Drake, Penn Relays Highlight NU Schedule

Nebraska’s track and field season hits high gear this weekend, as more than 70 Huskers are scheduled to compete at three separate destinations. The featured meets are two of the nation’s most historic athletic competitions in the Penn Relays in Philadelphia, Pa., and the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa. Meanwhile, several Huskers will stay behind in Lincoln for the Nebraska Wesleyan Twilight.

Drake Relays Meet Information
The 97th edition of the Drake Relays will feature 22 Huskers competing in 18 different events. Alec Maduza will begin the weekend for NU in the men’s 5,000-meter run on Thursday at 5:10 p.m. Nebraska’s competition on Friday and Saturday begins at 10 a.m. each day.

Also included among this year’s field will be Gable Baldwin, who will attempt to repeat as Drake Relays men’s pole vault champion, while Becky Breisch (women’s shot put and discus) and Jenny Green (women’s pole vault) will try to regain event titles last claimed in 2004.

A live webcast of action on Friday and Saturday will be offered on-line at a price of $10 per day. For more information, visit www.drakerelays.com. Live stats also may be accessed at the site for free. A complete recap and full results will be available on Huskers.com each day following competition. A schedule and list of NU entries may be found on page 2 of this week’s Husker track & field notes.

Penn Relays Meet Information
The fewest number of Huskers (nine) are scheduled to participate in the 112th running of the Penn Relays on Friday and Saturday. NU’s action begins Friday at 7 a.m., while Saturday’s competition starts at 11:35 a.m.

Featured men’s athletes in Philadelphia will include Oliver Williams Jr. in the 100-meter dash; Courtney Jones in the 110-meter hurdles; Mark Harrison, Andy Nelson and Gatis Spunde in the 400-meter hurdles; Arturs Abolins in the long jump; and Daniel Roper in the triple jump. NU also will field men’s 4x100- (Abolins, Williams, Roper and Nate Probasco) and 4x400-meter relays (Pearson, Probasco, Nelson and Harrison).

Live results from the Penn Relays will be offered on-line at flashresults.com. NU’s schedule and list of entries are available on page 2 of this week’s Husker track & field notes.

NWU Twilight Meet Information
Nebraska’s largest group of athletes will compete at the Nebraska Wesleyan Twilight on Friday. Competition begins with field events at 3 p.m., with track events starting at 5 p.m. The javelin and hammer throw events each will be held on the Nebraska State Fair Grounds, while all remaining events are to be contested at the Woody Greeno Track Facility on the Wesleyan campus.

Admission to the NWU Twilight will be $6 for adults, while senior citizens and students will only be charged $2. Children under the age of 6 can get in free.

Complete results from the meet will be posted on huskers.com following competition Friday evening. NU’s entries and schedule are available on page 3 of this week’s Husker track & field notes.

Husker NCAA Outdoor Qualifiers
Women
NCAA Championships Provisional Qualifiers
Name - Event (NCAA rank) - Mark
Sara Jane Baker - Heptathlon (7th) - 5,485w
Kayte Tranel - 10,000m (21st) - 34:10.94
NCAA Midwest Regional Qualifiers
Name - Event (NCAA rank) - Mark
Jenna Blubaugh  - Pole Vault (t18th) - 13-1 1/2
Becky Breisch  - Shot Put (2nd) - 60-6 3/4
Becky Breisch - Discus (1st) - 205-2
Amber Curtis - Discus (61st) - 159-0
Jessie Graff - Pole Vault (t52nd) - 12-5 1/2
Jenny Green - Pole Vault (t14th) - 13-3 1/2
Priscilla Lopes - 100m Hurdles (2nd) - 12.98
Sheryl Morgan - 400m (t31st) - 53.60
Dace Ruskule - Discus (4th) - 191-11
Jamie Senkbile - Hammer Throw (41st) - 186-8
Tamara Solari - Hammer Throw (76th) - 177-11
Jeni Steiner - Shot Put (35th) - 49-9 3/4
Kayla Wilkinson - Javelin (3rd) - 181-2

