NU Aims for Third Straight Big 12 Title Sweep

The Nebraska men’s and women’s track and field teams look for their third straight indoor conference sweep this weekend when they play host to the 10th annual Big 12 Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships at the Bob Devaney Sports Center Indoor Track.

All-session ticket packages are available through the Husker Ticket Office for $12 (reserved) and $10 (general admission. Single-session tickets will be available at the gates for $7 (reserved) and $6 (general admission).

Action begins both Friday and Saturday with combined events competitions at 9:30 a.m. The women’s pentathlon will be held in its entirety on Friday, while the men’s heptathlon closes out with its final three events on Saturday.

The first day of the championships will consist primarily of preliminary action, with the exception of the men’s and women’s weight throws, long jumps, 5,000-meter runs and distance medley relays, as well as the women’s pole vault. Remaining finals will occur on day two.

Men’s and women’s roster limits are set at 26 competitors each for the meet, with the top eight finishers in events counting towards team scores. A 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 scoring system will be used. Individuals are allowed to be entered in any number of events.

Complete rosters for Nebraska will be available on-line beginning Thursday at Noon.

The Big 12 Championships Central page on Huskers.com will serve as the comprehensive source for information this weekend. Live results, recaps, quotes, notes and photo galleries are a few of the options that will be available at the site.

Huskers Look to Continue Indoor Conference Domination
Several records and streaks will be on the line for Nebraska this weekend, including its two consecutive seasons of men’s and women’s indoor conference team victories. NU has posted 21 individual titles during that time, seven more than any other team (Texas-14).

Both Husker squads have claimed league highs in team titles during the Big 12’s nine-year history. The women’s squad owns five victories, one more than second-place Texas, while the NU men have won eight of the nine conference championships. The women can set a Big 12 women’s record with its third straight indoor title this weekend, as the men look to push their record string to seven in a row.

This year’s meet could serve as a springboard for an important moment in Nebraska’s long and proud history in conference championships. With an all-time total of 97 team victories, NU is within reach of breaking the century mark during the 2006 outdoor season.

The Huskers also will look to further cement Head Coach Gary Pepin’s status as the all-time winningest coach in Big Eight/Big 12 Conference history. Pepin, in his 26th season as coach of the women’s team and 23rd year as coach of both squads, has led Nebraska to 63 indoor and outdoor conference titles, far and away the most in the history of both leagues. Kansas’ Bill Easton (1948-65) ranks No. 2 for the Big Eight with 25 championships, while Pepin’s 19 Big 12 victories outdistances Beverly Kearney (nine), head coach for the Texas women, and Bubba Thornton (four), head coach for the Longhorn men.

Breaking Down the 2006 Field
This year’s Big 12 Indoor Championships will feature one of the deepest, most decorated fields in history.

Champions from last year’s meet return in 25 of the 38 events that will be held this weekend. Nebraska and Texas combine to possess nearly half of the total with six champions each.

High-end national talent also will be on display, as 16 former NCAA champions will vie for honors. Nine of the honorees belong to the Longhorns, while NU ranks second with four. While the talent at the top of the Big 12 is strong, the depth of the conference is amazing. Fifty-six NCAA All-Americans are expected to compete, including 13 Husker award-winners. Texas (11), Texas Tech (nine) and Baylor (seven) also will field accomplished squads.

World-class competitors also will be in attendance, as five athletes who competed in the 2004 Athens Olympics should contend for honors. Nebraska’s three Olympians account for more than half of the total.

For a complete team-by-team breakdown, see page 7 of this week’s Husker Track and Field Notes.

Coach Pepin Discusses the Big 12
Coach Gary Pepin met with the media on Tuesday and offered his thoughts on the upcoming Big 12 Indoor Championships.

On the importance of this year’s Big 12 indoor meet:
"The Big 12 indoor meet is obviously one of the top four meets we look forward to each year and have high expectations for. This year it’s a little bit bigger for us since this is the last Big 12 meet we will have here for at least two more years. Certainly our athletes and staff are aware that we are facing some great competition in the meet."

