NU Aims For a Repeat Sweep of Big 12 Indoor Titles

Nebraska plays host to the 2005 Big 12 Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships Friday and Saturday, Feb. 25-26, at the Bob Devaney Sports Center Indoor Track. This year’s meet marks the fifth consecutive season that NU has hosted the indoor conference championship meet at its home facility, as well as the 19th time since the old Big Eight Conference moved the championships from its 37-year home in Kansas City.

The Big 12 Indoor Championships begin on Friday with the multi-event competitions at 9:30 a.m. Sprint and middle distance prelims and semifinals will begin at 2 p.m. with the women’s 60-meter hurdles, while the men’s weight throw will kick off a select group of field events (men’s-weight throw, pole vault and long jump; women’s-long jump and weight throw). The lone running event finals held on the meet’s first day will be the men’s and women’s 5,000-meter run and distance medley relays.

Action continues on Saturday with the conclusion of the men’s heptathlon at 9:30 a.m. Remaining field events begin at 1:30 p.m. with the women’s triple jump, running event finals commence at 3 p.m. with the women’s 60-meter hurdles.

Reserved tickets for the Big 12 Indoor Championships may be purchased in advance from the NU ticket office for $12 (two-day pass) or $7 (single day). Tickets also are available the day of competition, by visiting Huskers.com or by calling 1-800-8BIGRED.

The weekend’s meet will be Nebraska’s first team scored competition of the 2005 season. The top eight finishers in each event will earn points for his/her team, while scoring will be based on a 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 point system. Each team will be limited to 26 entries per men’s and women’s squad, but there will be no limits placed on the number of events per athlete or number of athletes entered in a single event.

This year the Huskers aim for a repeat of last season’s championship sweep, as both the NU men and women earned team titles in 2004. Both squads seem primed to duplicate last year’s Big 12 success, with each appearing among the nation’s top teams (men-No. 7; women-No. 11) in the Trackwire Top-25 rankings. The men’s team is going for a sixth straight indoor conference championship.

Three Husker athletes look to defend individual indoor conference titles in 2005, including senior Anne Shadle (women’s 1,000 meters) and sophomores Arturs Abolins (men’s long jump) and Dmitrijs Milkevics (men’s 800 meters). Individuals aiming for that elusive first Big 12 title include seniors Authea Chambers (women’s long jump, triple jump), Richard Davidson Jr. (men’s 60-meter hurdles), Nenad Loncar (men’s 60-meter hurdles) and Dusty Stamer (men’s 60 meters); juniors Jessie Graff (women’s pole vault), Courtney Jones (men’s 60-meter hurdles), Aaron Nasers (men’s 800 or 1,000 meters), Aaron Plas (men’s high jump) and Ashley Selig (pentathlon); and sophomore Priscilla Lopes (women’s 60-meter hurdles, 60 meters).

Scouting the Field
Twelve 2004 Big 12 indoor champions return to the Devaney Center Track this year with the goal of repeating last season’s success.

Kansas State will counter NU’s three returning conference champions with a trio of men’s 2004 titlists. Joseph Lee claimed first in the men’s 600-yard run for the Wildcats last year, while Christian Smith won gold in the 1,000 meters. Tarl Vetter returns to the Devaney Center looking to defend his Big 12 weight throw title.

Oklahoma fields a strong team this weekend that will include 2004 men’s 60-meter champ DaBryan Blanton and men’s pole vault winner Austin Landreth. Texas matches OU with two returning conference champions: Sheretta Jones (women’s 600-yard run) and Andra Manson (men’s high jump).

Other 2004 Big 12 indoor champions competing include Colorado’s Renee Metevier (women’s mile), as well as Missouri’s Ashley Patten (women’s 800 meters). Four 2004 NCAA indoor champions, NU’s Lopes, Oklahoma’s Blanton (men’s 60 meters) and Texas’ Manson (men’s high jump) and Donovan Kilmartin (men’s heptathlon) will also be in attendance.

Coach Gary Pepin’s Thoughts on This Weekend
The Huskers will attempt to add to Head Coach Gary Pepin’s outstanding ledger of 35 conference indoor titles (20 women’s, 15 men’s) during his 25-year tenure. Pepin shared his views on his teams’ chances this week, as well as some of the other contenders.

