Huskers Travel to KU for Kansas Relays

Lincoln - The Nebraska men's and women's track and field teams hit the road for the fourth straight week when they travel to Lawrence, Kan., for the 80th running of the Kansas Relays this week. More than 50 Huskers will make the trip for meet, which will be held Wednesday through Saturday at KU's Memorial Stadium.

Competition begins Wednesday morning with the start of the women's heptathlon and men's decathlon. The combined events wrap up on Thursday, while the men's and women's hammer throw and a brief distance carnival also will be held on the second day. Only Casie Witte and Erin Hannon (women's heptathlon) will compete for NU in the multi-events.

The meet gets into full swing on Friday with half of the remaining field events and nearly all of the track prelims, while mostly track finals and all remaining field competitions will be contested on Saturday to conclude the meet.

Live results from the Kansas Relays can be found by visiting Kansas' official athletics web site,
www.kuathletics.com. A final recap and complete results will be available on Huskers.com each evening following the conclusion of events. A schedule with NU's entries is listed on pages 2 and 3 of this week's Husker track & field notes.

> Husker Relays Set for Busy Weekend
Nebraska's sprints and hurdles groups once again will have a busy weekend planned for its relay teams, as the Kansas Relays, like most of the major outdoor relays meets, has several such events scheduled.

NU will field seven different relay groups this weekend, including the common?the men's and women's 4x100- and 4x400-meter relays?and the uncommon?the women's 4x100-meter shuttle hurdle and the men's 4x110-meter shuttle hurdle and 4x200-meter relays.

The Husker men, who have already earned regional qualifying marks in both the 4x100 and 4x400, will attempt to improve their regional standing in the two events, while they also will take their first shot at breaking the nearly 20-year old school record in the 4x200 (1:23.27 in 1988).

The NU women will be aiming for their first regional marks of the year in both the 4x100 and 4x400.

> Huskers Complete Busy Week with 16 Qualifying Marks
Nebraska concluded last week's series of four weekend meets with nine total event titles and 16 NCAA qualifying marks in total while splitting squads between Oklahoma, Missouri and California.

The Husker multi-eventers kicked off the weekend by competing at the Audrey Walton Combined Events in Columbia, Mo. Lee Martin earned an NCAA provisional qualification while finishing third in the men's decathlon at Mizzou (7,010), while Kim Shubert set a personal-best score of 4,769 points to place runner-up in the women's heptathlon.

NU also sent a small group of distance runners to compete at both the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif., and the V Athletics Invitational in Long Beach, Calif. Peter van der Westhuizen and Natalja Zarcenko each ran solid efforts in the 1,500 meters at Mt. SAC, as the pair moved up to fifth and eighth, respectively, on the Huskers' all-time men's and women's event charts. Zarcenko added a victory in the 800 meters the following day in Long Beach.

The largest contingent of Huskers seeing action over the weekend competed at the John Jacobs Invitational in Norman, Okla. Eight Huskers won events at the meet, while Andrew Pearson (men's 400 hurdles), Daniel Roper (men's triple jump), Lukas Hulett (men's 400) and Nikita Eades (women's 100 hurdles) each registered new regional qualifications.

Others with solid performances at Oklahoma were:
● Rachel Carrizales?Ran the third-fastest steeplechase time in NU women's history (10:51.71) to place fourth.
● Nate Probasco, Scott Wims and Hulett?Went 1-2-3 in the men's 200 meters.
● Sheryl Morgan?Set a season-best time of 59.43 to claim the women's 400 hurdles tile.
● Zarinah Suluki-Drakes?Set a career best in the triple jump (41-3 3/4) for the second straight week.
● Arturs Abolins?Set a season-best of 24-10 in the men's long jump for the second straight meet.

