Sprinters, Jumpers Open Outdoor Season at Texas Relays

Lincoln?One week after Nebraska’s distance and throws event groups got an early jump start to the outdoor season, several other Huskers will see their first action this week at the Texas Relays in Austin, Texas. NU will also send athletes to Emporia, Kan., Saturday to compete in the Emporia State Relays.

The group traveling to Texas will be comprised mainly of sprinters and jumpers, although a few throwers will also make the trip, in addition to Husker women’s multi-eventers Ashley Selig and Casie Witte.

The Texas Relays will run Wednesday through Saturday, with the combined events being contested during the first two days. Track prelims will be held on both Thursday and Friday with finals scheduled for the final day. Field events will be scattered over three days between Thursday and Saturday.

Husker fans looking to follow the action in Austin can find live results by visiting www.deltatiming.com. A complete listing of NU’s entries is listed below, while is schedule of Husker events is included on page 2 of this week’s Husker track and field notes.

Distance coach Jay Dirksen will send several runners to Emporia, along with a collection of other athletes not traveling to Austin. Field events lead off the meet at 10 a.m., while running events follow at 11 a.m. Live results will not be available for the day, although a final recap and full results can be found later during the evening on Huskers.com.

> Nebraska's Texas Relays Entries
Women
Epley Bullock?high jump
Nikita Eades?100m hurdles, 400m hurdles, 4x100m
Jenny Green?pole vault
Chi Kalu?100m, 4x100m
Sara Lyons?100m, 4x100m
Leandra McGruder?triple jump, 4x100m
Dace Ruskule?discus
Ashley Selig?heptathlon
Kim Shubert?100m hurdles, high jump
Tamara Solari?hammer throw
Brysun Stately?pole vault
Jeni Steiner?shot put, discus
Zarinah Suluki-Drakes?triple jump
Casie Witte?heptathlon

Men
Arturs Abolins?long jump
Gable Baldwin?pole vault
Bryan Bell?hammer throw
Seth Burney?pole vault
Dax Danns?4x100m, 4x200m, 4x400m
Tim Grier?400m hurdles
Lukas Hulett?4x100m, 4x200m, 4x400m
Dusty Jonas?high jump
Andrew Pearson?400m hurdles, 4x400m
Nic Petersen?pole vault
Nate Probasco?4x100m, 4x200m, 4x400m
Robert Rands?long jump
Daniel Roper?long jump, triple jump
Aaron Ross?110m hurdles
Tyrell Ross?110m hurdles, 400m hurdles
Scott Wims?4x100m, 4x200m
Issar Yazhbin?hammer throw

> Nebraska's Emporia State Relays Entries
Women
Rachel Carrizales?3,000m steeplechase
Joslyn Dalton?3,000m steeplechase
Jennifer Fritz?3,000m steeplechase
Elizabeth Marsh?5,000m
Betsy Miller?800m, 1,500m
Sara Prince?1,500m
Danielle Smith?triple jump

Men
Kyle Custer?1,500m
Mackenzie Jeffrey?3,000m steeplechase
Andrew Lind?800m
Ethan Luebbe?800m
Brian Parr?800m
Ryan Petrocchi?javelin
David Schutter?javelin
Vince Sickler?800m
Igor Somda?triple jump
Bryce Somer?5,000m

> Three of a Kind
Eleven meets into the 2007 season, and Nebraska will finally see each of its three former national champions compete during the same weekend. Arturs Abolins (2006 men’s indoor and outdoor long jump), Dace Ruskule (2006 women’s discus) and Ashley Selig (2005 women’s pentathlon) each are scheduled to compete in their specialty events at the Texas Relays.

Both Ruskule and Selig opened their seasons last weekend at the Stanford Invitational, but Abolins will be competing for the first time since the Prairie Wolf Invite on Feb. 16. While Ruskule does not compete during the indoor season, Selig was ineligible during the 2007 indoor campaign after exhausting her eligibility last year.

