Huskers Begin Busy Relays Schedule

The Nebraska men’s and women’s track and field teams begin an April schedule packed with relay meets this weekend when they travel to Austin, Texas, for the Texas Relays and to Emporia, Kan., for the Emporia State Relays. Groups of 26 and 35 Huskers will participate in the respective meets.

Texas Relays Meet Information
One of the nation’s top annual collections of talent, the four-day Texas Relays will be held April 5-8 at Mike A. Meyers Track and Field Stadium in Austin. The field includes more than 1,600 entries in the University/College and Invitational sections. Teams from nearly all of the nation’s top conferences will be in attendance this weekend. NU will send 26 of its top athletes to compete for honors.

Competing among the field will be several Huskers in their first outdoor meets of the season, including the Nebraska pole vaulters and sprinters, hurdler Mark Harrison and jumpers Dusty Jonas, Daniel Roper and Ashlee Dickinson.

Live results will be available throughout the weekend by visiting the following web site: Live Results. A complete list of NU’s entries is available on page 2 of this week’s Husker track & field notes.

ESU Relays Meet Information
A larger group of Huskers will compete on Saturday at the Emporia State Relays. Twenty-one of the 35 athletes are scheduled to open their outdoor seasons against competitors from squads including Emporia State, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri-Kansas City, Tulsa and Wichita State. Several of the region’s top junior colleges will also provide NU with a variety of tough competition. Field events begin the day at 10 a.m., with action on the track starting at 11:15 a.m.

A complete list of NU’s entries for the ESU Relays is available on page 3 of this week’s Husker track & field notes.

Nebraska NCAA Outdoor Qualifiers
Women
NCAA Championships Provisional Qualifiers
Name                        Event (NCAA rank)  Mark
Sara Jane Baker       Heptathlon (2nd) 5,485w

NCAA Midwest Regional Qualifiers
Name (NCAA rank)    Event                      Mark
Becky Breisch           Shot Put (2nd)   55-8 1/2
                                 Discus (1st)            201-7
Dace Ruskule            Discus (2nd)           185-2
Kayla Wilinson           Javelin (1st)           180-6

Men
NCAA Midwest Regional Qualifiers
Name                     Event (NCAA rank)     Mark
Courtney Jones      110m Hurdles (9th)   13.85
Aaron Plas              High Jump (t9th)  6-10 3/4
Gatis Spunde          400m Hurdles (19th) 52.18

Husker Throwers Have Big Weekend
Among the group of 24 individuals who opened their outdoor seasons at the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif., last weekend, three Husker women’s throwers helped make a successful trip.

Becky Breisch and Kayla Wilkinson each recorded performances ranking among the best in the nation while beginning their outdoor campaigns in style with wins. Breisch took over the national lead in the discus with a winning spin of 201-7, while she registered the No. 2 mark in the NCAA this season for the shot put with a toss of 57-10 1/2.

Wilkinson claimed victory in the women’s javelin with a throw of 180-6, which marked a new career best for the Deshler, Neb., native, while falling only six inches short of the Husker school record.

Dace Ruskule claimed the No. 3 national mark in the discus with a throw of 185-2 to finish runner-up to Breisch.

Breisch Wins Weekly Big 12 Award
With only two weekends of outdoor competition behind it, the Nebraska women’s team already has notched a pair of Big 12 Female Track and Field Athlete of the Week awards.

Becky Breisch claimed her fifth career conference honor this week 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 is more than 15 feet further than second-place Rachel Varner (186-3) of Arizona. Her winning shot put toss of 55-8 1/2 placed her second on the NCAA performance list this week.

Sara Jane Baker was honored by the Big 12 for the first time in her career last week after recording the No. 2 NCAA score of 5,485 for the heptathlon at the Jim Click Combined Events.

Breisch and Baker join Egle Uljas (twice) and Dmitrijs Milkevics, who each earned accolades indoors.

Husker Big 12 Event Rankings
Women
Name                       Event (Big 12 Rank)                 Mark
Elizabeth Lange       800m (7th)                               2:10.31
Kayte Tranel            10,000m (3rd)                          35:23.18
Sara Jane Baker      High Jump (4th)                       5-8 1/2
Kim Shubert             High Jump (5th)                       5-7 1/4
Becky Breisch          Shot Put (1st)                           55-8 1/2
                                Discus (1st)                              201-7
Dace Ruskule           Discus (2nd)                             185-2
Tamara Solari          Hammer Throw (4th)               172-2
Jamie Senkbile         Hammer Throw (6th)               167-2
Kayla Wilkinson        Javelin (1st)                              180-6
Sara Jane Baker      Javelin (5th)                             133-0
                                Heptathlon (1st)                       5,485
Kim Shubert             Heptathlon (4th)                       4,723
Men
Name                       Event (Rank)                            Mark
Courtney Jones       110m Hurdles (3rd)                  13.85
Gatis Spunde           400m Hurdles (5th)                  52.18
Andy Nelson            400m Hurdles (8th)                  43.17
Aaron Plas               High Jump (t-3rd)                     6-10 3/4
Keith Lloyd               Hammer Throw (7th)               182-1
Tom Donlin              Hammer Throw (8th)               178-8
Lee Martin               Decathlon (4th)                        6,528
Skyler Reising          Decathlon (5th)                        6,293
Patrick Burke           Decathlon (7th)                        6,256

NU Women Open Outdoor Season Tied for Second in Trackwire 25
The Nebraska women have been picked to claim their highest NCAA outdoor finish in the first outdoor edition of the Trackwire 25 released Tuesday. The rankings project the Huskers to tie for second place with USC by collecting 47 points at the June NCAA Championships. Big 12 Conference rival Texas leads the rankings with a projected score of 62.

