Huskers Take Aim at Big 12 Indoor Titles

Lincoln?The championship portion of Nebraska’s 2007 indoor schedule begins this weekend, as the Huskers travel to Ames, Iowa for the 11th annual Big 12 Indoor Championships.

Competition is scheduled to begin at Iowa State’s Lied Recreation Center on Friday at 9 a.m. with women’s (pentathlon) and men’s (heptathlon) combined events, while track preliminary events are scheduled for 1:40 p.m. The pentathlon will be held in its entirety on Friday. Field events will be led by the women’s weight throw at 2 p.m., while the men’s weight throw, women’s pole vault and men’s and women’s long jump finals also will be contested during the first day of action. Opening-day track finals include the men’s and women’s 5,000-meter run events and distance medley relays.

Most event finals are scheduled for Saturday, including the conclusion of the men’s heptathlon to open the day. Tickets are available from the Iowa State ticket office either at the door or in advance by calling (888) 478-2925. For a complete schedule of events, see page 2 of this week’s release.

The Big 12 indoor meet will be the Huskers’ first individually team-scored event of the season. Each conference squad is limited to a roster of 26 competitors for the meet with the top eight finishers in each event counting towards team scores. A 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 scoring system will be used, and individuals are allowed to be entered in any number of events provided they compete in each one. Complete rosters for Nebraska will be available on-line Thursday afternoon.

Results and recaps from the Big 12 Championships can be found following the conclusion of the each day’s events on Huskers.com, while live results will be available during the meet on the ISU website, Cyclones.com.

> Nebraska Big 12 Indoor Bits
? Nebraska (13) and Texas (seven) are the only conference schools to have won a Big 12 indoor team title.

? The NU men lead all Big 12 schools by having won eight of 10 indoor crowns. Texas owns the other two titles.

? The NU women’s five titles are tied with the Longhorns for the conference lead.

? Nebraska enters the weekend owning 97 all-time conference team titles. The Husker men alone own 57.

? Gary Pepin’s 19 Big 12 victories are far and a way the most in conference history. Beverly Kearney (UT women) and Bubba Thornton (UT men) rank second and third, respectively, with 11 and six team honors.

? Six former Big 12 champions will compete for NU this weekend, including four former indoor champs.

? The Husker men, who have not won a team title in three conference meets, are in the midst of their longest winless stretch since the formation of the Big 12 in 1997.

? Nebraska boasts a Big 12-leading 37 men’s indoor conference champions. Texas (32) ranks second.

Nebraska at the Big 12 Indoor Championships
The Last 10 Years...

Women
Year?Place?NU Finish (Points)?Champion (Points)?NU Champions
2006?Lincoln, Neb.?2nd (118)?Texas (125)?Four
2005?Lincoln, Neb.?1st (138.4)?NU?Four
2004?Lincoln, Neb.?1st (171.5)?NU?Seven
2003?Lincoln, Neb.?2nd (142)?Texas (167)?Four
2002?Lincoln, Neb.?2nd (103)?Texas (107)?Three
2001?Lincoln, Neb.?1st (145.5)?NU?Four
2000?Ames, Iowa?1st (154.1)?NU?Three
1999?Manhattan, Kan.?2nd (94.5)?Texas (150)?One
1998?Ames, Iowa?2nd (101)?Texas (156)?None
1997?Lincoln, Neb.?1st (160)?NU?Four

Men
Year?Place?NU Finish (Points)?Champion (Points)?NU Champions
2006?Lincoln, Neb.?2nd (100)?Texas (127)?Five
2005?Lincoln, Neb.?1st (132)?NU?Five
2004?Lincoln, Neb.?1st (141.67)?NU?Five
2003?Lincoln, Neb.?1st (132)?NU?Five
2002?Lincoln, Neb.?1st (105.5)?NU?Three
2001?Lincoln, Neb.?1st (124)?NU?Three
2000?Ames, Iowa?1st (115)?NU?Four
1999?Manhattan, Kan.?4th (73.5)?Texas (113)?None
1998?Ames, Iowa?1st (106.5)?NU?Three
1997?Lincoln, Neb.?1st (132)?NU?Four

> On the Road Again
This weekend’s Big 12 Championships will provide an odd feeling for Nebraska for two reasons.