On his teams’ chances of winning conference titles:
"It has been a year for us where we have encountered more hardships in terms of injuries or other reasons for athletes to not be competing either right now or for the rest of the careers. We feel like we still have a fighting chance to go after both (men’s and women’s) titles, but we are going to have to have a very, very good overall meet on both sides. Certainly those athletes who are highly ranked going into the meet are going to have to get the job done. They are essential, but we are going to have to pick it up in other areas, as well."

Prairie Wolf Invitational Recap
Several members of the Husker men’s and women’s track and field teams geared up for the Big 12 Indoor Championships last weekend by competing at the Prairie Wolf Invitational, hosted by Nebraska Wesleyan at the Devaney Center Indoor Track.

It was another meet and another school-record race for Egle Uljas, who broke her second Husker all-time mark of the season in the 600-meter run. The Tallinn, Estonia, native dominated the field, winning in a time of 1:28.42 to wipe former Husker NCAA All-American Marcia Tate’s 1984 standard of 1:33.11 off the books. Uljas also broke Big 12 (Oklahoma’s Annette Campbell-1:29.91) and Devaney Center records (Iowa’s Karen Layne-1:32.68) during the competition. Uljas set the NU indoor 800-meter record two weeks ago at the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational.

Dusty Jonas reached a new personal best while winning the men’s high jump with a clearance of 7-4 1/2. Jonas, last season’s runner-up in the event at the NCAA Indoor Championships, climbed into sole position of third place on the NCAA performance list with the leap.

Becky Breisch surpassed the NCAA provisional-qualifying mark in the women’s shot put for the sixth straight weekend while winning with a toss of 54-11 1/2. Tamara Solari led a Husker 1-2-3 finish in the women’s weight throw with a spin of 54-8 1/2. Jeni Steiner (personal best 57-3 3/4) and Jamie Senkbile (55-7 1/2) finished second and third, respectively.

The trio of Natalja Zarcenko (2:53.61), Michaela Lenihan (2:55.75) and Betsy Miller (2:58.27) swept the top three places in the women’s 1,000-meter race. Zarcenko and Lenihan each notched personal-best performances.

Nebraska also dominated the men’s long jump by grabbing the first, second, fourth and fifth spots. Demea Carter won the event with a leap of 23-9 1/2, with Robert Rands (23-7 1/4) claiming second, Jonas (22-10 1/2) finishing fourth and Daniel Roper (22-9 3/4) coming in fifth. The NU women’s pole vault crew of Jenna Blubaugh (first, 12-9), Jenny Green (second, 12-9), Kate Colvin (fourth, 11-9) and Jessie Graff (fifth, 11-9) earned the same placings.

Aaron Ross hurdled to a career-low time of 7.92 to take gold in the men’s 60-meter hurdles. Ross, who entered the season with a personal-best time of 8.06, fell only one-hundredth of a second shy of the NCAA provisional standard.

Other outstanding Husker women’s performers included Kim Pancoast, who recorded a lifetime best of 2:11.53 to win the 800-meter run; Amanda Benson, who tied her career-best indoor height of 5-7 to claim the high jump title; and Zarinah Suluki, who soared 18-3 to take gold in the long jump.

Notable performances by Husker men included those by Tom Donlin, who surpassed his career best in the weight throw with a provisional-qualifying, winning spin of 64-11 1/4; Keith Lloyd, who exceeded his personal best by more than two feet to finish second in the weight throw (60-1); Jordan Bates, who notched a lifetime best of 45-7 1/4 in the triple jump for a third-place finish; Gable Baldwin, who won the men’s pole vault (16-6); and Patrick Southern, who set a career-best clearance of 16-6 during the same pole vault competition.

Huskers Lead Seven Big 12 Events
Six Huskers find themselves leading the league rankings for seven events that will be held during this weekend’s conference meet. Included among the total are four women’s and two men’s athletes.

