NU Picks Up Pace at NCAA Championships

SACRAMENTO, Calif. ?The Nebraska men’s and women’s track and field teams continued their pursuit of national honors Thursday as five athletes managed to qualify for event finals at the NCAA Outdoor Championships held at Sacramento State’s Alex G. Spanos Sports Complex. Unlike day one’s rainy conditions, Thursday featured mostly clear skies and warm weather.<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

 

“Like most days here, we had some very good performances at a high level, while we had others that didn’t go so well,” Pepin said. “Our 800-meter runners ran very well, while the men qualified well in the high jump. Nate (Probasco) ran really well to finish off a great season for him.”

                      

NU started the day on the right foot as both Aaron Plas and Dusty Jonas breezed through the men’s high jump qualifying round to reach Saturday’s final. Each Husker cleared heights of 6-8 3/4, 6-10 3/4 and 7-0 1/4 without making a miss. Plas and Jonas were two of only four athletes to go a perfect 3-for-3 during the round.

 

“I felt like I had a good day,” Plas said. “I came in here with the mindset that this was the finals. You have to jump well to move on, and I was lucky enough to go clean and not waste a whole lot of energy.”

 

Two Huskers guaranteed NU its first duo of men’s and women’s outdoor 800-meter All-Americans by making it through the semifinals and qualifying for Saturday’s finals. Egle Uljas set a career best with her time of 2:04.29, which was fifth-best overall, in the women’s semifinals, while Dmitrijs Milkevics cruised to a heat-winning time of 1:48.02 during the men’s round.

 

“This is exactly what we expected,” Milkevics said. “I was very relaxed. I got lucky; I was in the slowest heat. It was just kind of an easy sprint today, and I saved some energy for Saturday.”

 

Anne Shadle continued her pursuit of a second individual NCAA championship by posting the second-fastest qualifying mark in the women’s 1,500 meters. Shadle finished a close second to Villanova’s Marina Muncan in 4:15.37 and will aim for her first outdoor title on Saturday.

 

Nate Probasco’s season ended in the semifinal round of the men’s 200-meter dash, but the sophomore did not go down without a fight. Probasco tied the Nebraska school-record time of 20.59, also held by Chris Chandler (2000) to finish 11th overall, only 0.03 shy of the final automatic berth in his heat. Earlier in the day he recorded a wind-aided mark of 20.49, which is the fastest automatic 200-meter mark registered under any conditionsin school history, during the qualifying round.

 

“It’s disappointing, because going into the semis, I was sitting really well,” Probasco said. “It’s really tough running two hours apart, but I won’t use that as an excuse. I just didn’t have it in the end.

 

“There have been a lot of guys who have run for this University in the past,” he said. “To tie that record is really a big honor.”

 

Christi Lehman concluded her outstanding Husker career in the qualifying round of the women’s pole vault. The All-American finished as the 16th competitor with a high clearance of 13-1 1/2, while only 14 athletes advanced to the final round.

 

Arturs Abolins concluded his 2005 season in the preliminary round of the men’s long jump Thursday. He recorded a leap of 23-11 in between a pair of scratches to finish in 10th, two places shy of reaching the finals.

 

Casie Witte competed in her first NCAA women’s high jump qualifying round, but was unable to advance after bowing out of the competition at the closing height of 5-10 3/4. The junior fell short of making the final, barely clipping the crossbar on her last attempt.

 

Peter van der Westhuizen finished ninth in his heat, and 20th overall, in the men’s 1,500 meters after recording a clocking of 3:51.29.

 

Mark Harrison (51.33) and Justine Roach (59.07) also competed in the men’s and women’s 400-meter hurdles, but neither advanced to Friday’s semifinals competition. Harrison fell two places shy of qualifying (18th), while Roach was 19th overall.

 

The NCAA Outdoor Championships continue Friday with a pair of Huskers competing in event finals. Priscilla Lopes (women’s 100-meter hurdles) and Ray Scotten (men’s pole vault) will vie for individual titles, while Ashley Selig and Sara Jane Baker start the two-day women’s heptathlon competition to begin the day at 12:15 p.m. PT.