Home Opener Highlights Weekend Track Schedule

Lincoln - Nebraska begins one of its busiest weekends of the season on Friday, as four meets dot the Husker schedule this weekend. The squad first puts an end to the 2007 relays circuit by sending athletes to compete in both the Drake Relays and Penn Relays Friday through Saturday. NU will conclude the weekend by hosting its first of three consecutive home meets, the Nebraska Open, Sunday at Ed Weir Stadium.

Peter van der Westhuizen will also compete in the 1,500-meter run at Stanford's Payton Cardinal Invitational on Sunday after running at Drake on Friday.

> NU to Receive Regional Preview at Drake
Nebraska will send one of its largest squads in years to compete at the Drake Relays Friday through Saturday in Des Moines, Iowa. Annually one of the nation's premier track and field events, the Drake Relays will feature one of its finest fields this season due to two upcoming national meets?the 2007 NCAA Midwest Regional and the 2008 NCAA Championships.

While schools from across the country are attracted to the Drake Relays each year, the upcoming NCAA competitions only add to the meet's appeal. Husker athletes, like many others from the Midwest region, will use the weekend to test drive the Drake Stadium facilities that will hold their NCAA qualifying chances.

Huskers will compete in a wide variety of events this weekend. The most notable events will be the relay competitions, and NU has 10 different relay teams scheduled for action. Nebraska's events begin Friday at 9:30 a.m. with the women's 4x100-meter relay prelims and continue into the night, which will end with four Huskers in the men's 4x800-meter relay at around 8 p.m.

The Drake Relays will conclude Saturday with the women's hammer throw starting off NU's events at 9:30 a.m. The last scheduled Husker event will be the men's 4x400-meter relay final at 6 p.m., if the squad advances through Friday's prelims.

Live results from the Drake Relays, as well as information regarding a live telecast Internet stream, can be found by visiting the official Drake athletics web site, www.drakebulldogs.org. 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 page 2 of this week's Husker Track & Field Notes.

> Two Hurdlers Slated for Penn Relays
Due to this year's NCAA regional meet being held in Des Moines, a very small squad of two athletes will represent Nebraska at this year's Penn Relays. Senior Sheryl Morgan and freshman Tim Grier will travel to Philadelphia to compete in the women's and men's 400-meter hurdles. Both competitions will be finals with no preliminary races.

Morgan is scheduled to compete in the women's "College Championship" section at 9 a.m. CDT Friday, while the men's "College Championship" section will run at 8 a.m. Saturday. Live results from the Penn Relays can be found by visiting www.pennathletics.com.

> NU to Unwrap Home Schedule Sunday
The Huskers begin their most extensive home outdoor season since 2003 by hosting the Nebraska Open on Sunday.

The meet marks the first of three home meets that also includes the Nebraska Invitational on May 5 and the Big 12 Outdoor Championships May 11 - 13. Competition begins at 11 a.m. with field events, while action on the track kicks off at Noon.

Several Huskers will double up this weekend by competing at either Drake or Penn and then returning home for the open meet. Several in-state schools are slated to attend, including Nebraska-Omaha, Nebraska Wesleyan, Concordia, Midland Lutheran and Wayne State, while Kansas State will also send a squad of athletes.

Entries for the meet will be posted later this week on Huskers.com, while live results for the meet will be available during the meet on the web site.

> Huskers Strong at Kansas Relays
After finally receiving a pleasant few days of weather conditions in which to compete, Nebraska experienced its finest meet of the outdoor season during last weekend's Kansas Relays. In all, NU collected 11 event titles in addition to registering 24 regional-qualifying performances and one NCAA provisional mark during four days of action.

Headlining the weekend for NU were a pair of school-record efforts by Brysun Stately in the women's pole vault and the men's 4x200-meter team of Scott Wims, Dax Danns, Lukas Hulett and Nate Probasco.

Stately rewrote the Husker record books with a winning vault of 14-3 1/4 that eclipsed the previous record of 13-11 1/4 set by current Husker Jenny Green in 2004. Stately's height is the top mark in the NCAA so far this season, while it also ranks No. 2 among all U.S. athletes.

