November 3, 2007
Women 6th, Men 16th at Regional Meet
Women's NCAA Hopes Dashed by USD, UND
Kearney, Neb. – The Nebraska-Kearney cross country teams finished sixth (women) and sixteenth (men) Saturday at the North Central Regionals in Vermillion, S.D.
For the 14th-ranked Loper women, one of the best seasons in school history ends on a bit of a down note. Needing a top five finish to secure the program's first-ever trip to the NCAA Championships, UNK scored 187 points and was bested by five nationally-ranked teams.
No. 1 ranked Adams State (28 points) breezed to a first place finish in the 23-team race and was followed by No. 2 Western State and No. 5 Augustana (86 points each), No. 23 South Dakota (115) and No. 15 North Dakota (149).
Tanya Gaurmer of Adams completed the 6k course in 20:45 with Imperial senior Michelle Dill leading the Loper cause with a 26th place effort (22:26). Fellow senior Jacquelyn Dibbern (York) was one second behind with Dannebrog junior Kaci Lickteig coming in 32nd place (22:34
Also going to the NCAA's will be Lauren Dunsmoor of CSU-Pueblo (7th/21.21) and Liz Palkie of Minnesota-Duluth (12th/21.52).
On the men's side, UNK scored 423 points to finish in 16th place and ahead of four other schools. Third-ranked Western State (45) edged No. 2 Adams State (46) to win the regional title with 6th-ranked Minnesota State coming in third (89).
Rounding out the top six were 9th-ranked Colorado Mines (97), 15th-ranked New Mexico Highlands (149) and14th-ranked Metro State (184). Like the women's side, five NCAA bids were up for grabs.
Laurent Ngirakamaro of Highlands won the 10k race in 29:45 with the Lopers being led by Colorado senior Justin Zahller (62nd/33:21). Freshman Tanner Fruit (Ogallala), overcoming a few ailments, was 69th (33:37).
Finally, the individuals going to the NCAA were Eric Atkinson of Minnesota-Duluth (8th/30.54) and Nate Preston of Wayne State (18th/31.49).
Other Loper Finishers
Men
83. Quinn Willet 34.15
103. Dan Dunbar 35.03
106. Rylan Little 35:19
123. Brandon Wissing 37:30
125. Zach High 37:38
Women
48. Faith Maschmann 23:02
54. Anne McGovern 23:14
85. Megan McClure 23:54
144. Abby Richter 26:40
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Contact:
Peter Yazvac
yazvacpa@unk.edu |