NU Sends 32 to NCAA Midwest Regional

The championship portion of Nebraska’s 2006 track and field schedule continues this weekend, as 32 Huskers travel south to Austin, Texas, to compete at the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships, which will be held Friday and Saturday at the University of Texas’ Mike A. Meyers Stadium.

Competition begins both days with field events at 1 p.m. Action on the oval starts on Friday at 4 p.m., while Saturday’s running events commence at 5:30 p.m.

While half of the meet’s field events will be contested on Friday, the first day’s running events will consist primarily of preliminary heats. The lone track finals to be held on Friday are the men’s and women’s 5,000-meter run events. All Saturday running events will be finals.

Live results from the NCAA Midwest Regional will be available at www.ncaasports.com. A complete recap of Nebraska’s progress will be posted on www.Huskers.com following competition each evening.

About the NCAA Regional System
Now in its fourth year of existence, the regional format is the system utilized by the NCAA to determine entries for June’s NCAA Outdoor Championships. Four regional meets will be held at different sites this weekend: East?Greensboro, N.C.; Mideast?Knoxville, Tenn.; Midwest?Austin, Texas; and West?Provo, Utah.

All individuals finishing in the top five in an event, as well as all relays among the meet’s top three finishers, automatically qualify for the NCAA outdoor meet. At-large entries also will be selected depending on the quality of their top 2006 performances.

All events at the national meet, with the exceptions of the heptathlon, decathlon and 10,000-meter races, are determined using the regional system. The four exclusions utilize the same provisional and automatic selection process used during the indoor season.

NU at the NCAA Midwest Region Championships
Women
Year - Site - NU Finish (Points) - Champion (Points) - NU Individual Titles
2005 - Norman, Okla. - Second (65.5) - Texas (75) - Three
2004 - College Station, Texas - Second (105) - Texas (110) - Three
2003 - Lincoln, Neb. - First (103) - Nebraska (103) - Five

Men
Year - Site - NU Finish (Points) - Champion (Points) - NU Individual Titles
2005 - Norman, Okla. - First (92.5) - Nebraska (92.5) - Two
2004 - College Station, Texas - First (86.25) - Nebraska (86.25) - Two
2003 - Lincoln, Neb. - Tie-Third (56) - Minnesota (65) - Two

Husker Midwest Regional Tidbits

• NU’s three Midwest Regional team titles are more than any other program. Texas ranks second with two.
• The Huskers have won the last two men’s regional titles, while the NU women also won in 2003.
• Nebraska set the men’s team scoring record (92.5) during its repeat victory last season.
• Seventeen Huskers have earned individual regional wins during the three-year history of the regional system.
• A team-record five NU women earned individual event titles in 2005.
• Becky Breisch owns a Nebraska-record three individual regional victories, including the discus (two) and shot put (one).

Four Huskers Lead Regional Rankings
Nebraska owns four athletes tagged with the "favorite" moniker for five events entering this weekend’s regional meet, including two men and two women.

Becky Breisch is one of only two regional athletes, along with Texas’ Marshevet Hooker, leading the midwest region in two events, as she has claimed top marks this year of 60-6 3/4 in the shot put and 205-2 in the discus. Priscilla Lopes not only has recorded the region’s No. 1 time in the 100-meter hurdles, but also the best performance in the world so far this year.

Mark Harrison provided NU with another top regional mark last weekend at the Big 12 Championships with his personal-best 50.46 clocking in the men’s 400-meter hurdles, while Ray Scotten’s top pole vault clearance of 18-0 1/2 has lasted nearly the entire outdoor season at the top of the men’s midwest region ratings.

NCAA Midwest Region Rankings
Athletes must finish fifth or higher, and relays third or higher. at regionals to qualify for NCAA Outdoor Championships.