First, the Huskers have competed away from the Devaney Center Track only one out of the first six weeks of the 2007 indoor season. NU opened the year with four straight home competitions before splitting up for the Iowa State Classic and Tyson Invite the weekend of Feb. 9-10. The squad returned to Lincoln last Friday for the Nebraska Wesleyan-hosted Prairie Wolf Invite.

While Nebraska typically competes at Iowa State once or twice every indoor season, this will be the first year since 2000 that the conference meet will be contested in Ames. The Huskers are accustomed to the confines of their own home track for the Big 12 meet, as each of the previous six competitions have been held in Lincoln. This will be the third Big 12 Championships that have been hosted by Iowa State, as the school also hosted the 1998 indoor meet.

> Three Big 12 Champs Set for Title Defense
Three Huskers who claimed individual Big 12 crowns in 2006 are expected to attempt to defend their crowns at Iowa State: Jenny Green, Arturs Abolins and Daniel Roper.

Green won her third consecutive women’s pole vault title last season with a season-best height of 13-5 1/2. The Grand Island, Neb., native, only in her junior season, is the only women’s athlete in Big 12 history with more than two league victories in the event, while she also is the only athlete ever to earn multiple indoor titles.

Abolins will aim for his third career men’s indoor long jump win, as well as to repeat as conference champion. Former Husker Chris Wright (1997-98) is the only other men’s athlete in Big 12 history with multiple indoor conference crowns in the long jump.

Roper, who already owns the distinction of being NU’s first-ever three-time conference champ in the men’s triple jump, will attempt to win his third consecutive Big 12 indoor title. The Husker senior has helped NU win each of the last five Big 12 indoor titles.

> Two Huskers Lead Big 12 Events
Nebraska enters the Big 12 Championships with two athletes who have recorded the league’s top marks for their respective events this season, and it just so happens that it is the same event.

Kim Pancoast and Peter van der Westhuizen, two of the Huskers’ top distance threats over the past two seasons who are still searching for their first career conference titles, lead all Big 12 athletes in the women’s and men’s 1,000-meter run events for 2007. Despite their success in the 1,000, each of their specialty races remain the mile.

Van der Westhuizen has experienced a very successful season in the mile (see note below), and he ranks second in the event, while Pancoast is a two-time All-Big 12 honoree in the event. As of early this week, it was still unsure which event both Huskers would run. The 3,000-meter events also may feature both Huskers on Saturday.

For complete Husker Big 12 event rankings, see page 4 of this week's Husker track and field notes.

> Several Huskers Remain Questionable
The status of three key Nebraska athletes continue to be in question this week, as each has dealt with nagging injuries that have cost them significant competition time this indoor season.

Most notable among the group is two-time NCAA men’s long jump champion Arturs Abolins, who has nursed a calf muscle injury for the entirety of the season. Abolins attempted to make his season debut during last week’s Prairie Wolf Invite, but he aggravated the injury during run-throughs prior to the event. The Husker senior did compete in the 60-meter dash prelims, clocking a time of 6.95 to open the day.

The status of Keith Lloyd, who has dealt with both sickness and an elbow injury in 2007, is promising. Lloyd competed unattached last weekend and registered solid marks in both the men’s shot put and weight throw. As of last weekend, all signs pointed to the Omaha native being ready to compete this weekend.

On the women’s side, it is still uncertain whether Gy?rgyi Farkas will participate in this weekend’s pentathlon competition. When healthy, Farkas would be one of the top challengers for the Big 12 title, but she has battled injuries in both hamstrings this season. She was unable to compete in the pentathlon at the Husker Invite three weeks ago.

> Huskers Sharp in Big 12 Rehearsal
Nebraska competed at the Devaney Center Indoor Track for the final time this season last Friday at the Prairie Wolf Invitational, as several Huskers attempted to make cases for the few uncertain roster spots for the upcoming Big 12 Indoor Championships.

