Mavericks Open New Season at Kansas
Aug 29, 2013 | Cross Country
OMAHA, Neb. - The Omaha cross country begins its second full season in the Summit League with the first of seven meets leading up to the league's championship meet on Nov. 2. The Mavericks will compete in the Bob Timmons Classic at Kansas on Saturday, Aug. 31 at 10 a.m. It will be one of three meets they compete in in the state of Kansas and one of two hosted by KU.
This Season
The Mavericks are competing in their 32nd season of women's cross country in 2013. It is also the third year of their reclassification to Division I. They are not eligible to participate in NCAA championship competition until completing their four-year reclassification, nor are they eligible to win the Summit League Championship. The Mavericks will be able to win the Summit and compete nationally in 2015.
The Coaches
Chris Richardson is in his first season overseeing the Omaha cross country and track & field teams as the head coach following six years as an assistant coach. Assistant coach Marc Bierbaum, now in his fourth season, guides the cross country team in addition to UNO's distance runners in track & field. Last year, he led the Mavericks to a fifth-place finish in the Summit League Championship after the Mavericks were picked ninth in the pre-season coaches poll. Bierbaum was a three-time national qualifier in cross country and track at Dana College where he graduated in 2001. He is assisted by volunteer assistant coach Cliff Cisar.
Comings and Goings
Although the Mavericks lost just two runners from the 2012 squad, they will be hard pressed to find an immediate replacement for graduated senior Amanda Vorthmann. Vorthmann was UNO's top finisher in all six meets last season, earning two overall wins. She also finished third at the Summit League Championship to earn All-Summit League First Team honors. Also departing is senior Nicole Behm who competed in five of six meets last year and was one of UNO's top five runners in each meet.
The Mavericks return 11 runners from last season's team and two more, redshirt freshman Kristen Carmichael and senior Brittany Phillips, who did not compete due to injury. Juniors Katarina Zarudnaya, Kristin Rogers, Ashley Kildow and MiKayla Peck should provide a solid nucleus for UNO. All four ran consistenty among the top five for the Mavs during much of last year. Zarudnaya was twice UNO's number two runner including in the Summit League Championship.
The Mavericks added four new runners to the roster in sophomore Emily Moore and freshmen Lindsey Bruns, Claire Cunningham and Catherine Davison. Moore and Cunningham are Omaha natives, running for Burke and Westside High Schools respectively. Bruns comes to UNO from West Branch, Iowa where she ran for West Branch High School. Davison hails from Auburn, Neb. where she attended Auburn High School.
A Meet To Remember
Last season, the Mavericks had their best overall finish at the Briar Cliff Invite on Oct. 6 when they finished first out of 16 teams. In that meet, nearly every Mav set a personal best at 5K. Ashley Kildow finished second for UNO and sixth overall in a personal best time of 18:14.71, and Kristin Rogers was fourth for the Mavs with a PR of 18:38.86. Also posting 5K PRs that day were Katarina Zarudnaya (18:42.87), MiKayla Peck (18:46.56), Kourtney Osentoski (19:10.55), Kayla Fenske (19:13.49), Avery Schmidt (19:43.98), Michelle Gatewood (20:17.78) and Karo Garcia (20:24.96).
Up Next
The Mavericks will return to Kansas the following weekend to take part in the J.K. Gold Classic hosted by Wichita State on Saturday, Sept. 7.
This Season
The Mavericks are competing in their 32nd season of women's cross country in 2013. It is also the third year of their reclassification to Division I. They are not eligible to participate in NCAA championship competition until completing their four-year reclassification, nor are they eligible to win the Summit League Championship. The Mavericks will be able to win the Summit and compete nationally in 2015.
The Coaches
Chris Richardson is in his first season overseeing the Omaha cross country and track & field teams as the head coach following six years as an assistant coach. Assistant coach Marc Bierbaum, now in his fourth season, guides the cross country team in addition to UNO's distance runners in track & field. Last year, he led the Mavericks to a fifth-place finish in the Summit League Championship after the Mavericks were picked ninth in the pre-season coaches poll. Bierbaum was a three-time national qualifier in cross country and track at Dana College where he graduated in 2001. He is assisted by volunteer assistant coach Cliff Cisar.
Comings and Goings
Although the Mavericks lost just two runners from the 2012 squad, they will be hard pressed to find an immediate replacement for graduated senior Amanda Vorthmann. Vorthmann was UNO's top finisher in all six meets last season, earning two overall wins. She also finished third at the Summit League Championship to earn All-Summit League First Team honors. Also departing is senior Nicole Behm who competed in five of six meets last year and was one of UNO's top five runners in each meet.
The Mavericks return 11 runners from last season's team and two more, redshirt freshman Kristen Carmichael and senior Brittany Phillips, who did not compete due to injury. Juniors Katarina Zarudnaya, Kristin Rogers, Ashley Kildow and MiKayla Peck should provide a solid nucleus for UNO. All four ran consistenty among the top five for the Mavs during much of last year. Zarudnaya was twice UNO's number two runner including in the Summit League Championship.
The Mavericks added four new runners to the roster in sophomore Emily Moore and freshmen Lindsey Bruns, Claire Cunningham and Catherine Davison. Moore and Cunningham are Omaha natives, running for Burke and Westside High Schools respectively. Bruns comes to UNO from West Branch, Iowa where she ran for West Branch High School. Davison hails from Auburn, Neb. where she attended Auburn High School.
A Meet To Remember
Last season, the Mavericks had their best overall finish at the Briar Cliff Invite on Oct. 6 when they finished first out of 16 teams. In that meet, nearly every Mav set a personal best at 5K. Ashley Kildow finished second for UNO and sixth overall in a personal best time of 18:14.71, and Kristin Rogers was fourth for the Mavs with a PR of 18:38.86. Also posting 5K PRs that day were Katarina Zarudnaya (18:42.87), MiKayla Peck (18:46.56), Kourtney Osentoski (19:10.55), Kayla Fenske (19:13.49), Avery Schmidt (19:43.98), Michelle Gatewood (20:17.78) and Karo Garcia (20:24.96).
Up Next
The Mavericks will return to Kansas the following weekend to take part in the J.K. Gold Classic hosted by Wichita State on Saturday, Sept. 7.
Players Mentioned
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