The 4x200-meter team clocked an impressive time of 1:23.12 despite two flawed baton exchanges to eclipse the nearly 20-year-old school record set by Bill Trott, Dave Burrage, Mark Perry and Bob Jelks in 1988.

Other Huskers who experienced solid weekends competing at KU included:

● Zarinah Suluki-Drakes?Won the women's college long jump and placed second in the triple jump, each with personal-best efforts.
● Casie Witte?Won the women's heptathlon with a career-best NCAA provisional-qualifying score.
● Aaron Ross and Tyrell Ross?Each set lifetime-best times in the men's 110-meter hurdles.
● Dusty Jonas?Won his second straight Kansas Relays title in the men's high jump.
● Gable Baldwin?Broke 17 feet for the first time outdoors in 2007 while winning the men's pole vault.
● Zach Holoch?Earned his first NCAA regional mark with a personal best in the men's pole vault.
● Scott Wims and Dax Danns?Each ran personal bests in the men's 100-meter dash to rank among the early Big 12 event leaders.

> Nuttelman Wins Triple Jump at Doane
Chris Nuttelman continued his recent outdoor season surge by winning the men's triple jump Saturday at the Doane Relays in Crete, Neb. Nuttelman's mark of 49-10 ranked as a personal-best effort, while it also qualified him for his first career NCAA regional meet.

In three competitions this season, the Husker freshman has improved his lifetime-best mark each time out. He entered the season with an outdoor personal best of 46-8 1/4, but he has easily improved on that distance in his first season of competition at NU. He currently ranks ninth in the Big 12 this year, only 1 1/2 inches shy of the eighth position.

> Stately Vaults to School Record at KU
Brysun Stately arrived at Nebraska during the off-season after transferring from USC owning the Trojans' school standard in women's pole vault, and she added yet another record to her resume during the Kansas Relays on April 21.

Stately shattered the Husker record in the event with a winning clearance of 14-3 1/4 to become the first NU women's athlete ever to surpass the 14-foot mark. The performance eclipsed the former NU record held by junior teammate Jenny Green, who vaulted 13-11 1/4 as a freshman at the 2004 Texas Relays to set what was then a Big 12 Conference record. Stately tied Green’s mark Saturday on the attempt prior to setting the record, as she reached 13-11 1/4 on her third try to keep herself in the competition.

Stately became the first NCAA athlete to clear 14 feet outdoors this season, and the height was nearly a half foot better than all other national marks recorded prior to the weekend. She also tied the Kansas Relays record set in 2004 by Andrea Dutoit (unattached).

The Rancho Cordova, Calif., native’s previous career best was 13-7 ?, which she set in 2005 as a freshman at USC. For her efforts, which included meeting the IAAF "B" standard for the 2007 World Championships and 2008 Beijing Olympics, she was named the Big 12 Athlete of the Week.

> <?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Nebraska’s NCAA Outdoor Qualifiers
Women
NCAA Outdoor Championships Qualifiers
Name....................................... Event   Mark (NCAA rank)
Ashley Selig........... Heptathlon (auto)   5,595 (7th)
Casie Witte............. Heptathlon (prov)   5,255 (21st)<?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 (t15th)
Nikita Eades................ 100m Hurdles   13.85 (64th)
Jenny Green.................... Pole Vault   12-8 (40th)
Leandra McGruder.......... Triple Jump   40-6 1/4 (t81st)
Chaunte McMillan............ Long Jump   19-10 1/4 (t50th)
Sheryl Morgan............. 400m Hurdles   59.33 (23rd)
Dace Ruskule........................ Discus   180-5 (4th)
Ashley Selig..................... High Jump   5-8 3/4 (t40th)
Kim Shubert..................... High Jump   5-8 3/4 (t40th)
Brysun Stately.................. Pole Vault   14-3 1/4 (1st)
Jeni Steiner....................... Shot Put   50-3 1/4 (35th)
                                               Discus   169-1 (28th)
Z. Suluki-Drakes............... Long Jump   19-9 (t59th)
                                        Triple Jump   42-0 1/2 (t24th)
Casie Witte...................... High Jump   5-10 1/2 (t28th)
Natalja Zarcenko..................... 800m   2:09.59 (t76th)
                                              1,500m   4:22.55 (28th)