Dmitrijs Milkevics is the lone Husker to own No. 1 rankings for two events, the men’s 600-yard and 800-meter run events. Daniel Roper, who shot up the charts with a big performance in the triple jump two weeks ago, is the only other Husker men’s athlete with a top rating, although multiple others rank among the top eight for their respective events.

For the NU women, Priscilla Lopes tops the women’s 60-meter hurdles field with her NCAA automatic-qualifying time of 8.01, while Egle Uljas owns a lead in the 600 yards (1:18.44). Becky Breisch has earned an edge of more than four inches in the shot put with her automatic-qualifying mark of 57-10 1/2. Sara Jane Baker and Kim Shubert help No. 1-rated Ashley Selig form an impressive Husker women’s pentathlon crew that ranks 1-2-5 for the second consecutive week.

In all, Nebraska women rank among the Big 12’s top-eight performers in 15 of the 19 events to be contested at the conference meet, with eight of those events featuring multiple Huskers. The NU men possess athletes in 14 of 19 categories, while also placing multiple performers in eight events.

Big 12 Champs Begin Title Defense
Five Huskers enter this weekend’s competition with the hopes of defending individual 2005 Big 12 indoor championships.

Two members of the women’s team, Priscilla Lopes and Ashley Selig, combined to win three titles at last year’s meet. Lopes swept the 60-meter dash and hurdle events for her first two career conference titles, while Selig earned her first victory in the pentathlon.

Two other women’s athletes, Becky Breisch and Jenny Green, also are former Big 12 champs, and both will look to regain event titles after redshirting last season. Breisch owns seven career conference victories (indoor and outdoor), including four in the shot put, while Green won the pole vault both indoors and outdoors as a freshman in 2004. Huskers Dace Ruskule (discus) and Kayla Wilkinson (javelin) also boast titles in outdoor-only events.

Nate Probasco (200 meters) leads a group of three Nebraska men intending to defend indoor titles. Probasco won his first Big 12 championship in a non-relay event last year, while teammates Ray Scotten (pole vault) and Daniel Roper (triple jump) also claimed their first crowns. NU also possesses several other former Big 12 champs, including Arturs Abolins (2004 indoor long jump; 2005 outdoor 4x100m relay), Gable Baldwin (2005 outdoor pole vault), Dmitrijs Milkevics (2004 indoor 800), Aaron Plas (2005 outdoor high jump) and Oliver Williams Jr. (2004, 2005 outdoor 4x100m relay). Issar Yazhbin, who is redshirting this season, won the 2004 outdoor hammer throw title.

Nebraska’s Returning Big 12 Champions:
*Expected to compete this weekend.
Women
Name Event Titles
*Becky Breisch: Shot Put 4 (04i, 04o, 03i, 03o); Weight Throw 1 (04i); Discus 2 (03o, 02o)
*Jenny Green: Pole Vault 2 (04i, 04o)
*Priscilla Lopes: 60 Meters 1 (05i); 60m Hurdles 1 (05i); 100m Hurdles 1 (05o)
Dace Ruskule: Discus 1 (05o)
*Ashley Selig: Pentathlon 1 (05i); Heptathlon 1 (05o)
Kayla Wilkinson: Javelin 1 (05o)

Men
Name Event Titles
*Arturs Abolins: Long Jump 1 (04i); 4x100m Relay 1 (05o)
*Gable Baldwin: Pole Vault 1 (05o)
*Dmitrijs Milkevics: 800m 1 (04i)
*Aaron Plas: High Jump 1 (05o)
*Nate Probasco: 200 Meters 1 (05i); 4x100m Relay 2 (04o, 05o)
*Daniel Roper: Triple Jump 1 (05i)
*Ray Scotten: Pole Vault 1 (05i)
*Oliver Williams Jr.: 4x100m Relay 2 (04o, 05o)
Issar Yazhbin: Hammer Throw 1 (04o)

Milkevics, Uljas Earn Big 12 Honors
Two Huskers, Dmitrijs Milkevics and Egle Uljas, have garnered Big 12 Athlete of the Week honors this season after posting outstanding performances.

