University of Minnesota Athletics
GOPHER WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY SEASON IN REVIEW
11/26/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
A young team that was ranked 18th in the nation at the beginning of the season, held on through ups and downs to finish 25th at the NCAA Championships in Greenville, S.C.
The team started their season by hosting the Roy Griak Invitational where they placed 12th among 32 teams. Darja Vasiljeva (Jelgava, Latvia/Jelgava Secondary) finished 27th, Minnesota's highest finish, in 21 minutes and 39 seconds. The Gophers then traveled to Furman University to compete in the Pre-Nationals Meet. The Gophers placed 14th out of 37 teams with 425 points in the six-kilometer silver race. Again, Vasiljeva led the Gophers finishing 53rd (22:13).
On Oct. 1, 2001, for the first time since Oct. 19, 1998, the Minnesota women's cross country team was not ranked in the FinishLynx Division I Cross Country Poll. Despite their national ranking, the Gophers pulled together to finish fourth at the Big Ten Championships where first-year athlete Lisa Dyer (Moorhead, Minn./Moorhead) placed first for Minnesota, eighth overall (17:38.7) to garner second team All-Big Ten honors.
At the NCAA Midwest Regional, Minnesota again showed they were national material when they placed second overall, earning them an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships. It marked the fifth year in a row that the Gophers were to compete in the NCAA Championships. Dyer, Vasiljeva and sophomore Laura Bjork (Colfax, Wis. Colfax) were selected to the All- Region team.
The Gophers went on to place 25th at nationals to end a record breaking season. Vasiljeva finished first for the Gophers at nationals, placing 86th with a time of 21 minutes, 59 seconds.
Gopher Season Awards Given
MVP: Anita Menden Most Improved: Laura Bjork Tough As Nails: Krista Anderson Coaches Award: Crystal Glenn Rookie of the Year: Lisa Dyer Blue Collar: Amy Sas Letterwinners:
Krista Anderson Kimberley Magee Laura Bjork Jill Field Lisa Dyer Kristine Hartmark Anita Menden Crystal Glenn Victoria Moses Amy Sas Zoe Nagell Darja Vasiljeva Captains:
Chrissy Eid, Jill Field, Kristine Hartmark, Anita Menden Moses Runs in Fourth NCAA Championship
Senior Victoria Moses follows in the footsteps of previous teammates Corinne Nimtz and Elaine Eggleston to become the fourth Minnesota women's cross country athlete to compete in four national championships for the Gophers. Moses has been a part of the 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001 national teams, where the Gophers placed 26th, 17th, 26th and 25th, respectively.
Dyer Selected to All-Big Ten Second Team
Newcomer Lisa Dyer was selected to the All-BigTen second team on Oct. 27, 2001 at the 2001 Big Ten Championships in Champaign, Ill. A native of Moorhead, Minn., Dyer placed first for the Gophers and eighth overall at the Big Ten meet, running a career best time of 17:38.7.
NCAA Championships Results
Name Time (6K) Place Darja Vasiljeva 21:59 86th Lisa Dyer 22:15 111th Laura Bjork 22:25 133rd Krista Anderson 22:54 186th Victoria Moses 23:08 204th Anita Menden 23:14 213th Amy Sas 23:33 227th Minnesota Top 6,000-Meter Times NCAA National Championships
1. Darja Vasiljeva 21:34.0 2000 2. Darja Vasiljeva 21:59 2001 3. Elaine Eggleston 22:01.6 2000 4. Lisa Dyer 22:15 2001 5. Laura Bjork 22:25 2001 6. Anita Menden 22:31.9 2000 7. Victoria Moses 22:44.9 2000 8. Krista Anderson 22:54 2001 9. Victoria Moses 23:08 2001 10. Anita Menden 23:14 2001 NCAA Midwest Regional Results
Name Time (6K) Place Lisa Dyer 21:30.9* 12th Laura Bjork 21:31.5* 13th Darja Vasiljeva 21:45.7 18th Victoria Moses 22:02.5 25th Anita Menden 22:06.5 29th Krista Anderson 22:31.4* 50th Amy Sas 22:49.5* 58th *6K Career Best Big Ten Results
Name Time (5K) Place Lisa Dyer 17:38.7* 8th Darja Vasiljeva 17:52.6 15th Victoria Moses 17:58.0* 19th Anita Menden 18:13.7* 34th Krista Anderson 18:14.7* 36th Laura Bjork 18:15.0* 37th Amy Sas 18:26.9* 46th Zoe Nagell 18:35.3* 52nd Kimberly Magee 18:39.7* 56th * 5K Career Best Who's The Boss?
In his 17th year at Minnesota, Gary Wilson's teams have been successful at all levels. Minnesota placed 25th at the 2001 NCAA Cross Country Championships in Greenville, S.C. In each of the last five seasons, the Gophers have qualified for the NCAA Championships.With a talent-laced team in tow, Wilson is building a strong foundation that will establish Minnesota as a consistent national contender year after year.
Players Mentioned