Women
*Sara Jane Baker - Heptathlon (2nd) - 5,485
Jenna Blubaugh - Pole Vault (2nd) - 13-7 1/4
Becky Breisch - Shot Put (1st) - 60-6 3/4; Discus (1st) - 205-2
Amber Curtis - Discus (21st) - 159-0
Jessie Graff - Pole Vault (t8th) - 12-11 1/2
Jenny Green - Pole Vault (6th) - 13-3 1/2
Elizabeth Lange - 800 Meters (14th) - 2:09.11
Priscilla Lopes - 100m Hurdles (1st) - 12.63; 100 Meters (7th) - 11.51
Sheryl Morgan - 400 Meters (12th) - 53.60
Justine Roach - 400m Hurdles (13th) - 1:00.73
Dace Ruskule - Discus (2nd) - 191-11
Jamie Senkbile - Hammer Throw (12th) - 186-8
Tamara Solari - Hammer Throw (22nd) - 177-11
Jeni Steiner - Shot Put (11th) - 49-9 3/4; Discus (24th) - 157-3
Zarinah Suluki - Long Jump (t19th) - 19-8 1/4
*Kayte Tranel - 10,000 Meters (4th) - 34:10.94
Kayla Wilkinson - Javelin (2nd) - 181-2

Men
Arturs Abolins - Long Jump (5th) - 25-11
Gable Baldwin - Pole Vault (t11th) - 17-0 3/4
Demea Carter - Long Jump (15th) - 24-7 3/4
Mark Harrison - 400m Hurdles (1st) - 50.46
Dusty Jonas - High Jump (2nd) - 7-5 3/4
Courtney Jones - 110m Hurdles (6th) - 13.85
Keith Lloyd - Shot Put (10th) - 59-7 3/4; Hammer Throw (3rd) - 200-9
*Lee Martin - Decathlon (9th) - 7,109
Andy Nelson - 400m Hurdles (18th) - 52.49
Andrew Pearson - 400m Hurdles (t19th) - 52.14
Nic Petersen - Pole Vault (t18th) - 16-6 3/4
Aaron Plas - High Jump (5th) - 7-2 1/2
Nate Probasco - 200 Meters (10th) - 20.88
Daniel Roper - Triple Jump (4th) - 52-0 1/2
*Ben Schutter - Decathlon (10th) - 7,081
Ray Scotten - Pole Vault (1st) - 18-0 1/2
Patrick Southern - Pole Vault (18th) - 16-7 1/4
Gatis Spunde - 400m Hurdles (7th) - 51.54
LeRon Williams - Long Jump (t20th) - 24-3 1/2
Oliver Williams Jr. - 100 Meters (t16th) - 10.49w
Relays - 4x100m Relay (6th) - 39.70; 4x400m Relay (7th) - 3:07.37
* - Heptathlon, decathlon and 10,000-meter events utilize NCAA provisional and automatic qualification standards.

Three Deep Event Groups Lead Husker Qualifiers
While Nebraska has historically proven to be a well-rounded track and field program, this season eight regional events feature multiple Husker qualifiers. Three event groups lead NU in number of qualifiers with four each?the women’s shot put, men’s 400-meter hurdles and men’s pole vault.

The pole vault, which has been far and away NU’s deepest event in 2006, has seven individual qualifiers with three Husker women’s athletes included. The collection of talent alone accounts for more than 20 percent of the Huskers’ NCAA regional roster makeup this season. In comparison to other NCAA squads, only BYU (nine) owns more pole vault regional qualifiers than NU.

Nebraska added its fourth regional qualifiers in both the men’s 400-meter hurdles and women’s discus at the Big 12 outdoor meet. Andrew Pearson became the fourth member of NU’s hurdles group to become eligible, while Jeni Steiner added a qualification in the discus to go along with her previous mark in the shot put.

The NU men’s long jumpers also are a formidable group with three regional qualifiers.

Last year’s deepest event groupings were the 110-meter hurdles for the men (four qualifiers), while there was a three-way tie on the women’s squad between the discus, 800 meters and 400-meter hurdles with three qualifiers each.

Seven Huskers Win Big 12 Event Crowns
Sara Jane Baker and Mark Harrison led a group of seven NU conference outdoor event champions May 12-14 at the Big 12 Outdoor Championships in Waco, Texas. It was the first career conference crowns for each Huskers

Baker, competing in her eighth consecutive Big 12 combined events challenge, finally broke through in the women’s heptathlon with a personal-best, winning score of 5,496, while Harrison also claimed his first Big 12 title in the men’s 400-meter hurdles with a personal-best time of 50.46.