Men
NCAA Midwest Regional Qualifiers
Name - Event (NCAA rank) - Mark
Arturs Abolins - Long Jump (t3rd) - 25-5 1/4
Gable Baldwin - Pole Vault (t40th) - 16-8 3/4
Mark Harrison - 400m Hurdles (24th) - 51.56
Dusty Jonas - High Jump (2nd) - 7-5 3/4
Courtney Jones - 110m Hurdles (16th) - 13.85
Keith Lloyd - Shot Put (t41st) - 57-9
Keith Lloyd - Hammer Throw (40th) - 195-9
Nic Petersen - Pole Vault (t44th) - 16-6 3/4
Aaron Plas - High Jump (10th) - 7-1 3/4
Nate Probasco - 200m (t23rd) - 20.88
Daniel Roper - Triple Jump (t30th) - 50-9 1/4
Ray Scotten - Pole Vault (t4th) - 18-0 1/2
Patrick Southern - Pole Vault (t42nd) - 16-7 1/4
Gatis Spunde - 400m Hurdles (23rd) - 51.54
Oliver Williams - 100m (t55th) - 10.49w
Nebraska - 4x100m Relay (t9th) - 39.70
Nebraska - 4x400m Relay (22nd) - 3:07.37

NU Collects Six KU Relays Titles
Twelve Huskers pushed NU during a successful meet last weekend by combining to win six event titles at the 79th annual Kansas Relays. Four athletes won individual crowns, while NU also claimed a pair of relay titles.

Dusty Jonas led the men’s team by rising to the top of the four-man Invitational high jump. The sophomore All-American cleared a career-best height of 7-5 3/4 to win honors over Kansas State All-American Kyle Lancaster.

Kayla Wilkinson and Dace Ruskule each posted dominating marks to post throws titles for the Husker women. Despite battling her runway approach, Wilkinson defeated the field in the javelin by more than 13 feet with a toss of 167-4 for her third meet title in four chances this season, while Ruskule’s preliminary spin of 186-11 won her first discus crown this year by more than 25 feet.

While Wilkinson earned a win in the return to the state where she attended high school, Blubaugh also accomplished the feat in the women’s pole vault. A three-time All-American while at Johnson County (Kan.) Community College, Blubaugh matched her personal-best height of 13-1 1/2 for her first career outdoor meet title.

A pair of NU relay teams also notched winning efforts in the women’s 4x100-meter shuttle hurdle and men’s 4x100-meter relays. The women’s group of Priscilla Lopes, Justine Roach, Sara Jane Baker and Kim Shubert recorded the No. 7 all-time effort in Husker women’s history of 58.50. The men, who were running Courtney Jones as the leadoff replacement for Arturs Abolins, clocked a winning time of 40.35 to hold off a late surge by Lindenwood University.

In other action at Kansas, Tamara Solari gave Nebraska another regional qualifier by surpassing the standard for the first time in the women’s hammer throw (177-11). Several Huskers also competed in Invitational event sections featuring both collegiate and professional athletes, including Priscilla Lopes (13.28), who placed third in the women’s 100-meter hurdles, and Ray Scotten (17-4 1/2), the men’s pole vault seventh-place finisher.

Hot Race in the Cool Northwest
Kayte Tranel overcame cool and windy conditions to earn her first career NCAA provisional qualification at the Oregon Invitational. The temperature at the start of the race was a blustery 39 degrees.

The Husker senior broke out a huge personal-best time of 34:10.94 to finish fifth among a competitive field in the women’s 10,000-meter run. Tranel, who was only 15 seconds shy of earning an NCAA auto bid, became the first NU woman to reach the provisional standard in the event since 1998, when former Husker Christina Blackmer last accomplished the feat.

An All-American during the cross country season, Tranel trimmed more than one minute off her previous best time of 35:23.18. The second half of the race was especially impressive with a split of 16:52.94, which was faster than her lifetime-best 5k time of 16:53.85.

Eight Compete at Doane Relays
An eight-athlete group, comprised mainly of men’s multi-eventers and throwers, stayed back in Nebraska last weekend to compete at the Doane Relays in Crete.

Ben Schutter participated in four events, including the men’s javelin, which he launched a career-best, second-place throw of 184-3. Thorin Meyer finished just behind in third (181-0), while Corlan Vonderschmidt claimed fourth place. Schutter also posted personal bests of in the 110-meter hurdles (15.58) and shot put (39-8 3/4). Daniel Wasson added a career-best performance in the men’s triple jump (46-8) to earn third place. Katie Roberts, who finished eighth in the javelin, was the long Husker women’s athlete to compete.

Plas, Selig Sweep Academic Honors
Husker All-Americans Aaron Plas and Ashley Selig were honored with the University of Nebraska’s Student-Athlete-of-the-Year awards at the annual Student-Athlete Recognition Banquet on April 24. Plas became the first NU men’s track and field athlete to be honored, while Selig added the fifth award for the women’s team. This year marked only the second time that athletes from the same sport have won in the same year, matching the honors won by gymnasts Ted Harris and Shelley Bartlett in 1997.