> Huskers’ 2007 NCAA Qualifiers
Women
NCAA Outdoor Championships Qualifiers
Name.............. ......................... Event   Mark (NCAA rank)
Ashley Selig... ........ Heptathlon (auto)   5,595 (7th)
Casie Witte.... ......... Heptathlon (prov)   5,080 (32nd)<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

NCAA Midwest Regional Qualifiers
Name.............. ......................... Event   Mark (NCAA rank)
Epley Bullock. .................. High Jump   5-10 3/4 (t13th)
Nikita Eades... ............. 100m Hurdles   13.85 (t57th)
Jenny Green.. .................. Pole Vault   12-8 (36th)
Chaunte McMillan............ Long Jump   19-10 1/4 (t36th)
Sheryl Morgan............. 400m Hurdles   59.43 (23rd)
Dace Ruskule. ....................... Discus   180-5 (4th)
Ashley Selig... .................. High Jump   5-8 3/4 (t33rd)
Kim Shubert... .................. High Jump   5-8 3/4 (t33rd)
Brysun Stately .................. Pole Vault   12-9 1/2 (t23rd)
Jeni Steiner... .................... Shot Put   50-3 1/4 (28th)
                                               Discus   163-1 (42nd)
Z. Suluki-Drakes.............. Triple Jump   40-6 1/4 (t38th)
Natalja Zarcenko..................... 800m   2:09.59 (t67th)
                                              1,500m   4:22.55 (24th)

 

Men
NCAA Outdoor Championships Qualifiers
Name........... ........................... Event   Mark (NCAA rank)
Lee Martin... ............ Decathlon (prov)   7,010 (16th)

NCAA Midwest Regional Qualifiers
Name........... ........................... Event   Mark (NCAA Rank)
Arturs Abolins.................. Long Jump   24-10w (8th)
Gable <?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Baldwin.................. Pole Vault   16-8 3/4 (27th)
Tim Grier..... ............... 400m Hurdles   52.12 (40th)
Lukas Hulett ........................... 400m   46.65 (20th)
Dusty Jonas. .................... High Jump   7-2 1/4 (8th)
Brian Parr.... ............. 3,000m Steeple   9:05.95 (41st)
Andrew Pearson.......... 400m Hurdles   51.99 (33rd)
Daniel Roper................... Triple Jump   51-8 1/4 (t8th)
Aaron Ross.. ............... 110m Hurdles   14.10 (30th)
Tyrell Ross... ............... 110m Hurdles   14.23w (43rd)
Peter van der Westhuizen  ..... 800m   1:50.04 (26th)
                                              1,500m   3:41.74 (t5th)
Issar Yazhbin....................... Hammer   204-6 (24th)
Relays......... ........................ 4x100m   40.48 (27th)
                                              4x400m   3:07.67 (10th)

> Husker Record-Book Climbers
Last week saw several Nebraska athletes move up in the school's all-time event listings. In all, six Huskers, including five women, registered new top-10 performances:
● Rachel Carrizales?Ran the No. 3 time of 10:51.71 in the women's steeplechase. She was previously unranked.
● Joslyn Dalton?Ran the No. 4 time (11:06.31) in the women's steeplechase. She previously was unranked.
● Peter van der Westhuizen?Ran the No. 5 time (3:41.74) for the men's 1,500 meters, moving up from seventh.
● Sheryl Morgan?Moved up from ninth to eighth on the women's 400 hurdles chart with a time of 59.43.
● Natalja Zarcenko?Entered the women's 1,500-meter rankings at No. 8 with a time of 4:22.55.
● Nikita Eades?Entered the women's 100 hurdles list at 10th with a time of 13.85.

The women's steeplechase rankings were easy to break into, as only four Huskers appeared on the list prior to last weekend.

> Abolins Continues Progress in Long Jump
The NCAA championship defense of Arturs Abolins officially began at the Texas Relays, as the Husker senior saw his first competition of the season in the men's long jump with a fifth-place leap of 24-7 (wind-aided). He has continued to show progress in his attempted return to the form that won him two NCAA titles a year ago.

Abolins, who missed nearly the entire indoor season with a strained calf muscle, took the first step by earning a qualification to the regional meet with his performance in Austin. He followed that effort up with a winning leap of 24-10 last week at OU, and he will attempt to break the 25-foot barrier for the first time this season this week at Kansas. While he has yet to even approach his career best, he still ranks eighth nationally in the event.

