Huskers to Host Big 12 Tune-Up Saturday

Lincoln - Nebraska puts the final touches on its regular season outdoor schedule Saturday when it hosts the Nebraska Invitational at Ed Weir Stadium. The meet, which marks the second leg of a stretch featuring three home meets in 15 days, will provide several Huskers with one final opportunity to prepare in a competition setting for next week's Big 12 Outdoor Championships.

Six teams are expected to send athletes to compete Saturday, including Big 12 foes Iowa State, Kansas State and Oklahoma State (women). Drake and Nebraska-Omaha also have declared entries for the meet, as have several unattached athletes.

Nearly 70 Huskers are expected to see action beginning at 11 a.m. with the men's hammer throw. Track events are scheduled to start at Noon with the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase. The final running event, the men's 4x400-meter relay, is slated to begin at 4:30 p.m. Admission to the meet is free.

Live results during the Nebraska Invitational will be offered at Huskers.com, along with a post-meet recap and photo gallery at the conclusion of the day's events. A schedule with NU's entries is listed on page 2 of this week's Husker Track & Field Notes.

> Zarcenko Wins 1,500 at Drake Relays
Featuring one of its largest squads in years to compete at the Drake Relays last weekend, Nebraska put together a solid two days of competition that included 16 NCAA regional-qualifying performances in Des Moines, Iowa.

Natalja Zarcenko became the first Husker woman ever to win a 1,500-meter race at the prestigious meet when she posted a winning time of 4:21.57 in the University/College division final. Zarcenko outlasted Minnesota’s Heather Dornidan, the NCAA indoor 800-meter champion, during the run.

Leading for much of the race, Zarcenko found herself trailing Dornidan midway through the back stretch of the final lap before employing a late kick down the final 100 meters to claim victory. The Husker sophomore set a personal-best time for the second consecutive week with the performance.

In addition to Zarcenko's effort, the Husker men set three season-best times in relays, including a school-record time of 1:22.62 in the 4x200-meter relay. The squad comprised of Nate Probasco, Dax Danns, Lukas Hulett and Scott Wims previously set the school record exactly one week earlier at the Kansas Relays.

Other Husker standouts during the Drake Relays included:
● Brian Parr?Ran NU's fastest time (8:58.30) in the men's steeplechase since 1997 while placing second.
● Rachel Carrizales?Earned her first regional mark in the women's steeple with a career-best time of 10:49.81.
● Chantae McMillan?Broke 20 feet in the women's long jump for the first career time (20-1w).
● Kim Shubert?Placed second in the high jump with a personal-best height of 5-10 1/2.
● Aaron Ross and Scott Wims?Each reached finals in their events (110 hurdles, 200 meters) while placing fourth and fifth, respectively.

> Morgan Represents NU Well at Penn
Due to this year's NCAA Midwest Regional being held in Des Moines, only two Huskers?Sheryl Morgan and Tim Grier?traveled to Philadelphia this spring to compete in the Penn Relays.

Morgan had a solid showing in the women's 400-meter hurdles, as she placed fifth overall with a time of 58.52. The mark ranks as the fastest by Morgan in her three seasons at Nebraska. She owns a personal best of 56.81, which she set as a prep athlete in Jamaica. Morgan won the 2003 Penn Relays high school title in the event two years before arriving at Nebraska.

> Home Opener a Success
Nebraska’s first home outdoor meet of the season proved to be an overwhelming success, as several Huskers completed the weekend with phenomenal marks during the Nebraska Open at NU’s Ed Weir Stadium.

Among the notable Huskers with solid days were Dusty Jonas, who swept the men’s high jump and long jump, and Issar Yazhbin, the new school record-holder in the men’s hammer throw.

Yazhbin easily won the men’s hammer with a toss of 207-3 on his fourth of six attempts, which just barely surpassed the former school record of 207-2 set by former Husker Greg Armitage in 1996. Yazhbin’s previous career best of 206-11 was registered during his junior season of 2005 at the Big 12 Championships.