A native of McCook, Neb., Plas is scheduled to graduate in May of 2007 with a degree in business education and a minor in curriculum development. He currently carries a 3.631 cumulative grade-point average and is a two-time selection to the National Track Coaches Association All-Academic team and a two-time first-team academic All-Big 12 selection.

Selig is a nutrition, health and exercise science major, who carries a 3.63 cumulative grade-point average. A native of Lincoln, Selig will graduate in May. She is a two-time member of the National Track Coaches Association All-Academic team and has twice been named first-team academic All-Big 12.

Jonas Honored By Big 12 Conference
Dusty Jonas became the third Husker, and first men’s athlete, to be honored as Big 12 Conference Track and Field Athlete of the Week on April 26, bringing NU’s 2006 indoor-outdoor award total to six.

Jonas continued his phenomenal sophomore campaign with a victory in the Invitational section of the men’s high jump at the Kansas Relays. The La Vernia, Texas, native became the first Husker to win a Kansas Relays men’s high jump title since Steve Krebs in 1968 after recording a winning leap of 7-5 ? on his final attempt at the height. The jump marked the third consecutive meet with a personal best for Jonas, who entered the outdoor season with a career best of 7-4 ?. He moved from fourth place on NU’s all-time outdoor high jump chart into a tie for second with fellow Texan Shaun Kologinczak (2003).

Becky Breisch claimed her fifth career conference honor on April 4 after a spectacular outing at the Stanford Invitational featuring a pair of wins in the shot put and discus events. The Husker senior took a dominant national lead in the discus with her throw of 201-7, which she has since increased to 205-2. She also won the shot put with a mark of 55-8 1/2. Her current season-best put of 60-6 3/4, which set a career best at the Nebraska Invitational, ranks second nationally.\

Sara Jane Baker was honored by the Big 12 for the first time in her career on March 28 after recording a career-best score of 5,485 for the heptathlon at the Jim Click Combined Events. She currently leads the Big 12 with the performance, while ranking seventh in the NCAA.

The Husker trio joins Egle Uljas (twice) and Dmitrijs Milkevics, who earned awards during the indoor season.

Nebraska’s Big 12 Event Rankings
Women
Name - Event (Big 12 Rank) - Mark
Sheryl Morgan - 400m (6th) - 53.60
Ari Goldstein - 3,000m (6th) - 10:07.61
Kayte Tranel - 10,000m (3rd) - 34:10.94
Priscilla Lopes - 100m Hurdles (1st) - 12.98
Nebraska - 4x100m Relay (8th) - 46.03
Nebraska - 4x400m Relay (7th) - 3:46.01
Sara Jane Baker - High Jump (8th) - 5-8 1/2
Jenny Green - Pole Vault (2nd) - 13-3 1/2
Jenna Blubaugh - Pole Vault (3rd) - 13-1 1/2
Jessie Graff - Pole Vault (t-6th) - 12-5 1/2
Becky Breisch - Shot Put (1st) - 60-6 3/4
Jeni Steiner - Shot Put (6th) - 49-9 3/4
Becky Breisch - Discus (1st) - 205-2
Dace Ruskule - Discus (2nd) - 191-11
Jamie Senkbile - Hammer Throw (4th) - 186-8
Tamara Solari - Hammer Throw (7th) - 177-11
Kayla Wilkinson - Javelin (1st) - 181-2
Sara Jane Baker - Heptathlon (1st) - 5,485
Kim Shubert - Heptathlon (6th) - 4,723

Men
Name - Event (Big 12 Rank) - Mark
Oliver Williams Jr. - 100m Dash (t-8th) - 10.49w
Nate Probasco - 200m Dash (t-3rd) - 20.88
Courtney Jones - 110m Hurdles (6th) - 13.85
Gatis Spunde - 400m Hurdles (6th) - 51.54
Mark Harrison - 400m Hurdles (7th) - 51.56
Nebraska - 4x100m Relay (2nd) - 39.70
Nebraska - 4x400m Relay (4th) - 3:07.37
Dusty Jonas - High Jump (1st) - 7-5 3/4
Aaron Plas - High Jump (5th) - 7-1 3/4
Ray Scotten - Pole Vault (1st) - 18-0 1/2
Arturs Abolins - Long Jump (3rd) - 25-5 1/4
Daniel Roper - Triple Jump (3rd) - 50-9 1/4
Keith Lloyd - Hammer Throw (6th) - 195-9 1/4

Southern Breaks Own World Record
Patrick Southern recorded a pair of milestones at the Nebraska Invitational. Along with earning the first bid of his career to next month’s NCAA Midwest Regional Championships, he also set a new world record for the second time in as many years.

