan is finish(»H s*»r ft In my country, people really dort’t care (about athletes). I’m just some crazy fella running the streets.” Jeroen Broekzitter cross country runner from the Netherlands of Nebraska. “It was an alien experience,” he said. “Everything was so big. The houses and restaurants and other buildings were all so far apart.” Broekzitter said the weather in Nebraska was also quite an adjust ment. “It was so, so cold here,” he said of Nebraska’s winter. “In my country, it is mild for most of the year. Here, it gets very hot and very cold. It is extreme.” There are also cultural differences to be found between the United States and Holland. Broekzitter said his homeland does not have university sports, but rather club sports, where the runners have more time to improve themselves, as opposed to the four tion, if you think about it,” he said. “I think it was hard on him at first, but now he’s in a position where he feels pretty comfortable.” As far as his running goes, the strongest part of Broekzitter’s style would seem to be the end of the race where his kick ranks among the best around, Dirksen said. Broekzitter said that in the past he hachnever really considered himself a solid runner at die end until he realized his strong kick. “I discovered it one day while I was running,” he said. “I had always thought that I was kind of a slow run ner, but it turned out that I can run the last pan or a race very wen. As for trying to replace Kiptarus this year, Broekzitter rates his chances low. “You can’t replace a guy like that,” he said. “We’ll do the best we can, but we can’t make up for what we lost. It’s a pity.” Still, Dirksen said, Broekzitter is a critical part of Nebraska’s success, regardless of how much he makes up for die loss of Kiptarus and Maiyo. “If there’s a guy who can plug die dike, it’s him,” he said. “His role to this team is a huge (me.” years of eligibility imposed on college athletes here. He also said there is a difference in the way die two countries see athletes. “In the United States, people look up to you and they admire you more,” Broekzitter said. “In my country, peo ple really don’t care. I’m just some crazy fella running in die streets.” Despite the cultural and physical differences, Dirksen said Broekzitter has fit in nicely. “He really has made quite a transi ond in the nation at the NCAA Championships. “He picked himself some good parents,” Dirksen said. “He definitely has the kind of talent it takes to be as good as Jonah was last year when (Broekzitter) is a senior. He was blessed with a great cardiovascular system.” The first time Broekzitter set foot in the United States was before the spring semester of 1997. He said he was surprised by the size and die space I Huskers aim to sweep INVITE from page 11 But Korver agreed with Nepo that the Husktrs need to win all three matches this weekend. Nepo, 6-foot 1, expects a week of tough practices to benefit Nebraska. NU, which . totaled a .106 hitting percentage in the Florida loss, hopes to find a cure for its early offensive woes. A low number of attack attempts for All American outside hitter Lisa Reitsma and the middle blockers factored into the lack of offensive output[. “I didn’t set the middles as much as I needed too,” Nepo said. “We need to balance things if we want to free up Lisa (Reitsma) on the right side and Jaime (Krondak) on die left I wasn't mentally into it in Florida. I just need to try to stay calm and f relaxed and go with the game plan.” Pettit CreditedNU’s problems to early season inconsistencies. A posi tive from the Florida match, he said, is that they were exposed early. “We’re playing teams that could beat us, but 1 think the risk is worth it in the long run,” Pettit said. “It pre pares you for the conference and the NCAA Tournament. I feel confident that we’ll play better this week. There are some things that you can only learn in competition. I think a lot of the inconsistencies will be taken care of this weekend.” Korver said the Huskers have learned lessons from their loss in Florida. - “I think it was an eye opener,” Korver said. “We can’t just go out with all the talent that we have and expect to win. Itb important that we maintain our confidence. There is no doubt in my mind or anyone else’s/ mind that we can win this tourna ment”