Robert Rands locked down a trip to next week’s conference meet with his finest effort as a Husker in the men’s long jump. Rands led an NU sweep of the top four positions with a winning leap of 24-9, his best mark since arriving at Nebraska. All-American Daniel Roper joined Rands with a provisional qualification by grabbing silver-medal honors (24-6 ?), while freshman Tim Grier set a personal best of 23-6 ? in his first attempt at the long jump as a Husker to claim third place.

In the women’s shot, Jeni Steiner broke the 50-foot barrier for the first time this season during a career-best performance that earned her an NCAA provisional qualification. Steiner jumped from sixth to fourth place among Big 12 performers this season with her winning mark of 51-7 1/4.

Brysun Stately surpassed the 13-foot mark in the women’s pole vault for the third straight week while winning Friday’s competition with a height of 13-0 ?,

In other field event action, Danielle Smith continued to show progress in her freshman season in the women’s triple jump by earning her first career collegiate victory with a personal-best leap of 39-7 ?, while fellow freshman Epley Bullock claimed her third win of the year in the women’s high jump (5-9 ?). Seth Burney led a 1-2 finish with Gable Baldwin in the men’s pole vault, as both Huskers cleared 16-11.

All-American Dusty Jonas rebounded from two consecutive un-Jonas-like performances by winning the men’s high jump with a height of 7-3.

On the track, Sheryl Morgan put together a solid performance while winning the women’s 400-meter dash in a season-best 54.24. The time moved her into third place among conference performers for the season, while also earning her an NCAA provisional mark.

Nebraska athletes added four other event crowns Friday, including Nikita Eades (8.64) and Tyrell Ross (8.09), who notched respective wins in the women’s and men’s 60-meter hurdles. Additionally, Jennifer Pancoast (2:53.86) and Ethan Luebbe (2:27.34) swept the women’s and men’s 1,000-meter run titles.

> Young 4x400 Hits the Mark
One of the youngest and most exciting groups on this year’s Husker squad is the men’s 4x400-meter relay. At times this season, NU has lined up with as many as three freshmen among the four members of its relay squad.

The relay, comprised of senior Nate Probasco and freshmen Daniel Christensen, Scott Wims and Lukas Hulett, became the first Nebraska 4x400-meter relay to earn an NCAA qualifying mark since 2004 with a time of 3:08.17 at the Iowa State Classic.

Only three NCAA teams own better times this season than Nebraska’s relay: Baylor, LSU, Kentucky and Texas A&M. The mark ranks as the fifth-fastest performance in school history, as well as the No. 4-rated time on an oversized (over 200 meters) track.

The squad, which has also featured junior Andrew Pearson and freshmen Tim Grier and Nicholas Makukutu this season, is attempting to become the first Husker 4x400-meter relay to reach the NCAA Championships since the 2004 group of Pearson and former Huskers Mark Harrison, Danny Hill and Dmitrijs Milkevics earned ninth place at the NCAA indoor meet.

Nebraska currently appears in good standing to push its relay to the NCAA Championships, but it will have at least one more opportunity to post a faster time at the Big 12 indoor meet. Also look for the Huskers to eventually settle on a final team and running order. NU has fielded 12 different team combinations (members or running order) in 12 opportunities this season.

Nebraska’s 2007 NCAA Indoor Qualifiers
Women
Provisional
Name?Event?Mark (NCAA rank)
Epley Bullock?High Jump?5-11 1/2 (14th)
Sheryl Morgan?400m?54.24 (24th)
Kim Shubert?Pentathlon?3,716 (38th)
Brysun Stately?Pole Vault?13-8 1/2 (t5th)
Jeni Steiner?Shot Put?51-7 1/4 (22nd)
Zarinah Suluki-Drakes?Triple Jump?41-10 3/4 (t23rd)
Casie Witte?High Jump?5-10 (t23rd); Pentathlon?3,791 (27th)

Men
Automatic
Name?Event?Mark (NCAA Rank)
Dusty Jonas?High Jump?7-4 1/4 (4th)

Provisional
Name?Event?Mark (NCAA Rank)
Gable Baldwin?Pole Vault?17-4 1/2 (t12th)
Seth Burney?Pole Vault?17-4 1/2 (t12th)
Lukas Hulett?400m?47.03 (18th)
Nate Probasco?200m?21.12 (t10th)
Robert Rands?Long Jump?24-9 (t21st)
Daniel Roper?Long Jump?24-7 1/4 (25th); Triple Jump?50-8 (t24th)
Ben Schutter?Heptathlon?5,474 (9th)
Peter van der Westhuizen?Mile?4:01.79 (17th)
Issar Yazhbin?Weight Throw?64-8 1/2 (25th)
Team?4x400m Relay?3:08.17 (5th)

> Husker Continues Record Quest
Peter van der Westhuizen continued his early-season success with another standout distance performance during his win in the men’s mile at the Iowa State Classic.