 

Men
NCAA Outdoor Championships Qualifiers
Name...................................... Event   Mark (NCAA rank)
Lee Martin............... Decathlon (prov)   7,010 (19th)

NCAA Midwest Regional Qualifiers
Name...................................... Event   Mark (NCAA Rank)
Arturs Abolins.................. Long Jump   24-10w (14th)
Gable Baldwin.................. Pole Vault   17-2 3/4 (t10th)
Dax Danns.............................. 100m   10.50w (t58th)
Tim Grier.................... 400m Hurdles   52.12 (49th)
Zach Holoch.................... Pole Vault   16-6 3/4 (t32nd)
Lukas Hulett........................... 400m   46.65 (26th)
Dusty Jonas..................... High Jump   7-3 (t5th)
Chris Nuttelman.............. Triple Jump   49-10 (t39th)
Brian Parr................. 3,000m Steeple   9:05.95 (50th)
Andrew Pearson.......... 400m Hurdles   51.99 (44th)
Nic Petersen.................... Pole Vault   16-6 3/4 (t32nd)
Daniel Roper................... Triple Jump   51-8 1/4 (t11th)
Aaron Ross................. 110m Hurdles   13.99 (20th)
Tyrell Ross.................. 110m Hurdles   14.00w (t21st)
Peter van der Westhuizen  ..... 800m   1:50.04 (36th)
                                              1,500m   3:41.74 (5th)
Scott Wims............................. 100m   10.40w (t28th)
Issar Yazhbin....................... Hammer   204-6 (25th)
Relays................................. 4x100m   40.34 (31st)
                                             4x400m   3:07.67 (11th)

> Men's 4x200 Sets New Standard
While Stately set her own school record during the Kansas Relays, the first new school record of the 2007 season was actually recorded the previous day by the men's 4x200-meter relay team of Scott Wims, Dax Danns, Lukas Hulett and Nate Probasco.

The squad timed in at 23.12 to win the meet title and edge the nearly 20-year old school standard by .15 seconds. The race marked the Huskers’ first attempt at the event this season, as the squad was forced to pull out of the event at the Texas Relays because of inclement weather. The squad managed to overcome more than one flawed exchange during the race.

The previous school record of 1:23.27 was registered in 1988 by a team comprised of former Huskers Bill Trott, Dave Burrage, Mark Perry and Bob Jelks. Most impressive about the new record performance was that three freshmen helped to make up the relay.

> Husker Record-Book Climbers
The 2007 outdoor season has seen several Huskers move into the school's top-10 performance list for their respective events. In all, Huskers have registered 13 new top-10 marks during the campaign:

John Jacobs Invite/Mt. SAC Relays (April 12-13):
● Rachel Carrizales?Ran the No. 3 time of 10:51.71 in the women's steeplechase.
● Joslyn Dalton?Ran the No. 4 time (11:06.31) in the women's steeplechase.
● 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.

Kansas Relays (April 18-21):
● Casie Witte?Moved into 10th on the women's heptathlon chart with 5,255 points.
● Sheryl Morgan?Moved into eighth on the women's 400-meter hurdles chart with a time of 59.33.
● Brysun Stately?Set the school record in the women's pole vault at 14-3 1/4.
● Zarinah Suluki-Drakes?Entered the women's triple jump top 10 at No. 8 (42-0 1/2).
● Jeni Steiner?Entered the women's discus top 10 at No. 10 (169-1).
● Women's 4x100-Meter Shuttle Hurdle Relay?Tied NU's No. 8 all-time mark of 58.80.
● Men's 4x200-Meter Relay?Set the school record with a time of 1:23.12.

> 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 at the John Jacobs Invitation, and he will attempt to break the 25-foot barrier for the first time this season this week at Drake. While he has yet to even approach his career best, he still ranks 14th nationally in the event.

