Huskers to Open 2006 Indoor Season

The Nebraska men's and women's track and field teams begin the 2006 indoor season this weekend when they host the Holiday Inn Invitational at the Bob Devaney Sports Center Indoor Track on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 13-14. Competition begins on Friday with field events at 3 p.m., while action on the track starts at 4 p.m. Both running and field events begin at Noon on Saturday.

Reserved tickets for this weekend's meet may be purchased from the Husker Athletic Ticket Office for $6, while general admission prices are $4 for adults and $2 for children ages 7+. Admission is free for NU students with a valid ID and children under the age of six.

The Holiday Inn Invitational is one of the largest annual indoor meets held in the state of Nebraska. More than 20 schools have registered to compete at this weekend's invitational, including in-state squads from Concordia, Dana, Doane, Hastings, Midland Lutheran, Nebraska-Kearney, Nebraska-Omaha, Nebraska Wesleyan, Wayne State and York College. Meet recaps and results can be found at Huskers.com on Friday and Saturday following the conclusion of competition. A complete list of competitors and time schedule of events will be available on-line Thursday morning.

Thirteen All-Americans Return in '06
A combined 13 NCAA All-Americans will suit up for the Nebraska men's and women's squads in 2006. The Husker men will feature nine All-Americans, including 2005 NCAA champion Dmitrijs Milkevics, while four honorees will compete for the NU women. Of the four Husker women's All-Americans, three own NCAA champions in Becky Breisch (2003 outdoor shot put, 2004 discus), Priscilla Lopes (2004 60m hurdles) and Ashley Selig (2005 pentathlon).

Husker NCAA All-Americans (former NCAA champions in bold)
Women
Name; Honors; Event(s)
Becky Breisch; Eight; Shot Put (five), Discus (three)
Jenny Green; Two; Pole Vault
Priscilla Lopes; Six; 60m(two); 60m hurdles (two); 100m hurdles (two)
Ashley Selig; Four; Pentathlon, Heptathlon 

Men
Name; Honors; Event(s)
Gable Baldwin; One; Pole Vault
Dusty Jonas; Two; High Jump
Dmitrijs Milkevics; Three; 800m
Aaron Nasers; One; 800m
Aaron Plas; Two; High Jump
Nate Probasco; Two; 200m, 4x100m
Daniel Roper; One; Triple Jump
Ray Scotten; Three; Pole Vault
Oliver Williams Jr.; One; 4x100m

Nebraska Names 2006 Captains
NU announced that eight captains have been selected by their teammates to lead the team this season.

The women’s group of captains features four seniors, three of whom are former NCAA champions. Becky Breisch, Priscilla Lopes and Ashley Selig each will look to reclaim individual national titles while pushing the Husker women to their first team title since the 1984 season. Breisch (discus) and Lopes (60m hurdles) both earned titles in 2004, while Selig (pentathlon) claimed her first NCAA championship last season. The fourth women’s captain, Sara Jane Baker, is a four-time NCAA Championships qualifier and three-time Big 12 runner up.

Representing the Nebraska men’s squad will be a trio of NCAA All-Americans?Aaron Plas, Nate Probasco and Ray Scotten?as well as a former Big 12 champion?Issar Yazhbin. The group is comprised of two seniors who earned a pair of 2005 NCAA top-10 finishes in Plas (high jump) and Scotten (pole vault). The two remaining junior captains each have formerly claimed respective Big 12 titles in the sprint events (Probasco?200m, 4x100m relay) and hammer throw (Yazhbin).

Grimes Tabbed as NU Assistant
Kris Grimes, formerly of Washington State, was hired as the men’s and women’s pole vault and combined events coach on Aug. 10, 2005.

A native of Jefferson City, Mo., Grimes has helped several athletes flourish on the national level during his 17 years of coaching, as his resume boasts 10 NCAA All-America athletes who have earned 14 individual honors. Included among the group is two-time NCAA champion Sevatheda Fynes, who Grimes coached to national wins in the 100- and 200-meter dash events while at Michigan State.