Other NU event champions included: Becky Breisch, who won the women’s discus to tie former Husker great Paulette Mitchell’s school record for total conference throws titles (nine); Priscilla Lopes (100-meter hurdles) and Kayla Wilkinson (javelin), who each successfully defended their 2005 Big 12 women’s outdoor championships; Daniel Roper, who became only the second Husker men’s athlete to claim three triple jump titles; Nate Probasco, who earned his fourth overall conference title and second in the men’s 200-meter dash.

Lopes on Top of the World
Priscilla Lopes’ victory in the women’s 100-meter hurdles at the Big 12 outdoor meet in a time of 12.63 not only broke her own school record, it also qualified as the world’s No. 1 performance for the event this year.

The mark, which fell only 0.02 seconds shy of the collegiate record (12.61) held by the great Gail Devers (UCLA), is 0.01 seconds quicker than the world’s No. 2 time, currently held by USC’s Virginia Powell, who also clocked her time of 12.64 on the same day as Lopes.

The two hurdlers have finished 1-2 in each of the last three NCAA hurdles competitions, and an even larger battle may loom in two weeks. If the times stand up the NCAA could feature the world’s two fastest women’s hurdlers.

Breisch Reaches Milestones
Becky Breisch further cemented her own name among the Big 12’s track and field elite with another conference title on May 14.

Breisch tied former Husker Paulette Mitchell for the all-time record for individual conference titles among Nebraska women’s throwers with Breisch’s victory in the Big 12 discus competition, her ninth career conference win. The senior All-American also became the first NU women’s three-time conference champion in multiple throwing events, as she already owned three Big 12 indoor shot put titles.

Breisch also became the first female in the conference’s 10-year history with three career discus titles.

Husker Big 12 Outdoor Title Notes

• Mark Harrison (400-meter hurdles), Daniel Roper (triple jump) and Nate Probasco (200 meters) became the first Husker men’s athletes to earn outdoor titles in their respective events in the Big 12 era.
• Kayla Wilkinson became the second repeat javelin winner in Big 12 history, joining Texas A&M’s Katy Doyle (2003-04).
• Daniel Roper tied former Husker Robert Thomas for the school record with three conference triple jump crowns.

Nebraska’s Big 12 Outdoor Champions
Women
Name Titles - (Years) - Event(s)
Sara Jane Baker - One (?06) - Heptathlon
Becky Breisch - Three (?02, ?03, ?06) - Discus; Two (?03, ?04) - Shot Put
Jenny Green - One (?04) - Pole Vault
Priscilla Lopes - Two (?05, ?06) - 100m Hurdles
Dace Ruskule - One (?05) - Discus
Ashley Selig - One (?05) - Heptathlon
Kayla Wilkinson - Two (?05, ?06) - Javelin

Men
Arturs Abolins - One (?05) - 4x100m
Gable Baldwin - One (?05) - Pole Vault
Mark Harrison - One (?06) - 400m Hurdles
Aaron Plas - One (?05) - High Jump
Nate Probasco - One (?06) 200m; Two (?04, ?05) - 4x100m
Daniel Roper - One (?06) - Triple Jump
Oliver Williams Jr. - Two (?04, ?05) - 4x100m
Issar Yazhbin - One (?04) - Hammer Throw

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 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 graduated 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.

Huskers Honored By Big 12
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 nationally.

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

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.

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 automatic 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.

Selig to Redshirt Outdoor Season
Five-time NCAA All-American Ashley Selig has chosen to redshirt during the 2006 outdoor season because of back and hip pain. The senior Husker multi-eventer, who won the 2005 NCAA indoor pentathlon championship, has dealt with sporadic pain since fall training. Although she pushed through the indoor season, she has decided to save her final season of eligibilty in hopes of returning at 100 percent next year.

While she received her bachelor’s degree in exercise science earlier in May, the three-time Big 12 champion looks forward to returning healthy during the 2007 outdoor season and concluding her accomplished career.

Husker Men Drop in Trackwire 25
The Nebraska women’s team ranking stayed steady in the Trackwire 25 rankings this week, while the men’s squad fell four spots to a season-low ranking.

The Husker women remained in fourth place, as Georgia fell out of a tie with NU into fifth place. Nebraska’s team total of 41 points trails No. 1-ranked Texas, No. 2 Auburn and No. 3 USC. The Trojans’ total is only five points more than NU’s projected score.

