Sophomore George Kusche is gearing up for the NCAA Championships on Saturday. The men’s 10K race is scheduled to begin at 11:15 a.m. (CT) at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Ind.
Kusche will be looking to improve on his 55th-place finish at the National Championships last season. In the race, he set a 10K PR of 30:12.0 and earned the best finish by a Husker at the championships since 2008 and the best finish by a Nebraska male since 1997.
Kusche qualified for the NCAA Championships for the second consecutive season by finishing seventh and qualifying at the NCAA Midwest Regional. By qualifying, Kusche will become the first Husker to represent Nebraska at the NCAA Championships on the men’s side in back-to-back years since James Bowler in 2001 and 2002.
Live coverage of the NCAA Championships will be provided by FloTrack and available with the purchase of a subscription. Live results will also be provided by Prime Time Timing. Complete results will be posted on Huskers.com at the conclusion of the event.
Numbers to Know
40 – Runners who finish in the top-40 of their respective races will earn USTFCCCA All-America honors
55 – George Kusche’s finish at the 2018 NCAA Championships
1997 – The last Husker All-American on the men’s side for Nebraska (6th, Cleophas Boor)
2005 – The last Nebraska All-American (28th, Kayte Tranel)
Husker Competing at the 2019 NCAA Championships
All-Region Honors
George Kusche and Erika Freyhof both earned All-Region honors at the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships for the second year in a row. Kusche (seventh) and Freyhof (11th) both garnered All-Region accolades by finishing in the top-25 of their respective races. Kusche became the first runner on the men’s team to have back-to-back regional honors since David Adams in 2009 and 2010. Freyhof became the first Husker on the women’s team with back-to-back honors since Lara Crofford earned the recognition four years straight (2007-2010).
Kusche Takes Second at Big Ten Championships
George Kusche finished as the runner-up with a 8K time of 23:57.8 at the Big Ten Championships in Columbus, Ohio. Kusche’s effort garnered him first-team All-Big Ten accolades for the second consecutive season and was the best individual result ever at the Big Ten Championships by a Husker. Kusche was also the first runner-up at a conference meet for the Big Red since Cleophas Boor at the 1997 Big XII Championships.
Cross Country Domination
George Kusche led Nebraska in every meet he ran this season. He won the Greeno/Dirksen title and then finished fifth at the Under Armour Pre-Nationals to conclude the regular season. At the Big Ten Championships, Kusche finished as the runner-up and then qualified for the NCAA Championships by finishing seventh at the NCAA Midwest Regional.
Kusche Takes Greeno/Dirksen Crown
The Nebraska cross country team co-hosted the Greeno/Dirksen Invitational for its lone home meet of the season and George Kusche ran away with the crown. Kusche won the men’s 8K with a time of 24:12.2, finishing more than 17-seconds faster than any other runner and more than 27-seconds faster than the next collegiate runner. With the victory, Kusche became the first Husker to win a race at the Greeno/Dirksen since Lara Crofford won the women’s title and David Adams took the men’s crown at the meet in 2010.
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS Saturday, Nov. 23, 2019
Host: Indiana State University
Course: LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course
Wabash Valley Family Sports Center (599 S. Tabortown Rd., Terre Haute, IN 47803)
Course Map (10K Map)
Starting Time: Men – 11:15 a.m. (10K)
Box Assignment: George Kusche drew starting box #8 and will begin the race alongside Missouri and Weber State.
Timing & Results: Unofficial results will be posted at http://pttiming.com. Official results will be available after the conclusion of the meet at http://gosycamores.com and https://huskers.com.
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