Pepin on how he feels his teams will fare at the Big 12 Indoor Championships:
"We have two fine teams this year that both have excellent chances to win the conference meet. On the women’s side, we have some key contributors who will be out, but they still have a good chance to win the title. Our men’s team is stronger, and I think they should be considered the favorite of all the teams to win."

On who he believes will be the surprise individuals for NU:
"I hope we have no enormous surprises, because that probably won’t be good news for us. But I think most of our kids who will compete have done well already this season, so I don’t think anyone’s performance would be considered a surprise."

On the level of competition at a Big 12 Conference championship meet:
"By the time you get to one of these conference meets, there aren’t any weak teams to compete against. Kansas State, Texas Tech and Oklahoma all have improved teams on both sides that will offer good competition for our teams."

On the events that will feature the strongest fields this weekend:
"Every event, on both men’s and women’s sides, will have quality talent. On the men’s side, the 800, mile and high jump will be particularly strong events."

How Huskers Stack Up Against the Big 12
Nebraska appears to be in good shape at having a chance to repeat as both men’s and women’s indoor team champions. NU currently has at least one athlete ranked among the top eight conference performers for 32 of the 38 events that will be held at this year’s Big 12 Indoor Championships, while several list feature multiple NU athletes.

The men’s squad appears to lead the way for NU with an athlete in 16 of the 19 conference meet events. Three Huskers, Richard Davidson Jr. in the 60-meter hurdles, Dmitrijs Milkevics in the 1,000 meters and Ray Scotten in the pole vault, rank No. 1 in the Big 12 for their respective events, while six rank as high as second. Dusty Stamer (60 meters), Nate Probasco (200 meters), Aaron Plas (tie-high jump), Dusty Jonas (tie-high jump), Gable Baldwin (pole vault) and NU’s distance medley relay each sit in the conference’s No. 2 spot. The strongest events for the men’s squad are the mile and 60-meter hurdles, with three Huskers among the top eight in each event.

The Nebraska women’s team is loaded when it comes to the conference rankings, with Huskers leading the Big 12 in five events. Priscilla Lopes is NU’s lone double leader, ranking No. 1 in both the 60-meter dash and hurdle events. Two athletes, Anne Shadle (mile, 1,000 meters) and Ashley Selig (pentathlon, long jump), lead one event and rank among the top eight in another, while Egle Uljas is NU’s other conference leader in the 600-yard run. Authea Chambers (60 meters, long jump, triple jump) and Kwonya Ferguson (high jump, long jump, triple jump) are the only Huskers to rank in the top eight for three events. Nine of the 19 women’s events feature multiple NU athletes, while the strongest events for Nebraska are the long jump and pentathlon with three individuals each.

Big 12 Conference: International Track and Field Hub
Traditionally the Big 12 Indoor Championships holds the distinction of exhibiting some of the finest athletic talent in the world. The 2005 edition will be no exception, with as many as eight 2004 Olympians competing in this weekend’s meet at the Devaney Center.

NU holds the conference lead in international success stories (see page 5), boasting four competitors from last summer’s Athens Games at this weekend’s meet. The lone other Big 12 program with multiple 2004 Olympians is Texas Tech, which features both the United States’ Jonathan Johnson and the Bahamas' Andr?a Williams. Johnson reached the semifinals of the men’s 800-meter run in Athens, while Williams was a member of the Bahamas’ 4x400-meter relay team. Missouri will also feature a 2004 Olympian, Hans Uldal, who competed in the men’s decathlon for Norway.

The most world-renowned athlete in the field, and the only Olympic-gold-medal winner to compete in a Big 12 championship meet in the conference’s brief history, belongs to Baylor. Darold Williamson ran anchor for the United States’ winning 4x400-meter relay team last summer.

NU Athletes Rank Among Nation’s Best
Once again, both the NU men’s and women’s teams rank high in this week’s edition of the Trackwire Top 25, a set of ratings that are used to predict the outcome of the NCAA Championships. The women’s squad fell three spots in the standings from eighth to 11th, with a loss of one point in their projected NCAA meet score. Meanwhile, the Husker men made another jump, this time moving two spots to seventh behind a two-point gain.

