NU Concludes Weekend with 18 Holiday Inn Invite Titles

LINCOLN?The Holiday Inn Invitational wrapped up Saturday at the Devaney Center Indoor Track, as the Nebraska men’s and women’s track and field teams collected 13 event titles on the final day of competition. NU was led by three men’s athletes who claimed NCAA provisional qualifications in their first opportunity of the season.<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

 

Freshman Lukas Hulett started off his Husker career with a bang, running the third-fastest 400-meter time in <?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Nebraska men’s history while dominating the event with a winning edge of 1.6 seconds. The Bellevue, Neb., native’s time of 47.03 also cracked the NCAA provisional-qualifying standard. Hulett owns an outdoor personal-best time of 46.86, which he clocked in 2006 following his senior season at BellevueEastHigh School to become the fastest Nebraska prep 400-meter runner in state history.

 

“I just came in wanting to run under 48 (seconds) and ended up running (under 47 seconds),” Hulett said. “That was definitely a plus. I just worked hard during practice and over Christmas break, and it paid off.”

 

Joining Hulett as provisional qualifiers for March’s NCAA meet were a pair of Husker All-American veterans in senior Gable Baldwin and junior Dusty Jonas. Baldwin cracked 17 feet while winning the pole vault over unattached teammate Nic Petersen, while Jonas earned his second event title of the weekend with a 7-1 clearance in the high jump. Jonas also won the long jump on Friday.

 

Sophomore transfer Brysun Stately, who finished sixth in the women’s pole vault at the 2006 NCAA Outdoor Championships for USC, made a successful debut in Scarlet and Cream with a winning pole vault clearance of 12-9 ?. Stately nearly met the provisional standard while attempting to break the school indoor record at the next height, but fouled on each of her final three tries at 13-9 ?.

 

Another sophomore, Zarinah Suluki-Drakes, recorded a huge personal best in the triple jump in addition to earning her second event title in two days. She shot past the 40-foot barrier for the first time with a winning leap of 41-1 ?, besting her previous career long by well over a foot. Suluki Drakes, who also took home top honors in the long jump on Friday, led a 1-2-3 finish in the triple jump with freshmen teammates Leandra McGruder (39-5) and Danielle Smith (38-1 ?).

 

Two other freshmen, Nikita Eades and Erin Hannon, added victories in their first DevaneyCenter appearances on Saturday. Eades tied her lifetime best in the women’s 60-meter hurdles with a clocking of 8.67, while Hannon bested a pair of teammates in freshman Epley Bullock (5-7) and junior Kim Shubert (5-7) for the women’s high jump crown with a leap of 5-8 ?.

 

Nebraska added six more Holiday Inn Invite titles, including wins by senior All-American Daniel Roper (49-6 ?) in the men’s triple jump; senior Jeni Steiner (49-8 ?) in the women’s shot put; and junior Keith Lloyd (55-9 ?) in the men’s shot. Additionally, the Huskers swept the men’s and women’s 4x400-meter relays, while also winning the women’s distance medley relay.

 

For the weekend, Nebraska totaled 18 event winners in seeded competitions.

 

“We had some pretty solid performances up and down the line, we are just going to have to continue to improve,” Head Coach Gary Pepin said. “Our team really worked hard in this meet, and many of them are tired and sore, but I think we had some really good performances. It seems to be a good, solid start.”

 

Nebraska returns to the track next Saturday, when its hosts Kansas State, Missouri, Air Force and ColoradoState for the inaugural Conference Challenge meet at the Devaney Center Indoor Track.