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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 22, 1997)
By Sam McKewon Staff Reporter Before the Woody Greeno Invitational Saturday, Nebraska cross country coach Jay Dirksen wasn’t sure what to expect from his men’s team, which was still reeling from losing two of its top four runners for the season. NU answered those questions with an easy victory Saturday at Pioneers Park. NU placed five run ners in the top 13, including fresh man Jeroen Broekzitter, who fin ished second, and senior Cleophas Boor, who finished fourth. Dirksen said his team responded well in its first major meet of the year. • ' “The men really impressed me today,” he said. “They came out and gave good effort and ran better than I expected them to do. We’re a little better than I thought we’d be at this point.” Overall, NU finished with 15 points, 38 points better than their closest competitor, Wichita State. Creighton finished third with 60 points. Individually, Broekzitter ran a time of 24 minutes, 56 seconds, 13 seconds behind the 24:43 time of winner Rob Finegan, who ran unat tached. Boor, who won the invitation al last year, ran a time of 25:25. Broekzitter, who led Finegan early in the race, said he ran well even though he didn’t win. “I’m pleased with the way I ran,” Broekzitter said. “They started out pretty fast, and the one big hill was steeper than I thought it was. I didn’t do so well on it the first time I ran it.” While Dirksen said he expected Broekzitter and Boor to place high, it was the other three NU runners who finished ift the top 15 - senior Aar6ri , JEROEN BROEKZITTER smiles to the crowd as he completes Saturday’s Woody Greeno Invitational atPioneersP^c! Broekzltter finished second in the men’s 8,000 meter run, leading the Husker men to the team championship. Nebraska’s women also won. Johnson (8th), senior Lou Petricca (11th), and freshman Marcus Witter (13th) - who surprised Ihe coach. “I had no indication that Aaron was going to run that well, and Marcus didn’t run well the week before, so it was good to see them up there,” Dirksen said. “We need that from altthree of those guys all year.” On the women’s side, Nebraska held off Wichita State to win the team title. The Huskers finished with 32 points, while the Shockers had 34. Drake finished third with 66 points. Freshman Amy Wiseman kicked off her collegiate cross country career in exciting fashion, finishing third wMfiMedf lfc02,22 seconds behind winner Amber Anderson. NU sophomore Jaime Pauli came in sixth with a time of 18:10, while senior Nora Shepherd wasn’t far behind in eighth place with a time of 18:17. Sophomore Melinda Mohr and freshman Kate Centerwall fin ished 17th and 29th, posting times of 18:55 and 19:16, respectively. Huskersgain confidence with big win HUSKER from page 1 nation against the run. . “Now with this victory,” Peter said, “it gives us back that confidence we had when we dominated college football in ’94 and ’95. That’s the way we feel now.” In Tempe, Ariz., last fall, NU snapped a 26-game win ning streak that had been achieved along with two nation al championships in 1994 and 1995 under the leadership of quarterback Tommie Frazier. The loss raised question about the abilities of first-year starting quarterback Scott FroSt Despite throwing for 1,440 yards, and rushing |or 438 yards last season, Frost was still not accepted by some Nebraska fans, who booed him last week against UCF. Frost struck back, rushing for a career-high 97 yards while throwing for 88 yards mid being named NU’s player of the game. “I’m glad for his sake it worked out like it did,” NU coach Tom Osborne said. But Frost wasn’t the only Husker to earn respect. The Nebraska defense achieved the success it had worked for all summer. “The days were long and the summers were hot,” Peter said. “There were a million places we would have rather been rather than in that weight room, or running those stadium stairs. But we knew. We kept reminding ourselves, ‘Washington, Washington, Washington.’ And it paid off.” Save another $50 cash back* StyleWriter* 2500 NOW $249** BEFORE REBATE _0O cash back* I-1«"5 * _ . . SSrritfjtKr' -