> Husker Alumni Tracker: Becky Breisch
Former Husker Becky Breisch concluded her brilliant collegiate career in 2006, but she has continued to show that successful form that helped make her a 10-time All-American so far as a professional.

Monday at the Maui "Big Wind" Discus Challenge in Hawaii, Breisch recorded the No. 2 all-time discus throw in U.S. women's history with a spin of 221-0. She earlier had shattered her previous career best of 208-5 in a separate competition on Saturday with a toss of 216-8. Breisch's mark on Monday would have set the American Record prior to the weekend, but Suzy Powell beat her to the punch with a winning toss of 222-0 on Saturday.

> Five Tracksters Awarded Arthur Ashe Scholar Awards
Five members of the NU track and field team were among 10 Nebraska student-athletes from seven countries who recently earned recognition as Arthur Ashe Jr. Scholars by Diverse Issues in Education. The awards recognize the achievements of student-athletes from diverse cultural backgrounds both on and off their fields of competition and are a tribute to the legacy of Arthur Ashe Jr.

Justine Roach, Issar Yazhbin and Daniel Christensen led NU's contingent of five track athletes named to the team, which also included second-teamer Gy?rgyi Farkas and third-team honoree Tyrell Ross.

To be included, students have to compete in an intercollegiate sport; maintain a cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.2; and be active on their campuses or in their communities.

Nebraska's 10 overall Arthur Ashe Jr. Scholars came to Lincoln from seven countries, including the United States, Canada, England, Germany, Brazil, Israel and Hungary.

> Green Named to Big 12 Good Works Team
Jenny Green was among 12 student-athletes recently named to the inaugural Big 12 Spring Sports Good Works Team, the conference office announced this week. The members of the squad were recognized for significant community service, good academic standing and participation in a sanctioned Big 12 sport.

A two-time NCAA All-American in the women’s pole vault, Green has won three Big 12 championships and owns both Husker indoor and outdoor school records for the event. She is a four-time qualifier to the NCAA Championships and has finished as high as third place (twice) at the national meet.

In addition to her on-field accomplishments, Green also is one of the most active Huskers in the classroom and the community. She sports a 3.83 cumulative grade-point average in advertising and became the first sophomore in NU track and field history to be named an Academic All-American in 2006.

Outside the realm of academics, Green was voted a team representative for Nebraska’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee in 2006-07 and served as the council’s Vice President. She also was given the Huskers’ Hero Student-Athlete Leadership Award in 2006 and served as a track and field team captain during the 2006 season.

Beginning this academic year, the Big 12 announced a 12-person Good Works Team for the fall, winter and spring seasons. Each squad was limited to one student-athlete per conference school. Husker junior Betsy Miller represented the Nebraska women’s cross country team on the Big 12’s Fall Good Works Team.

> Successful Opening Heptathlon for Selig
Ashley Selig competed for the first time in a combined events challenge for Nebraska since the 2006 indoor season at the Texas Relays, as she earned an automatic berth in the women's heptathlon for the NCAA outdoor meet.

Selig totaled a score of 5,595 points, easily passing the auto standard of 5,500 while finishing in fifth place. She also managed to record a personal best of 24.89 (wind-aided) in the 200 meters during the competition. Selig currently ranks sixth nationally with the heptathlon score, while she leads all Big 12 athletes in the quest for her second career conference title in the event.

> Husker Relays Solid in Season Opener
Nebraska wasted little time in receiving solid efforts from its men's relays this season. Both the 4x100 and 4x400 groups qualified for regionals in their first opportunities this season during the Texas Relays.

Dax Danns, Lukas Hulett and Nate Probasco each ran on both relay squads, with Scott Wims (4x100) and Andrew Pearson (4x400) interchanged between the groups. The 4x100 relay posted a time of 40.48 to finish sixth in the prelims, while the 4x400 relay clocked the prelims' fastest time of 3:07.67.

The only returning member of both relays from last year is Probasco, but Pearson ran on the 2004 indoor edition that placed ninth at the NCAA Championships. Each of the other three athletes are true freshmen. The best times that NU managed to run in 2006 were 39.70 for the 4x100 and 3:07.37 for the 4x400.