Abolins’ situation has been different, as he has been slowed by a stained calf muscle suffered in early January. His senior season thus far has totaled only 6.94 seconds?his time during the prelims of the 60-meter dash at the Prairie Wolf meet. Abolins later reaggrevated his injury that day during run-throughs of the long jump, a setback that in effect ended his indoor season.

> Selig Set for First Heptathlon Since ?05
One of the more notable story lines for the upcoming weekend will be Ashley Selig’s first heptathlon competition since earning third place at the 2005 NCAA Outdoor Championships.

The Husker senior was forced to redshirt outdoors in 2006 while suffering from back and hip injuries that limited her effectiveness during the indoor season. She was ineligible to compete earlier this season indoors due to exhausted eligibility. Selig placed fifth in the NCAA indoor pentathlon last season during her last combined events challenge.

The Lincoln native, who is a five-time All-American and three-time Big 12 Conference champion, opened the outdoor season last weekend at the Stanford Invitational, where she placed fifth in the women’s long jump (19-2) and ran during the semis of the 100-meter hurdles (14.34).

Selig will be tested in her first heptathlon of the season, as she will face three former NCAA multi-event competitors, including 2007 NCAA indoor runner-up Diana Pickler (Washington State) and Big 12 pentathlon champion Julianne Kennedy (Texas Tech). Teammate Casie Witte will join Selig for NU’s first shot at the women’s heptathlon this season.

> Huskers to Send Six All-America Jumpers to Texas
In addition to the All-American Ashley Selig, six such athletes just from NU’s jumps and pole vault groups will be in attendance at Texas’ Mike A. Meyers Stadium.

Nebraska’s leaders in the men’s and women’s high jump each will treat the weekend as a homecoming, as Dusty Jonas and Epley Bullock both return to their home state of Texas to compete.

Jonas will look for his first Texas Relays title against a tough field featuring 2007 NCAA indoor competitors Andra Manson (Texas), Ivan Diggs (Houston), Will Littleton (Texas-Pan Am) and Tone Belt (Louisville). Bullock will compete in the women’s University/College division for the first time against NCAA qualifiers Destinee Hooker (Texas), Caroline Wolf (Texas A&M), Lacy Wilson (Texas Tech), Levern Spencer (Georgia) and Keneisha Creary (UCLA).

NU hopes to have two All-Americans competing in three different events?the men’s long jump and men’s and women’s pole vault.

The Huskers hope to have reigning NCAA outdoor long jump champion Arturs Abolins competing for the first time in his specialty event this weekend. Abolins was held out of indoor competition during the first part of the year with a strained calf muscle. He is also expected to factor into NU’s sprint relay contingent this season. Also slated to compete in the long jump, as well as the triple jump, is All-American Daniel Roper. Both events will feature the 2007 NCAA indoor champs, Louisville’s Tone Belt (long jump) and Andre Black (triple jump).

Nebraska will have four All-Americans?two men and two women?in the pole vault, led by Brysun Stately, who tied for seventh in the NCAA indoor women’s competition earlier this season. Jenny Green will join Stately in the event, while Gable Baldwin and Seth Burney, who both fell just shy of qualifying for the NCAA indoor meet, are entered in the men’s field.

Three of the last four Big 12 champs will compete in the men’s section of the pole vault?Baldwin (2005 outdoor); Oklahoma’s Scott Martin (2006 outdoor) and Kansas’ Adam Scott (2007 indoor), and the women’s field boasts eight 2007 NCAA indoor qualifiers, including four of the top eight finishers.

> Husker Relays to Open Season
Annually one of the most entertaining aspects of the track and field season are the numerous relay meets that help make up the outdoor schedule. Nebraska will have four relays competing in Texas this year, including three men’s squads.

The lone women’s team entered, the 4x100-meter relay, is expected to be an extremely young group made up of three freshmen and one sophomore?Leandra McGruder, Sarah Lyons, Nikita Eades and Chi Kalu. NU will attempt to earn a regional qualifying mark this year in the women’s sprint relay after failing to reach the regional standard a year ago.