Uljas has garnered Women’s Athlete of the Week twice this season. She has broken a pair of longtime Husker women’s indoor records in a three-week stretch in early February.

Uljas recorded the nation’s No. 5 time while winning the women’s 800 meters at the Husker Invite with a personal-best time of 2:05.30. She broke former Husker great Lisa Darley Graham’s 1991 school-record mark of 2:06.93 and the Bob Devaney Sports Center record shared by North Carolina’s Alice Schmidt (2:05.33) and Colorado’s Mary Decker [2:05.3 (yards)]. Uljas, a native of Tallinn, Estonia, also claimed a new Estonia national record during her first 800-meter race of the season, erasing the former record of 2:05.57.

Most recently, the 2004 Olympian claimed conference honors again this week for shattering Marcia Tate’s 1984 NU standard in the 600-meter run (1:33.11) with a time of 1:28.42. She also set a new Devaney Center record, as well as an all-time best Big 12 performance.

Milkevics was named Big 12 Conference Men’s Track and Field Athlete of the Week last week for his performance during the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark. He broke his own Husker men’s indoor 800-meter run school record with a personal-best time of 1:47.54.

Milkevics, the reigning NCAA men’s outdoor 800-meter champion, became the third NCAA automatic qualifier this season for the NU men’s team while recording the nation’s fastest time for the 800 meters with his win during the men’s Invitational section. He broke his former school record of 1:47.82, which he set as a freshman during preliminary sections of the 2004 NCAA Indoor Championships. The Riga, Latvia, native currently ranks 11th in the world this season with the time.

Eight Huskers Set NCAA Auto Marks
Eight Nebraska athletes already have punched their tickets to the 2006 NCAA Indoor Championships in Fayetteville, Ark., by posting automatic-qualifying performances this season. Five women and three men currently make up NU’s national meet squad, but plenty of time still remains for other Huskers to be added.

The women’s pentathlon is the team’s strongest event, as both Ashley Selig and Sara Jane Baker posted auto marks earlier this month during the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational. Becky Breisch has hit the automatic standard three times in the shot put this season, including a personal-best mark of 57-10 1/2 at the Iowa State Classic. Priscilla Lopes has claimed an auto qualification for the third straight year in the 60-meter hurdles with her NCAA-leading time of 8.01, while Egle Uljas qualified for the first time in the 800 meters after notching a new school record at the Husker Invite.

All three Husker men’s automatic qualifiers are highly ranked. Arturs Abolins, Dusty Jonas and Dmitrijs Milkevics each earned their qualifications through spectacular performances at the Tyson Invitational. Abolins and Milkevics rank second nationally in the long jump and 800 meters, respectively, while Jonas is third in the high jump. Jonas increased his mark by another half inch to a career-best 7-4 1/2 during last weekend’s Prairie Wolf Invitational.

Nebraska’s 2006 NCAA Indoor Qualifiers:
Women
Automatic
Name Event Mark
Sara Jane Baker: Pentathlon 4,088
Becky Breisch: Shot Put 57-10 1/2
Priscilla Lopes: 60m Hurdles 8.01
Ashley Selig: Pentathlon 4,107
Egle Uljas: 800m 2:05.30
Provisional
Name Event Mark
Jenna Blubaugh: Pole Vault 12-11 1/2
Jenny Green: Pole Vault 12-11 1/2
Priscilla Lopes: 60m 7.39; 200m 23.82

Men
Automatic
Name Event Mark
Arturs Abolins: Long Jump 25-9 1/2
Dusty Jonas: High Jump 7-4 1/2
Dmitrijs Milkevics: 800m 1:47.54
Provisional
Name Event Mark
Gable Baldwin: Pole Vault 17-5 3/4
Tom Donlin: Weight Throw 62-11 1/4
Courtney Jones: 60m Hurdles 7.84
Aaron Plas: High Jump 7-2 1/2
Nate Probasco: 200m 21.18
Daniel Roper: Triple Jump 51-4 1/2
Ben Schutter: Heptathlon 5,363
Peter van der Westhuizen: Mile 4:03.54
LeRon Williams: Long Jump 24-6 1/4