> Ruskule Has Strong Opener in Discus
Defending NCAA women's discus champion Dace Ruskule found herself in a tough battle at the season-opening Stanford Invitational, as she competed against several of the nation's elite athletes, including several professional throwers.

Ruskule managed to throw a solid distance of 180-5 to finish fourth, although she was the top collegian finisher. The performance easily qualified her for the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships with the nation's No. 4 throw this season.

For her efforts, Ruskule claimed her first career Big 12 Women's Athlete of the Week Honor. She became the first Husker track and field athlete to be honored by the conference in 2007.

> Parr Ends NU Steeplechase Drought
Brian Parr opened his Husker outdoor track and field career with a bang, as the redshirt freshman met the NCAA regional standard in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase by winning Section 3 at the Stanford Invitational with a personal-best time of 9:05.95.

Parr became the first Husker to record a qualifying mark in the men's steeplechase since the NCAA instituted the regional format in 2003. The time also ranks as the fastest by a Husker since Kyle Wyatt broke nine minutes in 2002 (8:59.33).

> Huskers in the 'Dandy Dozen'
The Trackwire 25 projection of the 2007 outdoor season was updated Tuesday with the NU men clinging to the final spot in the top-25 ranking. The Husker women fell out of the poll two weeks ago despite having five athletes listed this week among the 'Dandy Dozen,' which is the individual event ranking system that makes up the Trackwire scoring.

Huskers among the 'Dandy Dozen' athlete rankings this week included:
Women
Dace Ruskule, DT?5th 
Ashley Selig, Hep?7th
Brysun Stately, PV?7th
Epley Bullock, HJ?12th
Sheryl Morgan, 400h?12th

Men
P. van der Westhuizen, 1,500m?9th
Arturs Abolins, LJ?3rd
Dusty Jonas, HJ?4th
Daniel Roper, TJ?9th

> Doubling Up
Seven Huskers lead Nebraska's NCAA qualifying efforts this year with two such performances each.

Natalja Zarcenko became the latest NU athlete with multiple qualifications at the Mt. SAC Relays, when she set a personal-best time of 4:22.55 in the 1,500 meters to go along with her previous regional mark in the 800.

Fellow distance athlete Peter van der Westhuizen owns qualifying marks in the same events as Zarcenko. He improved his 1,500-meter time at Mt. SAC to 3:41.74, a mark that ranks among the nation's fastest times. His first regional marks for both the 800 and 1,500 were notched in the same weekend, as he opened the year in mid-season form at the Stanford Invitational.

Jeni Steiner joined van der Westhuizen as the second Husker with multiple individual regional berths at the Texas Relays, as she posted a career-best throw of 163-41 to go with the earlier shot put qualification she earned at the Stanford Invite. Steiner bested her initial shot put mark with a 50-3 1/4 mark at the Nebraska Wesleyan Invite.

Ashley Selig is the lone Husker with an automatic bid to the NCAA outdoor meet (women's heptathlon), and she also owns a regional mark in the high jump. She recorded both performances during the heptathlon competititon at the Texas Relays.

Nate Probasco, Dax Danns and Lukas Hulett also posted double regional marks as legs on NU's 4x100- (40.48) and 4x400-meter (3:07.67) relays at the Texas Relays.

> Wilkinson to Sit Out 2007 Season
The Nebraska women will be without one of their strongest returnees during the outdoor season, as senior Kayla Wilkinson is expected to redshirt while rehabbing from shoulder surgery she underwent during the winter.

Wilkinson became NU's second-highest finisher ever in the women's javelin at the NCAA Championships by placing runner-up as a junior last season. She additionally broke the school record earlier in the year with a mark of 181-2 at the Nebraska Invitational. While Wilkinson would have been the nation's top returning athlete in the javelin this season, she is expected to be completely healthy for the 2008 outdoor season, when she should vie for a spot on the United States' Olympic team.

