2009 Outlook

Following a stellar first season at Nebraska, David Adams will be expected to lead the Husker men in 2009. “David really stepped up to a much higher level as a redshirt freshman during the 2008 cross country season,” Coach Jay Dirksen said. “During the track season David showed his great potential by improving enough to make the NCAA Championships in the 3,000 steeplechase, just missing the finals by one place.”

2008 (Redshirt Freshman)

After redshirting in 2007, Adams made the most of his first collegiate cross country season by leading the Huskers in six of his seven meets, earning him the team’s Most Valuable Runner honor. Adams won his first career meet with a 6K time of 19:06 at the Creighton/UNO Classic to open the year, leading the men to the team title. Following an 11th-place finish at the BYU Invitational, Adams led the men to their third straight Woody Greeno/Nebraska Invitational title with an eighth-place time of 25:34.8. Adams then took fourth at the South Dakota State Classic, leading the Husker men to their third team championship of the season.

Adams placed 26th at his first Big 12 Championship meet, running a time of 25:16.2 on the 8K course. Behind Adams’ performance, the team finished seventh, its top finish at the conference meet since 2002. At the NCAA Midwest Regional, Adams came in 43rd with a time on 32:23.7, helping the team finish 10th, its best showing since 2002.

Adams continued to excel during the 2009 track and field season, capping the year with a trip to the NCAA Championships. Midway through the outdoor season at the Payton Jordan Invitational, Adams set a personal best in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 8:43.79, the sixth-best performance in Husker history. During the postseason, he took third at the Big 12 Outdoor Championships and then 15th at the NCAA Championships with a time of 8:49.51.

2007 (Freshman)

Adams redshirted his first year of cross country at Nebraska following a stress fracture he suffered during the spring of his senior year of high school.

Adams competed both indoors and outdoors for the track and field team. He excelled outdoors, winning the 3,000-meter steeplechase at  the Concordia Invitational (9:18.05), Kansas Relays (9:20.64) and Ward Haylett Invitational (8:57.87). He capped his freshman year by finishing fifth at the Big 12 Outdoor Championships in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and qualifying for the NCAA Midwest Regional meet.

At the USA Junior Championships in Columbus, Ohio, Adams finished fourth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (9:07.16). Husker teammate Mikel Thomas finished second.

High School (York)

Adams was the 2005 and 2006 Nebraska Class B state cross country champion. His winning time of 15:55.18 in 2005 was the fastest of the meet, earning him the All-Class gold medal. In 2006, Adams’ time of 15:47.79 was good for second, trailing Husker teammate Todd Gulizia. Adams was coached by Tom Brink and former Husker distance standout Eric Rasmussen.

On the track, Adams competed in the 2005 and 2006 state meets, but missed the 2007 meet his senior year due to a stress fracture in his foot. As a junior, he won the All-Class gold medal in the 1,600-meter run by 19 one-hundredths of a second (4:23.50) over Husker teammate Matt Conahan. Adams also won the Class B 3,200-meter run (9:32.29) and was the anchor on the runner-up 4x800-meter relay team. At the 2005 state meet, he was the Class B 3,200-meter champion.

Personal

The son of Ron and Ruth Adams, David was born in Fremont, Neb., on Jan. 4, 1989. He has one sister, Janelle, and two brothers, Tim, and Alex. David is majoring in electrical engineering at Nebraska.