NU Closes Out Season at NCAA Outdoor Championships

The 2006 collegiate track and field season comes to a close this week, as 15 Nebraska men’s and women’s athletes travel to Sacramento, Calif., for the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

The national championship meet will be held Wednesday, June 7 through Saturday, June 10 at Sacramento State’s Hornet Stadium, home of two of the last three NCAA outdoor meets and the last two U.S. Olympic Trials.

The first two days of competition will consist primarily of preliminary and qualifying rounds, although the men’s decathlon and men’s and women’s long jump and 10,000-meter run events each will wrap up on Thursday. For a complete meet schedule and list of NU’s entries, see pages 2-3.

Live results from the NCAA Championships 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.

NCAAs to Air Live on CSTV, CBS
The 2006 season marks a special year for collegiate track and field, as this year's NCAA Outdoor Championships will feature live television coverage for the first time since 1982. It also marks only the second time that the women's portion of the national meet has been televised. This week's NCAA outdoor meet will feature 4 1/2 hours of live coverage aired on CBS and cable partner College Sports Television (CSTV).

CSTV plans to air two hours of Friday evening’s competition from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Central time, while CBS will pick up the majority of the track event finals on Saturday from 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. Central.

Huskers who may potentially appear during CSTV’s live coverage on Friday include Sara Jane Baker (heptathlon); Dusty Jonas and Aaron Plas (high jump); Priscilla Lopes (100-meter hurdles); and Mark Harrison (400-meter hurdles).

Jenna Blubaugh and Jenny Green (pole vault); Becky Breisch (shot put); Daniel Roper (triple jump); and Baker each compete during CBS’s live coverage on Saturday.

Nebraska’s 2006 NCAA Outdoor Championships Roster
Women
Name - Event (NCAA rank) - Mark
Sara Jane Baker - Heptathlon (7th) - 5,486
Jenna Blubaugh - Pole Vault (t12th) - 13-7 1/4
Becky Breisch - Shot Put (2nd) - 60-6 3/4
Jenny Green - Pole Vault (t23rd) - 13-3 3/4
Priscilla Lopes - 100m Hurdles (1st) - 12.63
Dace Ruskule - Discus (1st) - 193-9
Kayte Tranel - 10,000m (24th) - 34:10.94
Kayla Wilkinson - Javelin (3rd) - 181-2

Men
Name - Event (NCAA rank) - Mark
Arturs Abolins - Long Jump (6th) - 25-11
Gable Baldwin - Pole Vault (t10th) - 17-9
Mark Harrison - 400m Hurdles (15th) - 50.46
Dusty Jonas - High Jump (3rd) - 7-5 3/4
Aaron Plas - High Jump (7th) - 7-3 1/4
Daniel Roper - Triple Jump (t20th) - 52-0 1/2
Ray Scotten - Pole Vault (t6th) - 18-0 1/2

Husker NCAA Outdoor Facts
■ Nebraska is tied for 20th in this year’s NCAA field with 15 entries. UCLA leads with 26.
■ The Huskers’ four pole vault entries pace the field, while NU’s eight jumps athletes rank second only to UCLA’s 11.
■ Both NU men’s and women’s teams have finished among the NCAA’s top 25 teams for four straight outdoor seasons.
■ The Husker women have recorded four consecutive top-10 outdoor team finishes, one short of the school record set from 1980 through 1984.
■ At least one Husker has claimed an individual title at seven straight NCAA meets (indoor and outdoor).
■ Husker athletes have notched 16 of NU’s 71 individual national titles since 2002, or nearly 23 percent.
■ The NU men’s 38 NCAA All-Americans over the last 4 1/2 years represents a program record, surpassing the 35 honorees recorded from the start of the 1992 season through 1996 indoors.
■ Nebraska has had at least one All-American every season since 1975.
■ The NU men last went without an All-America award during the 1984 season.
■ The only campaign the women’s squad did not notch an All-American was during the 2002 indoor season.
■ Gary Pepin has been the head coach for 412 All-Americans during his 26-year career.
■ Pepin has helped guide at least one men’s and one women’s athlete to every NCAA indoor and outdoor meet during his tenure at Nebraska.

