Moreley Captures Big 12 Hammer Throw Championship; Nebraska Women Second After Day One

Austin, Texas - The Nebraska women got off on the right foot Saturday with 16 points in the hammer throw at the Big 12 Outdoor Championships in Austin, Texas.

Senior Amanda Moreley made the most out of her final performance on the Big 12 stage, winning the hammer throw with a phenomenal career-record mark of 195-8. Moreley won the silver in 2002, falling to former Husker Melissa Price, but this time it was her teammates that were behind her instead of in front.

"I was definitely pleased with how I did today," Moreley said. "I was hoping to go 60 meters, but it was a PR and I am happy with it. It's been an up and down season, and this definitely helped my confidence. I hope that this gives me momentum going into regionals and hopefully for nationals. It was nice to finally get one in the hammer throw since it is my main event. It is definitely a confidence booster."

Fellow senior Vicki Janovec launched a career-best mark 175-9 in the hammer throw for a fourth-place finish, while junior transfer Tia DeSoto scored the final point of the day for the NU women, taking eighth place with a throw of 172-3.

Nebraska's 16 points is second behind Missouri, who is leading after the first day of action with 17 points. The Husker men did not post a point on day one.

Senior Casey Thom had an outstanding day in the men's decathlon, running a stellar 47.98 in the men's 400-meter dash to propel him to a second-place standing with 3,829 points after the first five events. Thom started the day with a career-best wind-aided time of 11.15 in the 100-meter dash.

Chris Richardson is currently sitting in eighth place in the decathlon after finishing third in the 400-meter dash with a time of 49.68. Teammate Jesse Colburn is in ninth, despite winning the decathlon high jump, clearing a height of 6-10 3/4.

Freshman Ashley Selig is currently fourth in the women's heptathlon with 3,282 points after completing the first four events. Selig struggled in the first event of the day, running 14.68 in the 100-meter hurdles. She battled back, however, claiming personal records in the next three events. She cleared a height of 5-8 in the high jump, threw a mark of 37-9 1/2 in the shot put and ran a wind-aided time of 25.10 in the 200-meter dash.

Sara Jane Baker is eighth with 3,036 points after tying for the top position in the high jump with a career-best mark of 5-9 1/4. Fellow freshman Casie Witte is ninth with 2,986 points.

Kayte Tranel finished 12th in the women's 10,000 meters with a time of 38:27.93. Eric Rasmussen took 10th place in the men's 10,000 meters with a time of 31:58.23.

The men and women's multi-events will conclude Sunday. The running events will commence Sunday with the preliminaries in the 1,500-meters at 5:30 p.m. and will wrap up at 9:25 p.m. with the preliminaries in the 200 meters. The Huskers will continue in the field with the men's discus, the women's pole vault, the women's shot put and the men's high jump.