The Husker junior clocked a personal-best time of 4:01.79 to earn victory while continuing his ascent up the program’s all-time event chart. Only two Nebraska athletes have posted faster times in the mile than van der Westhuizen: Greg Carlberg (3:59.6) in 1971 and Jean Verster (4:00.64) in 1986.

A South Africa native, van der Westhuizen has his sights set on breaking the elusive four-minute mark this season. Carlberg turned in NU’s only sub-4:00 indoor mile back in 1971 with a time of 3:59.6 on an oversized track in Houston, Texas.

Van der Westhuizen will have at least one more opportunity to reach his goal in 2007, but it is still unsure if he will compete in the event Big 12 indoor meet. The 2005 Big 12 runner-up in the indoor mile, van der Westhuizen currently sits at the top of the conference in one event, and it is not the mile. His mark of 2:23.41 that he ran in the 1,000 meter at the Conference Challenge leads the Big 12 this season.

> Double the Fun
Four Huskers have experienced quick starts to the indoor season by earning NCAA qualifications in multiple events.

Casie Witte became Nebraska’s first athlete to double-up this season, reaching NCAA provisional standards during consecutive weeks in the women’s high jump and pentathlon at the adidas Classic and Husker Invite. Daniel Roper earned both of his qualifications in the men’s long and triple jump at the Husker Invite, while Nate Probasco claimed his 200-meter dash qualifier the same weekend. Probasco added his second provisional mark at the Iowa State Classic as a member of the Huskers’ 4x400-meter relay. Lukas Hulett, who opened his NU career by meeting the NCAA provisional standard in the men’s 400 meters at the Holiday Inn Invite, joined Probasco on the 1,600-meter relay.

Only one Nebraska athlete has qualified for the NCAA indoor meet in multiple events during each of the last two seasons?former Huskers Sara Jane Baker (women’s high jump and pentathlon) in 2006 and Priscilla Lopes (women’s 60-meter dash and hurdles) in 2005. The last Husker men to earn two NCAA bids at the same meet were Dmitrijs Milkevics and Aaron Nasers in 2004, who each competed in the 800-meter run and 4x400-meter relay.

> Freshmen Driving NCAA Qualifying Efforts
Nebraska’s highly-touted newcomers have already started to show off their talents in 2007. Of the 19 Huskers who have earned provisional qualifications to March’s NCAA meet, five are freshmen.

Lukas Hulett, a former high school All-American from Bellevue, Neb., became the first Husker to add his name to the list when he clocked a blistering time of 47.03 while winning the men’s 400-meter dash at the Holiday Inn Invite. The Nebraska prep record-holder’s time is the third-fastest indoor mark all-time at NU.

Seth Burney and Epley Bullock joined Hulett with outstanding performances during the Conference Challenge. Burney became NU’s 12th men’s athlete all-time to break the 17-foot barrier in the pole vault with a clearance of 17-0 3/4, while Bullock tied a host of other female athletes at No. 10 on the Husker indoor high jump chart with a leap of 5-11 1/2.

Daniel Christensen (redshirt) and Scott Wims combined with Hulett and senior Nate Probasco to earn NU an NCAA qualification in the men’s 4x400-meter relay at the Iowa State Classic. The squad’s time was the fifth-fastest in program history, regardless of track specifications.

> Eades Making Steady Progress
Nebraska faced a stern challenge during the off-season in trying to replace former Husker great Priscilla Lopes, who turned to the professional ranks following a storied career featuring a national title in the women’s 60-meter hurdles and five Big 12 championships.