Nebraska at the NCAA Outdoor Championships
Women
Year - Site - NU Finish (Points) - Champion (Points) - NU All-Americans
2005 - Sacramento, Calif. - 8th (24) - Texas (55) - Three
2004 - Austin, Texas - 3rd (58) - UCLA (69) - Eight
2003 - Sacramento, Calif. - 5th (33) - LSU (64) - Six
2002 - Baton Rouge, La. - 9th (21) - South Carolina (82) - Four
2001 - Eugene, Ore. - Tie-54th (3 1/2) - USC (64) - One
2000 - Durham, N.C. - Tie-8th (26) - LSU (58) - Six
1999 - Boise, Idaho - Tie-14th (15) - Texas (62) - Five
1998 - Buffalo, N.Y. - 8th (26) - Texas (60) - Seven
1997 - Bloomington, Ind. - Tie-25th (10) - LSU (63) - Seven
1996 - Eugene, Ore. - 8th (29) - LSU (81) - Eleven

Men
Year - Site - NU Finish (Points) - Champ (Points) - NU All-Americans
2005 - Sacramento, Calif. - 18th (15) - Arkansas (60) - Four
2004 - Austin, Texas - Tie-13th (20) - Arkansas (65 1/2) - Four
2003 - Sacramento, Calif. - 5th (33) - Arkansas (59) - Six
2002 - Baton Rouge, La. - Tie-19th (14) - LSU (64) - Five
2001 - Eugene, Ore. - DNS - Tennessee (50) - None
2000 - Durham, N.C. - DNS - Stanford (72) - None
1999 - Boise, Idaho - Tie-58th (3) - Arkansas (59) - Two
1998 - Buffalo, N.Y. - 18th (12 1/2) - Arkansas (58 1/2) - Three
1997 - Bloomington, Ind. - 15th (16 1/2) - Arkansas (55) - Four
1996 - Eugene, Ore. - Tie-10th (19) - Arkansas (55) - Five

Nine Huskers Sit in Scoring Positions
Nebraska has nine athletes who enter the NCAA Championships sitting among the nation’s top eight competitors for their respective events.

Two Husker women, Priscilla Lopes and Dace Ruskule, will be considered event favorites after posting the top marks among this week’s field in the women’s 100-meter hurdles and discus, respectively. While Ruskule’s discus throw rates more than 11 feet shorter than nation-leading teammate Becky Breisch, Breisch was unable to qualify for the NCAA field. Lopes’ hurdles time is .02 off the mark of 12.61 ran by USC’s Virginia Powell last weekend, but the NCAA conversion of Powell’s mark due to high altitude makes her time equal to 12.65 at low altitude.

Several other Huskers have excellent chances to compete for NCAA titles, including Breisch, Dusty Jonas and Kayla Wilkinson. Breisch ranks second nationally in the shot put, while Jonas and Wilkinson own the nation’s No. 3 respective marks in the men’s high jump and women’s javelin.

NU athletes sitting in lower projected scoring positions are Arturs Abolins (No. 6) in the men’s long jump; Ray Scotten (tie-No. 6) in the men’s pole vault; Aaron Plas (tie-No. 6) in the men’s high jump; and Sara Jane Baker (No. 7) in the women’s heptathlon.

Husker Vaulters Lead NU to NCAAs
Nebraska’s NCAA roster will be geared heavily toward the jumps disciplines this week. Out of the 15 Husker qualifiers, eight athletes will compete in either the high jump, long jump, triple jump or pole vault events.