Individually, Nebraska athletes continue to make their presence felt on the national scene. Several Huskers appear among the top 10 athletes on this week’s latest NCAA performance list.

The current highest-ranking individuals for NU are on the men’s squad. Ray Scotten jumped one place to third in the pole vault thanks to his season- and career-best mark of 18-0 1/2. Gable Baldwin made the leap from eighth to No. 5 in the same event after reaching 17-8 1/2 at last weekend’s KSU Open. NU’s high jump crew is well represented with Aaron Plas and Dusty Jonas tying for fifth place nationally with a height of 7-3 1/4. Richard Davidson Jr. cracked the Top 10 of the 60-meter hurdles where he ranks No. 9 after setting a career-best time of 7.80 at the Iowa State Classic two weeks ago. Arturs Abolins regained his sixth-place long jump standing two weeks ago when he leaped25-2 at the same meet.

On the women’s side, Priscilla Lopes continues to lead the NCAA in the 60-meter hurdles, as she has done all season long, and ranks seventh in the 60-meter dash. Ashley Selig still has a strong hold onto No. 1 in the pentathlon with her career-best score of 4,171 compiled at the Husker Invitational. Selig holds a large 93-point lead over second-place Amber Williams of Miami (Fla.). Anne Shadle made her debut in the mile standings (No. 3) two weeks ago at the Tyson Invitational, while Christi Lehman (10th) continues to hold in the top 10 in the pole vault. Huskers hovering near the 10th spot include Sara Jane Baker (13th) in the pentathlon and Authea Chambers (12th) in the long jump.

Nebraska Women Dominate Dual Meet Rankings
The Husker women appear at the top of this week’s USTCA Team Power Rankings, a system that rates college teams in the same fashion as a multi-event athlete. The Team Power Rankings take into account quality of individual performances, team depth and dual-meet scoring potential.

NU owns a potential score of 311.59 this week, ahead of Pittsburgh, which has a score of 310.06. Other Big 12 Conference teams appearing in the rating’s top 25 are Kansas State (eighth) and Missouri (20th). The Husker women finished first in last season’s final Indoor Team Power Rankings for the fifth time in program history.

The Nebraska men’s team is rated sixth this week with a potential score of 304.76. It finished fourth in last season’s final indoor rankings, the highest placing since it finished third in 2002.

Huskers Add KSU Open to 2005 Schedule
A small squad of Nebraska track and field athletes primed for the Big 12 Conference Indoor Championships by competing at the KSU Open in Manhattan, Kan, on Feb. 19. While some Huskers were merely continuing their season-long training, others scrambled for one of a limited number of roster spots for the conference meet.

Gable Baldwin had one of the best days for NU, winning the men’s pole vault after clearing a personal-best height of 17-8 1/2. The mark surpassed his previous high of 17-4 1/2 and improved his NCAA provisional-qualifying status. Ray Scotten, who has already reached the automatic-qualifying standard, finished second with a height of
17-4 1/2.

Nenad Loncar also had a good day for the Husker men, finishing first in the 60-meter hurdles in 8.01, while junior Aaron Ross claimed third in 8.12. Ashley Selig placed second in the women’s hurdles with a time of 8.79.

Bubba Kramer recorded his first-ever NCAA provisional mark in the men’s shot put with a winning heave of 59-3, while three other NU throwers posted career days in the weight throw. Tom Donlin improved his provisional-qualifying mark in the men’s weight throw with a toss of 63-5 for a third-place finish. Tamara Solari extended her personal best in the women’s weight throw by nearly three feet to 59-4 while finishing third. Jamie Senkbile also recorded a career-long 56-9 1/4 to nab sixth place.

The Huskers also finished high in the women’s pole vault, claiming second and fourth place. Jessie Graff and Christi Lehman both cleared 12-5 1/2 before bowing out of the competition at 12-11 1/2.

Casie Witte earned third in the women’s high jump with a mark of 5-7 3/4, tying her career best. Sara Jane Baker finished just behind in fourth with the same height. Baker also finished third in the women’s long jump after recording a leap of 18-7, only 1/4 inch shy of her personal best.