> NU Benefits from Added Outdoor Events
With the opening of the outdoor season, NU's men's and women's teams are only expected to grow stronger due to the addition of several strong events, most notably the 400-meter hurdles, 4x100-meter relay and discus events.

One of deepest groups of talent on this year's Husker squad, on both the men's and women's sides, will be the 400 hurdles. While the NU men suffered from the graduation loss of 2006 Big 12 champ Mark Harrison, several elite newcomers will help Andrew Pearson fill the void.

Others who may compete in the event this season include: freshmen Tim Grier, Nick Makukutu, Tyrell Ross and Cylend Simmons. Grier was one of the nation's top high school recruits in the event last year as the Georgia state record holder in the 300-meter hurdles, while Simmons set the Arizona state prep mark in only his second season competing in the event. Makukutu ranked among the Texas state prep leaders for the hurdles in 2006, and while Ross specializes in the high hurdles, he also could contribute in the longer event.

On the women's side, seniors Sheryl Morgan and Justine Roach each have experience success during their Husker careers in the 400 hurdles. Roach is a former NCAA qualifier in the event, while Morgan's personal-best time of 56.81 ranks first on the team.

Nebraska's biggest boost in the added events will be provided in the women's discus by senior Dace Ruskule, who is the reigning NCAA champ and a 2004 Olympian for her native Latvia.

Once again, the sprint relay should also serve as a strength for the Husker men's team. Three legs return from the squad that clocked a time of 39.70 last season in addition to placing third in the Big 12, but competition for spots on the team is expected to be wide open with the several talented freshman to this year's squad?most notably NCAA indoor All-Americans Lukas Hulett and Scott Wims and fellow freshman sprinter Dax Danns.

> NU Men Tie Texas For Big 12 Indoor Crown
Nebraska earned a tie for its ninth Big 12 men’s indoor title as the team race at the 2007 Big 12 Indoor Championships came down to the final event. The Huskers placed fifth in the women’s race with 69.50 points.

NU benefited from the perfect storm of circumstances to catch up to Texas after finishing third in the men’s 4x400-meter relay to conclude the weekend. The NU squad clocked in with a season-best time of 3:07.90, while UT’s squad failed to earn a top-eight placing to knot the final score at 93-93.

The title marked Nebraska’s 98th all-time conference track championship between both men’s and women’s squads. The victory was due to a total team effort featuring big performances by several athletes, none which finished as individual champions. This marked the Huskers’ first conference championship team that did not feature an individual event winner.

> NCAA Indoor Recap
Nebraska concluded the indoor track season with eight athletes in competition at the NCAA Indoor Championships. The Husker men finished among the nation's top 25 teams for the sixth straight season with nine team points, while NU athletes also grabbed eight All-America honors.

Dusty Jonas nearly single-handedly kept the top-25 streak alive for the NU men after he finished runner-up in the men's high jump for the second time in three seasons. Jonas' final clearance of 7-4 1/2 marked his best ever in NCAA competition while earning him a fifth career All-America finish in as many chances.

The men's 4x400-meter relay team of senior Nate Probasco and freshmen Scott Wims, Daniel Christensen and Lukas Hulett provided an additional point with an eighth-place finish after clocking in at 3:08.68. NU's relay, which was the lone group among the field featuring as many as three freshmen, was the first Husker relay to earn a point at an NCAA meet since 1996. Each member was crowned an All-American.

Hulett's honor marked his second such accolade of the weekend, as he also finished as the eighth American (11th overall) in the men's open 400-meter competition.

Brysun Stately, who finished sixth in the pole vault at the 2006 NCAA outdoor meet as a freshman for USC, registered the lone team scoring of the weekend for the Husker women, as she tied for seventh place in the vault with a height of 13-5 1/4.

NU's other women's athlete in action, freshman Epley Bullock, placed ninth in the high jump after tying her career-best height of 6-0. Bullock helped make the Husker freshmen a near-perfect 5-for-6 in All-America finishes during the weekend. Wims, who did run on NU's 4x400 relay, was the lone Husker freshman not to meet the distinction in his individual event by placing 16th in the men's 200-meter dash.