NU ranks second among all squads with its eight entries in the jumps events, behind only UCLA (11). The four Husker vaulters mark an event-high for NU, which will lead all squads this week in the area. BYU and UCLA rate second with three vaulters each. NU’s leading total also ranks second among team entries in all events, behind only LSU’s five 400-meter dash athletes. Also bringing at least two vaulters are: women - Washington; men - McNeese St., New Mexico, Oklahoma and UCLA.

Nebraska’s two men’s high jumpers are tied for first with Texas, BYU and Minnesota. The throws will also be a deep group this week for the Husker women. Only Arizona State, Texas A&M and USC (each with four) will have more than NU’s three entries in throwing events, while 11 additional schools also own three entries each.

Breisch Concludes Brilliant Career
Becky Breisch will see her final competition in a Husker uniform this week as she attempts to earn her second career national title in the women’s shot put. The two-time NCAA champion recently has set several milestones, and two more sit within reach this weekend.

A win in the shot would tie Tressa Thompson’s (1994-98) NU women’s record with three NCAA titles in throws events, while another top-eight finish would tie Paulette Mitchell’s (1993-96) Husker-record 10 NCAA All-America honors in the throws.

Breisch recently tied Mitchell for NU’s all-time record for individual conference throws titles with her 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, while becoming the first female in the Big 12’s 10-year history with three career discus titles.

Lopes Among World’s Elite
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 then-No. 1 performance for the year.

The clocking is now 0.02 seconds behind the mark put up by USC’s Virginia Powell, who equaled Gail Devers’ (UCLA) 1988 mark of 12.61 last weekend, although Powell ran her time at an altitude of approximately 4,500 feet. Using the NCAA altitude conversion chart, Powell’s time equates to 12.65 at low altitude. The mark still stands as the top time in the IAAF world rankings.

The two hurdlers have finished 1-2 in each of the last three NCAA hurdles competitions, and an even larger battle looms this week. The last time Lopes and Powell met, both athletes surpassed the 60-meter hurdles collegiate record at the NCAA indoor meet. Look for the outdoor hurdles mark to fall again during Friday’s event finals.

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.

The Deshler, Neb., native looks for redemption this week as she enters the NCAA meet with the nation’s No. 3 throw, after struggling during last year’s NCAA outdoor meet. She entered that competition ranked sixth, but finished only 14th in the qualifying round.

Tranel Ends 16-Year NU Drought
Kayte Tranel overcame cool (39 degrees) and windy conditions to earn her first career NCAA provisional qualification at the Oregon Invitational. The performance helped Tranel lay claim to Nebraska’s first women’s 10,000-meter NCAA bid since Sammie Gdowski earned All-America honors in 1990.

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 meters in Oregon. Tranel, who was only 15 seconds shy of earning an NCAA automatic bid, became the first NU woman to even reach the provisional standard in the event since 1997, 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.

Abolins Looks to Defend Title
Arturs Abolins will enter uncharted territory this week as far as Husker men’s athletes are concerned, with the task of defending his 2006 NCAA indoor championship in the long jump. The junior became the first member of the Nebraska men’s team ever to register a win in the event when he broke the indoor school record with a leap of 26-7 1/4 at the NCAA indoor meet in Fayetteville, Ark, back in March.

Abolins will also make an attempt at a rare feat only achieved by two other Huskers, as he tries to claim dual indoor-outdoor All-America finishes. Only former Huskers Chris Wright (1998) and Robert Thomas (1993-95-96) accomplished the long jump feat in their careers.

Baker Aims to Continue Success
Sara Jane Baker will have one final shot to earn her first All-America award in a combined events competition this week, and if recent success is any indication, she may be well on her way to the accomplishment.

The senior won her first Big 12 title two weeks ago in the heptathlon in Waco, Texas, with a personal-best score of 5,486. The mark ranks seventh among competitors in the NCAA meet field. Baker should not feel the pressure this week to become an All-American, though, as she already recorded her first national honor earlier during the indoor season in the high jump.