While NU owns three indoor NCAA 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 open the outdoor season tied for 17th with USC, South Carolina and Virginia Tech with a projected point total of 14. Florida State has been dubbed the early NCAA favorite with 66 points.

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.

Three Huskers are picked this week as favorites to win individual national titles?Becky Breisch (women’s discus), Kayla Wilkinson (women’s javelin) and Arturs Abolins (men’s long jump).
Husker athletes among this week’s "Dandy Dozen":
Women
Becky Breisch, Discus?1st
                     Shot Put?4th
Kayla Wilkinson, Javelin?1st
Priscilla Lopes, 100m Hurdles?2nd
Dace Ruskule, Discus?2nd
Ashley Selig, Heptathlon?3rd
Jenny Green, Pole Vault?10th
Men
Courtney Jones, 110m Hurdles?9th
4x100m Relay?11th
Dusty Jonas, High Jump?5th
Aaron Plas, High Jump?10th
Ray Scotten, Pole Vault?11th
Arturs Abolins, Long Jump?1st

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 on the track 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 as one of Nebraska’s best in the event. After notching the school’s No. 2 all-time performance and winning her first Big 12 title as a sophomore in 2005, Wilkinson 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. Other Huskers who will compete in the intermediate hurdles include Andrew Pearson, Andy Nelson and Gatis Spunde.

Three members of Nebraska’s 4x100-meter relay return for the second straight season with hopes of another Big 12 title. 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. Daniel Roper opens the season as NU’s new anchor leg.

Eight Huskers Named All-Americans
Eight members of the Nebraska men’s and women’s track and field teams officially were named NCAA Indoor All-Americans by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association on March 22. Each athlete competed at the NCAA Indoor Championships in early March.

Arturs Abolins, who won his first NCAA title in the men’s long jump, and Sara Jane Baker, who tied for 11th place in the women’s high jump, were the only Huskers to be honored for the first time in their careers. Becky Breisch, the fourth-place finisher in the women’s shot put, claimed the ninth honor of her career, while Priscilla Lopes won her seventh award after finishing second in the women’s 60-meter hurdles.

Other Husker award winners included Ashley Selig (fifth career honor), who earned fifth place in the women’s pentathlon; Dusty Jonas (third career honor) and Aaron Plas (third career honor), the fifth- and seventh-place finishers in the men’s high jump; and Ray Scotten (fourth career honor), who finished 11th in the men’s pole vault.

In Division I track and field, the top eight finishers in each event at the NCAA Indoor Championships, including relays, earn All-America status. In the individual (non-relay) events, if one or more of the top eight finishers are of another nationality, eight American-born athletes are selected in addition to any foreign-born All-Americans.

Husker NCAA All-Americans
Women
Name                    Honors             Event(s)
Sara Jane Baker      One           High Jump
Becky Breisch         Six               Shot Put
                              Three                Discus
Jenny Green            Two             Pole Vault
Priscilla Lopes      Three      60m Hurdles
                                Two                     60m
                                Two      100m Hurdles
Ashley Selig          Three         Pentathlon 
                                Two           Heptathlon
Men
Name                    Honors             Event(s)
Arturs Abolins         One          Long Jump
Gable Baldwin          One             Pole Vault
Dusty Jonas           Three          High Jump
Aaron Nasers          One                   800m
Aaron Plas             Three          High Jump
Nate Probasco         One                   200m 
                                One               4x100m
Daniel Roper            One          Triple Jump
Ray Scotten             Four            Pole Vault
Oliver Williams Jr.     One               4x100m
*Former NCAA champions in bold.

Abolins Wins First NCAA Title
Arturs Abolins polished off one of the most successful indoor seasons in school history with his first national title in the long jump earlier this month.

The Riga, Latvia, native won the first NCAA long jump crown in Nebraska history at the NCAA Indoor Championships after breaking the school record with a leap of 26-7 1/4 on his final attempt to overtake Texas A&M’s Fabrice Lapierre for first place.

Prior to the attempt, Abolins trailed Lapierre by 3 3/4 inches with his mark of 26-0 3/4, which he recorded on his final attempt of three preliminary jumps. Abolins barely reached the finals of the event after jumping only 20-0 1/4 and fouling on his first two attempts.

The Husker had never broken the 26-foot mark in his career before the meet. His previous career best of 25-9 1/2 was recorded on the same Tyson track one month earlier at the Tyson Invitational. He jumped 25-8 1/4 in late February to earn his second career Big 12 indoor title. Abolins concluded a tremendous indoor season as he went undefeated against collegiate competitors.

Returning NU Big 12 Outdoor Champions
Women
Name                       Titles (Years)            Event(s)
Becky Breisch          Two (?03, ?04)          Shot Put
                                Two (?02, ?03)          Discus
Jenny Green            One (?04)                  Pole Vault
Priscilla Lopes        One (?05)                 100m Hurdles
Dace Ruskule          One (?05)                 Discus
Ashley Selig            One (?05)                 Heptathlon
Kayla Wilkinson      One (?05)                 Javelin
Men
Name                       Titles (Years)            Event(s)
Arturs Abolins         One (?05)                 4x100m
Gable Baldwin         One (?05)                 Pole Vault
Aaron Plas              One (?05)                 High Jump
Nate Probasco        Two (?04, ?05)         4x100m
Oliver Williams       Two (?04, ?05)         4x100m
Issar Yazhbin           One (?04)                  Hammer Throw
*Reigning Big 12 outdoor champions in bold.