Team Rankings Hold in Coaches Poll
In conjunction with the launch of its new web site this season, the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association has begun organizing a Division I USTFCCCA Coaches Poll. Nebraska is one of five programs to have both its men’s and women’s teams appear among the poll’s top 10 this week.

The NU women remained in fifth place this week behind Texas (first), South Carolina (second), Stanford (third) and LSU (fourth). Texas A&M (20th) is the only other Big 12 school in the rankings.

The Husker men were voted as the sixth-best team by the coaches after spending four straight weeks in the No. 7 spot. Defending NCAA indoor and outdoor champion Arkansas leaped Texas to take over the No. 1 spot, while the Longhorns slid to second. Other ranked conference squads include Baylor (11th), Kansas (13th), Texas A&M (14th) and Texas Tech (20th).

NU Men Gain Ground in Trackwire 25
Nebraska’s men’s and women’s squads were listed among the nation’s top 10 in the weekly Trackwire 25 released Tuesday. Both teams have been ranked in the top 10 during each of the poll’s six weeks this season.

The women’s team stayed at No. 4, the same spot it placed at the 2005 NCAA Indoor Championships, for the sixth straight week. The Huskers closed the gap on the No. 1 spot to a projected season-low nine points in the last few weeks, but that deficit now sits at 17. NU is one of two Big 12 Conference schools included among the top 10, along with No. 1 Texas. No other league school earned a top-25 ranking this week.

The Husker men claimed sole possession of No. 6 this week after sitting in a tie with Arizona last week. NU gained a projected two points in the standings and now trails No. 1 LSU in the projection by 16 team points. The poll predicts a talented Big 12 men’s field in 2006, as four other teams also appear in the rankings: Texas (No. 3), Baylor (No. 8), Kansas (No. 12) and Texas A&M (No. 16).

The Trackwire 25 attempts to predict team scores for the NCAA Championships based on individual athlete rankings for each event?nicknamed the "Dandy Dozen"?that are updated weekly by track and field statistician Gary Verigin.

Nebraska is the hot name in the Dandy Dozen for 2006, as the program leads all NCAA teams with 13 different individual athletes selected. Texas ranks second with 12 individual athletes, followed by LSU (11) and Michigan (10).

Both individual Husker teams rank near the national lead in numbers of athletes selected. The eight men’s picks lead the nation over second place Texas (seven) and Arkansas (seven), while NU’s five women’s selections trail only Michigan (seven), LSU (six), South Carolina (six) and Stanford (six).

Husker athletes among this week’s "Dandy Dozen":
Women
Priscilla Lopes: 60m Hurdles?2nd
Ashley Selig: Pentathlon?2nd
Becky Breisch: Shot Put?2nd
Sara Jane Baker: Heptathlon?3rd
Egle Uljas: 800 Meters?5th

Men
Dmitrijs Milkevics: 800 Meters?1st
Arturs Abolins: Long Jump?2nd
Dusty Jonas: High Jump?4th
Gable Baldwin: Pole Vault?6th
Daniel Roper: Triple Jump?6th
Nate Probasco: 200 Meters?7th
Courtney Jones: 60m Hurdles?12th
Aaron Plas: High Jump?12th

Huskers Rank Among Nation’s Best
Ten NU athletes sit among the top 10 for their respective events on the latest NCAA performance list. One Husker owns the nation’s best performance for her event, while four others rank second.

Topping the charts is Priscilla Lopes, who possesses the nation’s No. 1 time in the women’s 60-meter hurdles of 8.01, which she recorded last weekend.