Ruskule Enters as Discus Favorite
Dace Ruskule emerged from the shadow of teammate Becky Breisch at the NCAA Midwest Regional with her first win in a women’s discus competition this season in which both Huskers participated. With Breisch unable to compete in the discus this weekend, Ruskule will pick up the title of event favorite for the NU women.

Ruskule enters this week with the meet’s top season throw of 193-9, which leads second-place Beth Mallory (Alabama) by nearly 1 1/2 feet. Ruskule will look to avenge last season’s rough first experience at the NCAA Championships, when she battled a wet discus ring to the tune of a 27th-place finish during the qualifying round.

Harrison Awaits Final Opportunity
Two weeks after a giant breakthrough in his final season as a Husker, Mark Harrison looks to complete his collegiate career in the hurdles on a high note.

Despite not competing during the indoor season due to exhausted eligibility, the Philadelphia, Pa., native returned to the outdoor track to become the first Husker to win a Big 12 title in the men’s 400-meter hurdles. He put up a solid personal-best time of 50.46, which ranks fourth all-time in school history, two weeks ago. Harrison now turns his attention to the NCAA meet, where he will aim for his first All-America honor in the intermediate hurdles, as well as NU’s first top-eight placing since 1992 (Mark Jackson).

Jonas, Plas Attempt to Extend Streak
Dusty Jonas and Aaron Plas are in the final section of an incredible run that has seen both Huskers gain top-eight placings in three straight NCAA appearances. The high jump pair will attempt to extend the streak to a final mark of four consecutive meets, as Plas will compete in his last meet as a Husker.

The NU men have never possessed a pair of athletes who earned All-America status in the same event during even three straight national meets. The closest comparison would be 1965-66, when Olympic gold-medal winner Charlie Green and teammate Lynn Headley each placed in the 60- (indoor) and 100-yard (outdoor) dash events both indoors and outdoors.

Roper’s Big 12 Success Unmatched
Daniel Roper’s junior season in the triple jump ranks as one of the finest in the history of the NU men’s program. He recently became the first-ever Husker male athlete to win both the indoor and outdoor conference triple jump championships in the same season. Roper also joined former Husker Robert Thomas as Nebraska’s only men’s three-time conference champions in the event after he won NU’s first-ever Big 12 men’s triple jump crown.

The last thing missing from Roper’s resume is a national title. With an NCAA victory, he would become only the second men’s athlete in school history to accomplish the feat, joining Lennox Burgher, who won the 1968 indoor and 1969 outdoor crowns. Burgher was only able to collect two conference triple jump wins during his distinguished career.

Three Huskers Win Regional Titles
Three Husker women notched individual titles May 26-27 at the NCAA Midwest Regional in Austin, Texas. Becky Breisch, Priscilla Lopes and Dace Ruskule helped boost the women’s squad to a fifth-place finish, while the Husker men’s team earned sixth place.

Lopes collected her third consecutive regional title in the women’s 100-meter hurdles. The Huskers’ seven-time All-American overcame a poor start out of the blocks to overtake Texas’ Melaine Walker (12.77) with a wind-aided time of 12.70. Despite the uncharacteristic start, Lopes still managed to clock her second-fastest time of the season.

Breisch recorded her fourth career regional victory with a winning mark of 59-2 3/4 in the women’s shot put. The nine-time NCAA All-American avenged her loss to Texas’ Michelle Carter at the Big 12 Championships while also breaking the Longhorn’s Midwest Regional record of 57-9 set in 2005.

NU’s third regional title of the weekend came from the right arm of Ruskule, who won the women’s discus with a spin of 193-9. The throw marked Ruskule’s best performance since joining the Huskers prior to the 2005 season. She easily out-distanced the regional field, winning by nearly 11 feet over second-place Krystal Robinson of Rice (182-11). Ruskule’s teammate, the NCAA favorite Breisch, did not advance out of the qualifying round after sector fouling on each of her three attempts.

