Huskers Finish Strong Weekend

The Nebraska track and field teams completed a strong week of action Saturday at the John Jacobs Invitational in Norman, Okla., combining for eight event titles including an impressive 1-2-3 sweep of the top spots in the men’s 200-meter finals. 

Leading the way was Nate Probasco and the Huskers’ trio of 200-meter sprinters. Making his first appearance in the event outdoors this season, Probasco pulled away from the field with a winning time of 21.20, edging out teammate Scott Wims by .07. Lukas Hulett rounded out the three-man sweep by placing third for the Huskers in 21.43. 

Hulett continued his impressive weekend by winning the 400 meters in a regional-qualifying time of 46.65, the only competitor in the field to break 47.00 on the day. He was one of 13 regional-qualifying marks for the Huskers on Saturday. 

Two of the regional marks came in the men’s hurdles events as Aaron Ross and Andrew Pearson posted second-place finishes in their respective events. Ross posted a time of 14.21 in the 110-meter hurdles, edging NU’s Tyrell Ross who placed third with a season-best 14.32. Pearson became the second Husker this season to qualify for regional in the 400-meter hurdles, along with Tim Grier, as Pearson posted a time of 51.99, one of just two athletes to go below 52 seconds Saturday. 

Also on the track for the Nebraska men, Brian Parr posted a time of 4:06.27 to place second in the 1,500 meters while the Nebraska ‘A’ squad placed second in the 4x100 meter relay with a time of 41.14. Parr was closely followed by NU’s Kyle Custer in 4:07.04 for third place, while Wims also garnered a third-place finish in the 100 meters with a 10.73. Dax Danns finished fifth in the 100 meters for the Huskers at 10.75. 

On the field, the Nebraska men continued their strong performances as three Huskers collected gold medals and regional-qualifying marks. 

Daniel Roper led the way with an impressive performance in the triple jump as he bounded 51-8 ¼, nearly two feet further than his previous outdoor best, to claim the gold medal. Along with Roper, Arturs Abolins added a first-place finish in the long jump with a regional mark and season best leap of 24-10 while Dusty Jonas posted a regional-qualifying mark of 6-10 ¾ in the high jump.

The Husker women also posted solid performances on Saturday with a trio of Huskers earning top spots and regional-qualifying marks. Leading the charge on the track was Sheryl Morgan, who went under 1 minute for the first time in the outdoor season in the 400-meter hurdles. Morgan improved her regional position as she won the 400 hurdles with a time of 59.43, the only athlete to break the minute mark. 

Along with Morgan, Husker field athletes added gold medals in the high jump and discus. Epley Bullock posted another regional qualifying mark by going 5-8 ¾ to win the high jump while Dace Raskule was one of only two competitors to top 170 feet in the discus. Her toss of 172-6 was nearly a foot further than Kansas’ Abby Emsick’s second-place throw.

Nebraska also received strong performances with 2-3 finishes in the 1,500-meter run (Joslyn Dalton, 4:45.06; Rachel Carrizales, 4:45.07), pole vault (Brysun Stately, season-best 12-9 ½; Jenny Green, 12-1 ½) and long jump (Chantae McMillan, 19-1 ½; Zarinah Suluki-Drakes, 19-0 ½). 

Suluki-Drakes added a third-place finish in the triple jump (41-3 ¾) while Nikita Eades also brought home the bronze with a regional-qualifying time of 13.85 in the 100-meter hurdles. Cassie Witt added a bronze medal in the javelin with a toss of 134-6.

While the majority of the Husker track and field teams competed at the John Jacobs Invitational in Norman, Okla., three Huskers went West to take on the field at the V Athletics Invitational on Saturday. After strong start to the weekend at Mt. SAC on Friday, the trio of Huskers ended the weekend on an impressive note as they combined for three top-3 finishes in the 800 meters.

Leading the way was Natalja Zarcenko, who posted a time of 2:10.94 to win the 800 meters. Kim Pancoast added a bronze-medal finish for the Huskers as she placed third in 2:11.43, just .04 behind second place. Pancoast’s time was also just .03 off her season best.

On the men’s side, Peter van der Westhuizen posted a solid finish in the 800 meters, placing second in a time of 1:50.67, trailing winner Liam Boylan-Pett of Columbia by just .05.