Nate Probasco, Dax Dans and Lukas Hulett should look forward to busy weekends, as each Husker is slated to compete in all three Nebraska men’s relay events?the 4x100, 4x200 and 4x400. Scott Wims will join the group for both the 4x100 and 4x200, while Andrew Pearson is expected to run on the 4x400 relay.

Sprints/relays coach Matt Martin said he believes the 4x200 relay group, which will run at several meets this year, can challenge the school-record time of 1:23.27 (Trott, Burrage, Perry, Jelks; 1988) this year. Meanwhile, the other two relays should be very strong for the Huskers in their run at a second Big 12 team championship this season.

> NU Earns 10 Regional Marks at Stanford
Nine Huskers combined to record 10 NCAA regional qualifications during Nebraska’s outdoor season opener last weekend at the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif.

Five members of the NU women’s team reached regional standards, including Dace Ruskule, who recorded the nation’s third-best throw this season in the discus of 180-5. While Ruskule finished fourth overall, she was the top collegian finisher in the field.

Nebraska’s highest finishes from the women’s squad came from Sheryl Morgan and Chaunte McMillan. Morgan placed second in the 400-meter hurdles in 1:00.04, a time that ranked faster than any Husker performance during all of last season. McMillan also earned a runner-up finish after leaping 19-10 1/4 in the long jump during her Husker debut. She was sidelined indoors after rehabbing from ankle surgery.

Joining the trio as regional qualifiers were Jeni Steiner, who finished sixth (49-9 1/4) in the shot put, and Natalja Zarcenko, who ran a personal-best time of 2:09.59 to finish 19th among a stacked field.

Two Husker distance runners accounted for three regional marks for the NU men, as Peter van der Westhuizen clocked times of 1:50.04 in the 800 meters and 3:46.82 in the 1,500 meters and Brian Parr ran 9:05.95 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.

Aaron Ross, who was ineligible to compete indoors with exhausted eligibility, opened his year strong with a third-place finish in the 110-meter hurdles (14.10), while Issar Yazhbin threw a mark of 201-10 to place fourth in the men’s hammer throw. Yazhbin was the second collegian finisher in the event.

> Nebraska’s 2007 NCAA Outdoor Qualifiers
Women
Name?Event?Mark (NCAA rank)
Chaunte McMillan?Long Jump?19-10 1/4 (t23rd)
Sheryl Morgan?400m Hurdles?1:00.04 (23rd)
Dace Ruskule?Discus?180-5 (3rd)
Jeni Steiner?Shot Put?49-9 1/4 (24th)
Natalja Zarcenko?800M?2:09.59 (30th)

Men
Name?Event?Mark (NCAA Rank)
Brian Parr?3,000m Steeplechase?9:05.95 (19th)
Aaron Ross 110m Hurdles?14.10 (21st)
Peter van der Westhuizen?800m?1:50.04 (14th); 1,500m 3:46.82 (18th)
Issar Yazhbin?Hammer?201-1 (21st)

> 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. 3 throw this season.

> 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).

> Doubling Up
Peter van der Westhuizen joined Brian Parr in making the outdoor opener a success for the Husker men’s distance crew, as he reached the regional standard in both events in which he competed?the 800- and 1,500-meter races.

The NU junior clocked in with times of 1:50.04 and 3:46.82, respectively, while running on back-to-back days to place among the top-nine finishers in each event.

> Huskers in the ?Dandy Dozen’
The first Trackwire 25 projection of the 2007 outdoor season was released Tuesday with both NU’s women’s (16th) and men’s (17th) opening the season among the nation’s top 25 teams. Individual Huskers among the ?Dandy Dozen’ athlete rankings that help make up the team projections included:

Women
Dace Ruskule, DT?1st
Epley Bullock, HJ?8th
Brysun Stately, PV?8th

Men
Arturs Abolins, LJ?1st
Dusty Jonas-HJ?2nd

Kayla Wilkinson was also included in the women’s javelin rankings, but she will not compete in 2007 while rehabbing from shoulder surgery.

> 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.

> 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.