Enter freshman Nikita Eades, previously a standout in the Colorado prep ranks for Littleton High School. While no one can replace Lopes, Eades has quietly pushed herself into consideration for conference honors in her first season. She has claimed four victories in the hurdles in her career-opening season while lowering her personal-best time during each of the first four weeks to her current low mark of 8.46.

Eades currently ranks fourth in the Big 12 with the time and trails the conference leader by only 0.08 seconds. The clocking also moved her into a tie for fifth place on Nebraska’s all-time indoor event chart. Additionally, Eades needs to lower her time only 0.03 seconds to meet the NCAA provisional-qualifying standard.

> Yazhbin Continues Strong Comeback
One of the more welcome sights for Nebraska in the early going this season has been the exceptional weight throw performances from Issar Yazhbin, who sat out the 2006 season with a groin injury.

To tell if Yazhbin has completed a successful recovery, one must only look at his early 2007 results. He recorded personal-best spins during each of his first three meets of the season, including a high mark of 64-8 1/2 to claim victory during the adidas Classic. Yazhbin also earned his first career NCAA provisional qualification this year.

While neither of his latest performances have gone for personal-best distances, two of the three efforts were still well beyond his previous best mark of 61-5 that he brought into the 2007 season. Additionally, Yazhbin has continued to extend his own Israeli national record in the event, which he first set as a junior in 2005.

> Men Ranked 22nd in Trackwire 25
The Nebraska men’s team continued its stay in the Trackwire 25 this week, but fell from 15th into a tie for 22nd with a projected NCAA point total of nine.

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.

After beginning the season ranked ninth, the Huskers have moved up and down in the rankings and now sit at its season-low position of 22nd. One of four Big 12 teams included in the list, the Huskers join conference opponents Texas (third) and Baylor (fourth) in the top 10. Oklahoma (18th) is also listed in the top-25.

The Husker women, who began the year ranked 14th in their respective poll, went unranked for the fifth straight projection this week. Texas A&M (ninth), Texas (11th), Texas Tech (12th) Kansas (tie-16th) and Kansas State (tie-21st) represent the Big 12 in the latest release.

Nebraska athletes among this week’s "Dandy Dozen" include:
Women
Brysun Stately, Pole Vault?6th

Men
Dusty Jonas, High Jump?4th
Nebraska, 4x400-Meter Relay?7th
Arturs Abolins, Long Jump?7th
Ben Schutter, Heptathlon?11th

> Huskers Slip to 17th in Coaches Poll
The Nebraska men’s team again appeared among the nation’s top-20 teams in this week’s release of the USTFCCCA Coaches poll.

The Husker men’s squad, which boasts five returning All-Americans and finished the 2006 indoor season tied for 12th at the NCAA indoor meet, was rated 17th this week following a 10th-place mention a week ago.

The NU women, also with five All-Americans, opened the year at No. 19 before falling out of the rankings three weeks ago. This week's complete USTFCCCA polls and Trackwire 25 projections can be found on page 3 of this week's Husker track and field notes.

> 73 Huskers Named to Big 12 Honor Roll
Seventy-three members of the Nebraska men’s and women’s track and field team were named to the Big 12 Commissioner’s Fall Honor Roll, the conference office announced earlier this month. Among the group were 13 Huskers who posted perfect 4.0 grade-point averages during the past semester.

Athletes must earn a 3.0 grade-point average to qualify for the award.

Nebraska placed 39 women on the honor roll, including five student-athletes with 4.0 GPA’s, while 34 Husker men were recognized, including eight with perfect GPA’s. Overall, a total of 270 Nebraska student-athletes earned recognition on the Big 12 Fall Honor Roll, with 33 having a 4.0 semester GPA.

> Four Athletes Added at Semester
The Husker men’s squad added three freshmen athletes to its 2007 roster this week following the start of second semester classes?Dax Danns (Lemon Grove, Calif.), Erwin Schmidt (Benoni, South Africa) and Cylend Simmons (Mesa, Ariz)?while the NU men’s team added Jamie Klages (Coronado, Calif.) a former member of the Nebraska soccer team.