Grimes brings a wealth of recruiting and coaching experience on the NCAA Division I level with him to Nebraska. He previously served as an assistant coach responsible for the development of the WSU men’s and women’s jump groups for the past eight seasons. Prior to his post with the Cougars, Grimes served as interim head women’s track and field coach at Michigan State for one season in 1996 before being named the Spartans’ interim Director of Women’s Track and Field and Cross Country. He remained in his interim post with MSU until 1998, when he was hired by Washington State.

A three-time NCAA All-American pole vaulter at Abiline Christian University, Grimes was a key contributor on four Division II national championship teams. After exhausting his eligibility, he served as an assistant coach for the Wildcats in 1989 while completing his bachelor’s degree in education. Grimes later received his master’s degree in education with concentrations in sport psychology and biomechanics while coaching in a graduate assistant role at Missouri from 1990-91. Between his time at Missouri and Michigan State, he spent five years (1992-96) as an assistant in charge of jumps and combined events at Louisiana-Monroe.

Three Win USATF Titles
2005 proved to be a banner year for Nebraska athletes competing on the national stage. While Huskers brought home four individual NCAA titles, that success carried into the summer months with three athletes claiming titles at the U.S. Track and Field Championships in Carson, Calif.

Becky Breisch became the first Husker to win a USATF title in the women's discus with her final throw of 206-5, securing victory over four-time U.S. champion Seilala Sua (202-10). The win also clinched Breisch a spot on the U.S. World Championships team, while she fell just short of qualifying in the shot put with a fifth-place finish.

Dusty Jonas and Robert Rands earned respective U.S. junior titles in the high jump and long jump events. Jonas cleared 7-4 1/2, more than five inches higher than the runner up, to win the high jump, while Rands, who joined the Nebraska men's squad this fall, soared to 24-7 while taking the long jump. Jonas and Rands each qualified for the Pan American Junior Games, where they also claimed titles during the summer.

Huskers Take on the World
Four Nebraska athletes saw their 2005 seasons extend into the late summer to the IAAF World Championships in Helsinki, Finland, during late August. The elite competition served as the second consecutive world championship competition for Becky Breisch, Priscilla Lopes, Dmitrijs Milkevics and Egle Uljas.

Priscilla Lopes experienced the most successful stay among Huskers with her semifinals appearance in the women's 100-meter hurdles. Competing for Canada, Lopes notched the 10th-fastest semifinal time to fall only two spots shy of her first career final at a world competition.

Becky Breisch finished 18th overall during women's discus qualifying with a throw of 57.16 meters (187-6) on her second of three attempts. Breisch recorded fouls on her first and third attempts to finish 10th in her flight.

Dmitrijs Milkevics, competing for Latvia, ran in the men's 800-meter race, but did not advance out of the qualifying stages. Milkevics finished fifth in the third of six heats with a time of 1:50.44, just .30 seconds off the heat's winning time.

Egle Uljas competing for Estonia, ran a season-best time of 52.94 during women’s 400-meter qualifying to finish seventh in the first of six heats and 32nd overall out of 46 athletes. Uljas competed primarily in the 800 meters as a Husker last spring, but also competed at the 2004 Olympics in the 400.

Nebraska's Returning NCAA Indoor Qualifiers
Women
Name, Event, Personal Best
Sara Jane Baker, Pentathlon, 3,978
Priscilla Lopes, 60 Meters 7.23; 60m Hurdles, 7.96
Ashley Selig Pentathlon 4,327

Men
Name, Event, Personal Best
Arturs Abolins, Long Jump, 25-6 1/4
Gable Baldwin, Pole Vault, 17-8 1/2
Dusty Jonas, High Jump, 7-3 3/4
Nate Probasco, 200 Meters, 20.93
Daniel Roper, Triple Jump, 52-1 1/4
Aaron Plas, High Jump, 7-3 3/4
Ray Scotten, Pole Vault, 18-0 1/2