> 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 must 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 on April 16. 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 the Husker indoor school record 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 seventh nationally with the heptathlon score, while she leads all Big 12 athletes in the quest for her second career conference title in the event.

The Lincoln, Neb., native is competing this season after a year-long layoff that saw her redshirt the 2006 outdoor season while rehabbing from recurring back and hip injuries. She was ineligible to compete during the past indoor season because of exhausted eligibility.

> Husker Relays Solid to Begin Season
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 (since improved to 40.34), 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 Wednesday with the NU women vaulting into the rankings for the first time this season at No. 15. The Husker men fell out of the poll this week despite having four athletes listed 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
Brysun Stately, PV?1st
Dace Ruskule, DT?3rd
Ashley Selig, Hep?7th
Daniel Roper, TJ?12th

Men
Dusty Jonas, HJ?4th
Arturs Abolins, LJ?6th
P. van der Westhuizen, 1,500m?9th

> Women Ranked 16th in Coaches Poll
Nebraska made its first appearance of the outdoor season in the USTFCCCA track coaches poll this week, as the women's squad is ranked 16th in the latest poll.

The Husker women received a high rating of 19th during the indoor season, but they were only included in the poll's first release before dropping out of the rankings. The NU men, who have yet to receive a spot during the outdoor season, received a top position of No. 7 indoors.

> Doubling Up
Nine 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 then-career-best throw of 163-4 in the women's discus (since improved to 169-1) 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 competition at the Texas Relays. Teammate Casie Witte also owns a regional high jump mark to go along with her provisional qualification in the heptathlon at the Kansas 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.

Zarinah Suluki-Drakes became the latest Husker to double, adding regional efforts in both the long jump and triple jump at the Kansas Relays.

> NCAA Midwest Regional Rankings
Athletes must finish in the top five at regionals to earn an automatic berth to the NCAA meet (top three relays).

Women
Epley Bullock ? HJ ? T-4th
Nikita Eades ? 100h ? T-5th
Jenny Green ? PV ? 9th
Leandra McGruder ? TJ ? T-25th
Chaunte McMillan ? LJ ? T-11th
Sheryl Morgan ? 400h ? 2nd
Dace Ruskule ? DT ? 1st
Ashley Selig ? HJ ? T-14th
Kim Shubert ? HJ ? T-14th
Brysun Stately ? PV ? 1st
Jeni Steiner ? SP ? 10th; DT ? 9th
Zarniah Suluki-Drakes ? LJ ? T-14th; TJ ? 8th
Casie Witte ? HJ ? 9th
Natalja Zarcenko ? 800 ? T-17th; 1,500 ? 8th

Men
Arturs Abolins ? LJ ? 4th
Gable Baldwin ? PV ? T-3rd
Dax Danns ? 100m ? 16th
Tim Grier ? 400h ? 15th
Zach Holoch ? PV ? T-11th
Lukas Hulett? 400 ? 10th
Dusty Jonas ? HJ ? T-3rd
Chris Nuttelman ? TJ ? 10th
Brian Parr ? 3k Steeple ? 9th
Andrew Pearson? 400h ? 13th
Nic Petersen ? PV ? T-11th
Daniel Roper ? TJ ? T-5th
Aaron Ross ? 110h ? 6th
Tyrell Ross ? 110h ? 7th
Peter van der Westhuizen ? 800 ? 9th; 1,500 ? 1st
Scott Wims? 100m ? 6th
Issar Yazhbin ? HT ? 5th
4x100m Relay ? 6th
4x400m Relay ? 4th

> Husker Alumni Update
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.

April 16 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 April 14 with a toss of 216-8. Breisch's later mark 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 April 16.

Former Husker NCAA champion Priscilla Lopes opened her outdoor season at the Kansas Relays, as she posted a wind-aided time of 12.84 to finish third in the women's Invitational section of the 100-meter hurdles. Lopes' time would have ranked her fourth on the world's top times list entering the weekend.

> 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 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.