Danns, a sprints prospect out of Helix High School, arrives at Nebraska boasting solid personal-best times of 10.60 in the 100-meter dash, 21.21 in the 200 and 48.44 in the 400. A native of Guyana, both of Danns’ 100 and 200 marks rank as national junior records. He finished fourth place in both events as a junior at the 2005 California state meet. Danns currently leads the Husker men’s team with a time of 6.79 in the 60 meters.

Simmons will join Nebraska’s hurdles crew following an outstanding prep career at Mesa Westwood High School. He set the all-time Arizona state record of 37.01 while winning the 300-meter hurdles at the Arizona Meet of Champions last spring. Simmons was named the Gatorade Boy’s Athlete of the Year for Arizona in 2006 and also owns a personal-best time of 14.26 in the 110-meter hurdles.

Schmidt brings outstanding potential from South Africa in the 800-meter run, as he owns a personal-best time of 1:49.75. The mark ranked third among all South African junior athletes for 2006.

Klages served as a two-year starter at goalie for the Husker soccer program before turning her attention to the track this winter. A former standout high jumper in the California prep ranks, she owns a personal-best height of 5-10 1/4, a mark that ranked her ninth among all U.S. high school athletes in 2005. Klages placed fifth as a junior at the California state meet in 2004.

For more information on each of Nebraska’s mid-year additions, see page 6 of this week's Husker track and field notes.

> Nine All-Americans Return in 2007
Nebraska returns four women’s and five men’s athletes for the 2007 season who have combined to earn 19 NCAA All-America honors during their outstanding careers.

Leading the pack is senior Ashley Selig, who has registered five of the awards, including the 2004 NCAA indoor championship in the pentathlon. NU returns a second national champion in senior Dace Ruskule, who won the NCAA outdoor discus title last season, while senior Kayla Wilkinson (javelin) and junior Jenny Green (pole vault) also will compete for further accolades this season. Only Green will compete during the 2007 indoor season.

Nebraska brought in a fifth women’s All-American to join the squad during the offseason in sophomore Brysun Stately, who placed sixth in the pole vault at the 2006 NCAA outdoor meet.

Senior Arturs Abolins, a two-time national champion in the long jump, leads the men’s squad into the season, while junior Dusty Jonas, a four-time All-American in the high jump, also returns. Two-time All-American Nate Probasco will be the Huskers’ leader in the sprints during his senior campaign. Gable Baldwin (pole vault) and Daniel Roper (triple jump), each one-time honorees, also will compete in their finals seasons as Huskers.

> NU Boasts Heralded Freshman Classes
A pair of incoming classes ranked among the nation’s top 10 by Track & Field News magazine will aid both Husker men’s and women’s teams in their championship drives during the 2007 season.

The women’s class, ranked No. 4 nationally by Track & Field News, will help fill the holes created by the loss of a 2006 senior class that accounted for three individual NCAA titles and 21 All-America finishes.

The group, which was highlighted with signings by former high school All-Americans Brysun Stately and Epley Bullock, along with international combined events prospects Gy?rgyi Farkas and Megan Wheatley, was NU’s first-ever top-five ranked class.

While the Husker men lost 10 All-America finishes with members of its 2006 senior class, this season’s group of newcomers earned one of the program’s highest rankings ever by the famed track and field publication with a No. 8 rating.

The class featured the signings of former high school All-Americans Seth Burney, Tim Grier, Lukas Hulett, Nicholas Makukutu and Scott Wims.

> Pepin in 27th Season at Husker Helm
Nebraska Head Coach Gary Pepin is in his 27th year guiding the Husker women’s team and 24th year coaching the NU men’s squad. Pepin is only one season shy of former Husker coach Frank Sevigne as the longest-tenured track and field coach in school history. Sevigne logged 28 seasons leading the NU men’s program from 1956 through 1983.

Pepin has helped the Husker women combine for 38 of their 40 conference titles, while also notching 20 of the program’s 21 top-five NCAA team finishes, including each of Nebraska’s three indoor national championships.

Pepin has led the men’s team to 25 of its 57 indoor and outdoor conference crowns, while also notching two NCAA top-five placings. The Huskers’ second-place finish at the 1996 NCAA Indoor Championships ranks as the squad’s highest at an NCAA meet.