From Collegiate Record Holder to....NCAA Qualifier?
On Feb. 12, Dmitrijs Milkevics set a collegiate-record time of 1:15.60 in the 600-meter run at the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitatiaonal. While it was one of the greatest middle distance performances in NU men’s history, the 600 meters is not a race typically held in the United States and will not be run at this year’s national meet.

A two-time 2004 NCAA All-American in the 800, Milkevics has yet to compete in his signature event, the 800-meter run, during the 2005 indoor season, choosing instead to focus on training. This weekend the sophomore will attempt to qualify for the 2005 NCAA Indoor Championships while facing his most difficult field since he competed at last summer’s Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. Eight Big 12 athletes have reached the NCAA provisional-qualifying standard so far this season.

Milkevics needs to finish below the provisional-qualifying mark of 1:49.50 to be considered in contention for this year’s national meet, or reach the automatic mark of 1:48.00. He should have a good chance--he holds a personal-best time of 1:47.82.

The Reign of Lopes: Unbeaten, Unmatched
Priscilla Lopes has begun the 2005 indoor season much like she finished her 2004 indoor campaign: by blazing past everyone in sight.

Last year’s NCAA 60-meter hurdles champion is undefeated so far this season in collegiate races of 60-meter dash and hurdles, respective streaks of two and four races. In fact, the last time Lopes lost a collegiate race in the hurdles was at last year’s Big 12 Indoor Championships.

While the junior has experienced a wealth of success in her short career, there is one thing she is still searching for?her first Big 12 title. Lopes earned third place last season in both the 60-meter dash and hurdles at the indoor conference meet, while finishing second outdoors in the 100-meter hurdles. With both of her 2004 rivals graduated from collegiate competition (Texas’ Nichole Denby and Raasin McIntosh), Lopes appears primed to claim her first-ever conference title, and maybe more, this season.

Huskers Earn Weekly Big 12 Conference Honors
Three Nebraska athletes have been named Big 12 Conference Indoor Track and Field Athletes of the Week during the 2005 season. Dmitrijs Milkevics and Ashley Selig earned acclaim for the week of Feb. 7, while Priscilla Lopes garnered honors for the week of Jan. 18.

Milkevics set a collegiate-record time of 1:15.60 to win the 600-meter run on Feb. 5 at the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational. The Riga, Latvia, native’s mark was only .48 shy of the world record, while he smashed the NU (1:19.05) and Bob Devaney Sports Center Track (1:17.92) marks. The former collegiate standard was set by Tom Gerding of Minnesota in 2001. Milkevics shared the weekly men’s award with Texas A&M’s Fabrice Lapierre.

Selig compiled the greatest indoor pentathlon performance of her career to win the event with a nation-leading score of 4,171 points a day earlier. The Lincoln, Neb., native set personal-best marks in both the high jump (5-7 3/4) and shot put (38-5) on her way to overtaking the No. 1 performance in the Big 12 and claiming an NCAA automatic-qualifying mark. It was the third-best point total in NU history and currently ranks No. 1 in the NCAA by 93 points over second-place Amber Williams of Miami (Fla.).

Priscilla Lopes, the defending NCAA champion in the 60-meter hurdles, was named the Big 12 Female Track and Field Athlete of the Week on Jan. 18 for her performance at the Holiday Inn Invitational. Lopes won invitational titles in both the 60-meter dash and hurdle events while surpassing the NCAA provisional-qualifying standard for both events.

NU Adds Three to Roster
The Husker coaching staff went international in its search for the finest athletes during the past year, and three impact athletes were added to Nebraska’s roster for the 2005 season during the third week of Jan., one to the women’s team and two to the men’s squad.

The most accomplished athlete of the group, freshman Egle Uljas, hails from Tallinn, Estonia. Uljas, also a renowned concert pianist, reached the semifinal round of the women’s 400-meter dash at the 2004 Olympics after recording a career-best time of 51.91 in the quarterfinals. That mark would rank No. 1 on NU’s all-time indoor charts, ahead of former Husker Ximena Retsrepo’s school record of 52.12. Uljas is the reigning Estonian national indoor champion in the 400, and holds national records in the 300 meters (38.71), 400 meters both indoors (54.25) and outdoors (51.91) and the indoor 600-yard run (1:20.65).