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 lost four more spots and are tied with Boise State for 22nd only three weeks after earning their highest placing (15th) of the season. They started the season at No. 17. Florida State ranks as the NCAA favorite with 63 points, while fellow Big 12 progams Texas (fourth), Kansas (15th), Baylor (17th), Colorado (tie-20th), Kansas State (tie-20th) and Texas A&M (tie-25th) also appear in the rankings.

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.

Becky Breisch (discus) is the lone Husker picked this week as a favorite to win an individual national title.

Husker athletes among this week’s "Dandy Dozen":
Women
Becky Breisch, Discus?1st; Shot Put?3rd
Priscilla Lopes, 100m Hurdles?2nd
Dace Ruskule, Discus?2nd
Kayla Wilkinson, Javelin?4th
Sara Jane Baker, Heptathlon?5th

Men
Arturs Abolins, Long Jump?2nd
Dusty Jonas, High Jump?5th
Aaron Plas, High Jump?9th
Daniel Roper, Triple Jump?9th
Mark Harrison, 400m Hurdles?11th
Nate Probasco, 200m Dash?12th

Nebraska’s 2006 NCAA Qualifiers
Women

NCAA Championships Provisional Qualifiers
Name - Event (NCAA rank) - Mark
Sara Jane Baker - Heptathlon (7th) - 5,486
Kayte Tranel - 10,000m (29th) - 34:10.94

NCAA Midwest Regional Qualifiers
Name - Event (NCAA rank) - Mark
Jenna Blubaugh - Pole Vault (t9th) - 13-7 1/4
Becky Breisch - Shot Put (2nd) - 60-6 3/4; Discus (1st) - 205-2
Amber Curtis - Discus (69th) - 159-0
Jessie Graff - Pole Vault (t37th) - 12-11 1/2
Jenny Green - Pole Vault (t24th) - 13-3 1/2
Elizabeth Lange - 800m (79th) - 2:09.11
Priscilla Lopes - 100m (36th) - 11.51; 100m Hurdles (1st) - 12.63
Sheryl Morgan - 400m (t51st) - 53.60
Justine Roach - 400m Hurdles (83rd) - 1:00.73
Dace Ruskule - Discus (3rd) - 191-11
Jamie Senkbile - Hammer (53rd) - 186-8
Tamara Solari - Hammer (93rd) - 177-11
Jeni Steiner - Shot Put (41st) - 49-9 3/4; Discus (81st) - 157-3
Zarinah Suluki - Long Jump (t102nd) - 19-8 1/4
Kayla Wilkinson - Javelin (3rd) - 181-2

Men
NCAA Championships Provisional Qualifiers
Name Event - (NCAA rank) - Mark
Lee Martin - Decathlon (28th) - 7,109w
Ben Schutter - Decathlon (30th) - 7,081

NCAA Midwest Regional Qualifiers
Name - Event (NCAA rank) - Mark
Arturs Abolins - Long Jump (6th) - 25-11
Gable Baldwin - Pole Vault (t28th) - 17-0 3/4
Demea Carter - Long Jump (53rd) - 24-7 3/4
Mark Harrison - 400m Hurdles (t12th) - 50.46
Dusty Jonas - High Jump (3rd) - 7-5 3/4
Courtney Jones - 110m Hurdles (23rd) - 13.85
Keith Lloyd - Shot Put (31st) - 59-7 3/4; Hammer (t38th) - 200-9
Andy Nelson - 400m Hurdles (103rd) - 52.49
Andrew Pearson - 400m Hurdles (70th) - 52.14
Nic Petersen - Pole Vault (t54th) - 16-6 3/4
Aaron Plas - High Jump (t8th) - 7-2 1/2
Nate Probasco - 200m (t28th) - 20.86
Daniel Roper - Triple Jump (t16th) - 52-0 1/2
Ray Scotten - Pole Vault (t4th) - 18-0 1/2
Patrick Southern - Pole Vault (t50th) - 16-7 1/4
Gatis Spunde - 400m Hurdles (37th) - 51.54
LeRon Williams - Long Jump (t78th) - 24-3 1/2
Oliver Williams Jr. - 100m (t74th) - 10.49w
Realays - 4x100m Relay (t15th) - 39.70; 4x400m Relay (31st) - 3:07.37