In addition to the women’s Husker winners, three NU men’s athletes finished either in sole possession of or tied for second place?Gable Baldwin in the pole vault and Dusty Jonas and Aaron Plas in the high jump.

Seven Earn 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 both 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 5,486, 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; and Nate Probasco, who earned his fourth overall conference title and second in the men’s 200-meter dash.

Five Huskers Named Academic All-District
Five Huskers received recognition for their efforts both on and off the track this week with CoSIDA ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District VII honors.

Jenny Green, Aaron Plas, Nate Probasco and Ashley Selig each were awarded first-team all-district status for their exceptional work in the classroom and on the track, while Sara Jane Baker appeared on the second team. To be considered, athletes must maintain at least a 3.2 grade-point average and achieve at least 60 percent participation, unless they possess senior standing. Plas and Selig were honored last month with NU’s prestigious Male and Female Student-Athlete of the Year Awards.

Nebraska’s four first-team selections now advance to the national ballot, where each Husker will be considered for the prestigious CoSIDA Academic All-America honors. Of NU’s nation-leading 229 all-time Academic All-America award winners, 19 have been members of the Husker track and field program.

Huskers Honored By Big 12
Dusty Jonas became the third Husker, and first men’s athlete, to be honored as Big 12 Conference Outdoor 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 Invite 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 straight meet with a career best for Jonas, who entered the outdoor season with a personal best of 7-4 ?. He moved from fourth place on NU’s all-time outdoor high jump chart into a tie for second with 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 earlier indoors.

NU Picked 7th/18th in Trackwire 25
The season’s final Trackwire 25 rankings were released this week, and the Huskers have been projected to finish Nos. 7 (women) and 18 (men) at the NCAA meet by track and field statistician Gary Verigin. Texas (women) and Florida State (men) travel to Sacramento as the favorites to win the respective team titles.

The rankings attempt 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 statistician Gary Verigin.

Dace Ruskule (discus) is the lone Husker picked to win an individual national title.
Husker athletes among this week’s "Dandy Dozen":
Women
Dace Ruskule, Discus?1st
Becky Breisch, Shot Put?2nd
Priscilla Lopes, 100m Hurdles?2nd
Kayla Wilkinson, Javelin?6th
Sara Jane Baker, Heptathlon?7th

Men
Arturs Abolins, Long Jump?4th
Dusty Jonas, High Jump?4th
Aaron Plas, High Jump?5th
Gable Baldwin, Pole Vault?10th
Ray Scotten, Pole Vault?11th

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.

11 Huskers Graduate
A collection of 11 current and former University of Nebraska track and field athletes received degrees during spring commencement ceremonies May 6 at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. Included among the group were athletes who owned three individual NCAA championships, nine Big 12 titles and nine NCAA All-America honors.

Six current members of the NU track and field program, Jenna Blubaugh (psychology), Ashlee Dickinson (anthropology), Tom Donlin (mechanical engineering), Nicole Kadyszewski (construction management), Kelsi Murman (business administration) and Ashley Selig (exercise science), were honored with bachelor’s degrees, while former Huskers Richard Davidson (sociology), Marcus Sedberry (marketing), Anne Shadle (exercise science), Dusty Stamer (sociology) and Danny Tylka (biological sciences) also received letters.

The 2006 class of graduating NU track and field athletes amassed an impressive list of accolades. Those Huskers receiving degrees collected totals of nine NCAA All-America honors, nine individual Big 12 Conference championships and three national titles.

The spring graduating class of 54 is added to the December class of 30 graduates to bring the total number of Husker student-athletes graduating during the 2005-06 academic year to 84 before summer commencement exercises in August. Nebraska continues to feature one of the highest graduation rates in the nation with an exhausted eligibility graduation rate of 93 percent.

Selig Redshirts 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 eligibility in hopes of returning at 100 percent next year.

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

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.

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.