The fifth-year senior cleared 16-7 1/4 in the men’s pole vault to break his own world record for a deaf athlete. Southern became the first deaf athlete to surpass the 16-foot barrier last spring at the Emporia State Relays with a fifth-place vault of 16-0 3/4. What was most impressive about his recent performance was that the event featured a nearly two-hour delay in the middle of competition due to a thunderstorm.

Wilkinson Sets School Record
Kayla Wilkinson finally got her record. The Husker junior notched a throw of 181-2 on her first attempt in the women’s javelin at the Nebraska Invitational to break the school record by two inches.

The junior had been eyeing the former Nebraska women’s standard of 181-0 set by Cassi Morelock in 2000 since the middle of 2005, when she set a major personal best to climb within five feet of the mark. Wilkinson said that while she hoped to eventually reach the record, she did not expect to break it so early, especially while throwing into a stiff wind at Ed Weir Stadium. The reigning Big 12 champ also said she now owns a new goal of reaching 185-0 during this season.

Men’s 4x100 on the Right Track
Last year’s Husker men’s 4x100-meter relay team set a school record on its way to repeating as Big 12 champion for the first time in school history. The squad appears to be on its way to landing a third title in three years despite replacing former anchor Dusty Stamer.

With three of the four members from last season’s lineup returning, the team is off to a fast start with Daniel Roper serving as the fresh anchor leg. Arturs Abolins, Oliver Williams Jr., Nate Probasco and Roper combined for a winning time of 39.70 at the Nebraska Invitational one week after clocking 40.06 at the Texas Relays. The new mark ranks second in the conference and ninth nationally this season.

The squad also appears to be on a record-breaking pace. Last year’s team ran only 40.16 in its second meet of the year, and it failed to break 39.7 until the Big 12 Championships in mid-May (its sixth meet).

Seven Vaulters Qualify for Regionals
While Nebraska has historically proven to be a well-rounded track and field program, this season the pole vault has been NU’s deepest event. The group alone accounts for nearly one-fourth of the Huskers’ NCAA regional roster makeup this season with seven vaulters on the list.

Patrick Southern became the fourth men’s qualifier in the pole vault at the Nebraska Invitational to signify the group as NU’s deepest event area. Likewise, Jessie Graff gave the Husker women their third qualifier in the vault to match the women’s discus throwers, who also added Amber Curtis to their list of qualifiers at the meet, for the women’s team lead.

NCAA Midwest Region Event Rankings
(Athletes must finish fifth or higher at NCAA Midwest Regional to qualify for NCAA Outdoor Championships.)
Women
Name - Event (Regional Rank) - Mark
*Sara Jane Baker - Heptathlon (2nd) - 5,485
Jenna Blubaugh - Pole Vault (4th) - 13-1 1/2
Becky Breisch - Shot Put (1st) - 60-6 3/4
Becky Breisch - Discus (1st) - 205-2
Amber Curtis - Discus (19th) - 159-0
Jessie Graff - Pole Vault (t11th) - 12-5 1/2
Jenny Green - Pole Vault (t2nd) - 13-3 1/2
Priscilla Lopes - 100m Hurdles (1st) - 12.98
Sheryl Morgan - 400 Meters (11th) - 53.60
Dace Ruskule - Discus (2nd) - 191-11
Jamie Senkbile - Hammer Throw (10th) - 186-8
Tamara Solari - Hammer Throw (18th) - 177-11
Jeni Steiner - Shot Put (9th) - 49-9 3/4
*Kayte Tranel - 10,000 Meters (4th) - 34:10.94
Kayla Wilkinson - Javelin (2nd) - 181-2

Men
Arturs Abolins - Long Jump (3rd) - 25-5 1/4
Gable Baldwin - Pole Vault (16th) - 16-8 3/4
Mark Harrison - 400m Hurdles (8th) - 51.56
Dusty Jonas - High Jump (1st) - 7-5 3/4
Courtney Jones - 110m Hurdles (6th) - 13.85
Keith Lloyd - Shot Put (15th) - 57-9
Keith Lloyd - Hammer Throw (6th) - 195-9
Nic Petersen - Pole Vault (t18th) - 16-6 3/4
Aaron Plas - High Jump (6th) - 7-1 3/4
Nate Probasco - 200 Meters (t9th) - 20.88
Daniel Roper - Triple Jump (6th) - 50-9 1/4
Ray Scotten - Pole Vault (1st) - 18-0 1/2
Patrick Southern - Pole Vault (17th) - 16-7 1/4
Gatis Spunde - 400m Hurdles (7th) - 51.54
Oliver Williams Jr. - 100 Meters (t15th) - 10.49w
Nebraska - 4x100m Relay (4th) - 39.70
Nebraska - 4x400m Relay (11th) - 3:07.37
* - Heptathlon and 10,000-meter events utilize NCAA provisional and automatic qualification standards.