Like the women’s team, the Husker men also landed a top-level athlete from South Africa. Sophomore Peter van der Westhuizen, from Kempton Park, South Africa, has recorded personal-best times of 1:50.35A over 800 meters and 3:44.0 over 1,500 meters. Van der Westhuizen’s 1,500-meter mark would place seventh on NU’s all-time performance list. He placed second in the 1,500 at the 2003 South African Junior (Under-20) Championships, as well as third in 2002.

Freshman Gatis Spunde, Nebraska’s final addition to the men’s squad, hails from Smiltene, Latvia. Specializing in the 400-meter hurdles, he won the 2004 Latvian national championships in the event, while also earning the Balkan Championships title the same year. Spunde owns a personal-best clocking of 51.31.

Please see accompanying bio supplement for more information on Nebraska track and field’s newcomers.

Ten Returning All-Americans to be Featured in 2005
A total of 10 NCAA All-Americans return for the Huskers this season, five each for the men’s and women’s squads. Headlining the group will be sophomore sprinter/hurdler Priscilla Lopes, who won accolades in the 60-meter dash and 60-meter hurdles indoors, as well as the 100-meter hurdles outdoors. Other women to return after reaching All-America status include junior Ashley Selig, who finished seventh indoors in the pentathlon and third outdoors in the heptathlon, and senior Christi Lehman, who finished ninth (eighth American) in the indoor pole vault. Senior thrower Becky Breisch, the 2004 NCAA discus champion, and sophomore Jenny Green, an All-American in both the indoor (third) and outdoor (third) pole vault, also return for NU, but both are likely to redshirt in 2005 because of injury.

Dmitrijs Milkevics will aim for an NCAA title in the 800-meter run following an outstanding freshman campaign that saw him earn All-America honors by finishing sixth at both the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships. Junior Aaron Nasers, who finished ninth (fifth American) indoors in the 800, adds even more firepower to Nebraska’s middle distance crew. Finally, three members of NU’s eighth-place outdoor 4x100-meter relay quartet return in Dusty Stamer, junior Oliver Williams Jr. and sophomore Nate Probasco.

Nebraska: Home to the World-Class Athlete
Nebraska was represented well by both current and former track and field athletes at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, at the end of August. In all, four current and two former Huskers vied for Olympic honors, the 13th straight Games that NU has been represented.

Once again, former Husker Merlene Ottey claimed the highest placing of any NU athlete by finishing 10th in women’s 100-meter dash competition while representing Slovenia. Ottey’s appearance was her seventh straight Olympics, over which time she has earned three silver and five bronze medals. She also competed in the 200 meters, but did not qualify for the finals.

Another former NU athlete, Ineta Radevica, made her first appearance in an Olympics by representing Latvia in both the long jump and triple jump events. Radevica, who concluded her Husker career last spring with an NCAA title in the triple jump, claimed three national titles in the event during her three years at Nebraska. She was unable to reach the finals in either the long jump or triple jump in Athens.

Dmitrijs Milkevics became the first-ever Husker to reach the semifinals of the men’s 800-meter run while also representing Latvia. Milkevics, who earned two All-America honors in 2004 in the 800, won his quarterfinal heat in a time of 1:46.66 before bowing out in the semifinals.

Last year’s women’s NCAA 60-meter hurdle champion, Priscilla Lopes, competed in the 100-meter hurdles for Canada. She finished fifth in heat four of the five-heat first round, and was 20th overall. Another Husker hurdler, Nenad Loncar, represented Serbia and Montenegro in the men’s 110-meter hurdles, finishing 46th overall in first round competition with a time of 14.02.

A pair of newcomers to the Nebraska track and field ranks also competed in the Games for Latvia. Dace Ruskule, a sophomore thrower in 2005 for NU, earned 14th place in the women’s discus qualifying round after unleashing a throw of 188-5. The mark would have won last year’s Big 12 Championships by more than 18, while earning fourth place at the 2004 NCAA Championships. Egle Uljas, a late addition to the Nebraska’s women’s roster reached the semifinal round of the women’s 400-meter dash after blazing to a personal- and Estonian-record time of 51.91 in the preliminaries. Uljas was unable to reach the finals, but did run her second-best time of 53.13 in the semis.