Two Husker women, Becky Breisch and Ashley Selig, own No. 2 rankings for the shot put and pentathlon, respectively, while Sara Jane Baker is the third-ranked pentathlete. Egle Uljas owns the sixth-best time in the women’s 800 meters with her school-record performance.

A pair of Husker men sits at No. 2 on the NCAA list this week. Dmitrijs Milkevics slid one spot after leading the 800-meter rankings last week. Arturs Abolins jumped from eighth to second in the long jump two weeks ago thanks to his NCAA auto mark at the Tyson Invite. Dusty Jonas now owns sole possession of third place in the high jump after his auto qualification. Two-time NCAA All-American Nate Probasco ranks 10th for the men’s 200 meters after clocking 21.18 in his first attempt this year. Courtney Jones also clings to the No. 10 spot this week in the 60-meter hurdles.

NU Multis Open Season In High Gear
Nebraska’s combined events athletes posted impressive performances in their first multi-event competitions of the season during the Husker Invite Feb. 4-5. Huskers Ashley Selig (pentathlon) and Ben Schutter (heptathlon) posted wins for the NU men and women.

Selig and teammate Sara Jane Baker each earned NCAA automatic qualifications while finishing 1-2 in the women’s pentathlon. Selig won her second straight Husker Invite title with a score of 4,107, while Baker smashed her previous best by more than 100 points with her 4,088 point total. The two seniors currently possess the Nos. 2 and 3 national rankings for the event thanks to their efforts.

Schutter hit the provisional mark while completing his first-ever heptathlon for the NU men with a career-best score of 5,363. The sophomore transfer from Doane College set individual career bests for five of the seven events (long jump, shot put, 60-meter hurdles, pole vault and 1,000 meters) during the two days of competition.

For the weekend, six of eight Huskers totaled lifetime best scores for their combined events.

Breisch Back and Better than Ever
Becky Breisch has continued her remarkable comeback from career-threatening elbow and shoulder injuries with some of her finest performances in the indoor shot put this season.

The eight-time NCAA All-American set an indoor personal best of 57-10 1/2 to win the shot at the Iowa State Classic by more than one foot two weekends ago. The mark erased her previous best of 57-6 1/2, which she set earlier this season at the Husker Invite.

Breisch earned Nebraska’s first automatic qualification of the season to the 2006 NCAA meet, where she will attempt to earn her first indoor national title, during the adidas Classic. She has won an NCAA outdoor title in the event, as she claimed the 2003 NCAA title as a sophomore. The Edwardsburg, Mich., native has rewritten her own personal best three times already this season, while she had hit the NCAA automatic-qualifying standard during four consecutive competitions before setting a provisional mark at last weekend’s Prairie Wolf Invitational.

Lopes Records Triangular Trifecta
Priscilla Lopes wowed Devaney Center spectators during last month’s home Triangular. After winning the women’s 60-meter hurdles and setting a season-best time of 7.39 to place a close second in the 60-meter dash, the six-time All-American avenged her loss in the dash to Colorado State’s Janay DeLoach with a personal-best time of 23.82 in the 200-meter dash.

The time also earned Lopes her third NCAA provisional-qualifying mark of the year, as she became the first Big 12 Conference female athlete to achieve the feat this season. One of the nation’s top all-around athletes, she owns the nation’s top time of 8.01 in the 60-meter hurdles, and has yet to lose to a collegiate opponent in the event this season.

Thirteen All-Americans Return in ?06
A combined 13 NCAA All-Americans will suit up for the Husker men’s and women’s squads in 2006. The NU men will feature nine athletes, 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 championships in Becky Breisch (2003 outdoor shot put, 2004 discus), Priscilla Lopes (2004 60m hurdles) and Ashley Selig (2005 pentathlon).

Three Win USATF Titles
The 2005 season 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 a spot for Breisch 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, she 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, and Egle Uljas, competing for Estonia, ran in the men’s and women’s 800-meter competitions, 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, while Uljas finished 32nd overall out of 46 athletes.