NU Ranks 4th/18th in Trackwire 25
The Nebraska women’s team ranking stayed steady in the Trackwire 25 rankings this week, while the men’s squad suffered its first drop in the rankings this season.

The Husker women remained in fourth place, as USC fell into a tie with NU. Nebraska’s team total of 44 points stayed the same, only 17 points behind No. 1 Texas (61). Miami (50) and Georgia (48) also rank ahead of the Huskers.

The women’s team is bidding for its highest NCAA outdoor finish this season. While it owns three indoor national titles, the squad has never finished higher than third place at the national outdoor meet. The last time the Huskers finished third, which has happened six times, was in 2004, when they fell only nine team points shy of champion UCLA.

The Husker men fell five spots into 18th place by dropping two points in the projections (17). They started the season at No. 17. Florida State ranks as the early NCAA favorite with 60 points, while Big 12 foes Texas (fifth), Texas A&M (13th) and Texas Tech (tie-14th) also rank ahead of NU.

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.

Two Huskers are picked this week as favorites to win individual national titles?Becky Breisch (women’s discus) and Arturs Abolins (men’s long jump).
Husker athletes among this week’s "Dandy Dozen":
Women
Becky Breisch, Discus?1st
Shot Put?2nd
Priscilla Lopes, 100m Hurdles?2nd
Dace Ruskule, Discus?2nd
Ashley Selig, Heptathlon?3rd
Kayla Wilkinson, Javelin?5th

Men
Arturs Abolins, Long Jump?1st
Dusty Jonas, High Jump?3rd
Ray Scotten, Pole Vault?8th
4x100-Meter Relay?12th
Aaron Plas, High Jump?11th

Coaches Rate Huskers 3rd/15th
In conjunction with the launch of its new web site, the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association has begun organizing a Division I USTFCCCA Poll. Nebraska is one of nine programs to have both men’s and women’s squads included in the poll this week.

The Husker women are ranked fourth after spending two straight weeks at No. 3 behind No. 1 Texas and No. 2 USC. In addition to NU and the Longhorns, fellow Big 12 Conference squad Texas A&M (17th) also appears in this week’s rankings.

The NU men rank 15th for the second consecutive week. The coaches rate Florida State as this year’s NCAA outdoor favorite. The men’s poll is more heavily represented by conference schools than the women’s, as six of the top-20 squads are from the Big 12. Texas (fifth), Texas Tech (13th), Texas A&M (17th), Baylor (18th) and Kansas (20th) are all included this week.

Added Outdoor Events Provide Boost
Both the NU men’s and women’s teams will receive a boost from additional events held during the outdoor season. The Husker women will greatly benefit from the added throwing disciplines, chiefly the discus and javelin, while the men return NCAA qualifiers in the 400-meter hurdles and 4x100-meter relay.

The discus will be one of the women’s squad’s deepest events, as 2004 NCAA champion Becky Breisch, who also won the USATF title last summer, returns after redshirting during the 2005 outdoor campaign. Breisch should be considered the overwhelming favorite to claim her second NCAA title, as her career best would have won last year’s national meet by more than 13 feet.

Another Husker talent in the discus is Dace Ruskule, a 2004 Olympian who won the Big 12 title last spring. While Ruskule struggled at the 2005 NCAA outdoor meet, she ranked among the nation’s top five athletes for the entire season. Amber Curtis, who qualified for the NCAA Midwest Regional as a freshman last year, also returns.

Kayla Wilkinson opens her junior season in the javelin already as one of Nebraska’s best in the event. After winning her first Big 12 title as a sophomore in 2005, Wilkinson, the current school record holder, looks to take the next step to All-American status this season.

On the men’s side, Mark Harrison returns after sitting out the indoor season due to exhausted eligibility. Harrison made huge gains in the 400-meter hurdles near the end of the 2005 outdoor campaign and finished 17th in the prelims at the NCAA Championships. He should also give NU another talented pair of legs in the 4x400-meter relay. Others who will compete in the intermediate hurdles include Andrew Pearson, Andy Nelson and Gatis Spunde.

Three members of Nebraska’s 4x100-meter relay returns for the second straight season with hopes of another Big 12 championship. Last season’s team of Arturs Abolins, Oliver Williams Jr., Nate Probasco and Dusty Stamer broke the school record with a time of 39.19 at the NCAA Midwest Regional after claiming a second straight conference title. With only Stamer to replace this year, the Huskers once again hold the potential to be dangerous in the event.