Only Yazhbin’s performance could have overshadowed that of Jonas, who posted big marks while winning both the men’s high jump and long jump events. He started the day by leaping a wind-aided distance of 25-5 1/2 in the long jump, a personal best by nearly 1 1/2 feet, while later clearing 7-5 1/4 in the high jump, which was only a centimeter shy of the 7-5 3/4 mark he registered as a sophomore in 2006.

Jonas earned his second career Big 12 Men's Athlete of the Week honor for his double-gold performance.

Other Huskers experiencing successful home openers included:
● Chantae McMillan?Set a personal best for the second straight day in the women's long jump with a wind-aided mark of 20-6.
● Jeni Steiner?Hit 52 feet in the women's shot put for the first time in her career (52-0).
● Casie Witte?Earned her first regional mark in the women's javelin with a 10-foot personal best of 150-2.
● Scott Wims?Became NU's first regional qualifier in the men's 200 meters with a personal-best time of 21.07.
● Danielle Smith?Notched NU's third regional mark of the year in the women's triple jump with a legal-wind leap of 40-7.
● Kim Pancoast?Doubled up to win both the women's 800- and 1,500- meter races.

> Nebraska's 2007 NCAA Outdoor Qualifiers
Women
NCAA Outdoor Championships Qualifiers
Name?Event?Mark (NCAA rank)
Ashley Selig?Heptathlon (auto)?5,595 (8th)
Casie Witte?Heptathlon (prov)?5,255 (21st)

NCAA Midwest Regional Qualifiers
Name?Event?Mark (NCAA rank)
Epley Bullock?High Jump?5-10 3/4 (t21st)
Rachel Carrizales?3,000m SC?10:49.81 (92nd)
Nikita Eades?100m Hurdles?13.85 (72nd)
Jenny Green?Pole Vault?12-9 1/2 (t40th)
Leandra McGruder?Triple Jump?40-6 1/4 (92nd)
Chantae McMillan?Long Jump?20-6 1/4 (t21st)
Sheryl Morgan?400m Hurdles?58.52 (17th)
Dace Ruskule?Discus?180-5 (4th)
Ashley Selig?High Jump?5-8 3/4 (t47th)
Kim Shubert?High Jump?5-10 1/2 (t31st)
Danielle Smith?Triple Jump?40-7 (t87th)
Brysun Stately?Pole Vault?14-3 1/4 (1st)
Jeni Steiner?Shot Put?52-0 (t20th); Discus?169-1 (30th)
Z. Suluki-Drakes?Long Jump?19-9 (t67th); Triple Jump?42-0 1/2 (t27th)
Casie Witte?High Jump?5-10 1/2 (t31st); Javelin?150-2 (49th)
Natalja Zarcenko?800m?2:09.59 (t86th); 1,500m?4:21.57 (27th)

Men
NCAA Outdoor Championships Qualifiers
Name?Event?Mark (NCAA rank)
Lee Martin?Decathlon (prov)?7,010 (24th)

NCAA Midwest Regional Qualifiers
Name?Event?Mark (NCAA rank)
Arturs Abolins?Long Jump?24-11 3/4(16th)
Gable Baldwin?Pole Vault?17-2 3/4 (t14th)
Aaron Bozarth?Hammer Throw?184-10 (110th)
Dax Danns?100m?10.50w (t63rd)
Tim Grier?400m Hurdles?52.12 (59th)
Zach Holoch?Pole Vault?16-6 3/4 (t34th)
Lukas Hulett?400m?46.65 (28th)
Dusty Jonas?High Jump?7-5 1/4 (3rd); Long Jump?25-5 1/2 (6th)
Chris Nuttelman?Triple Jump?49-10 (48th)
Brian Parr?3,000m SC?8:58.30 (31st)
Andrew Pearson?400m Hurdles?51.99 (54th)
Nic Petersen?Pole Vault?16-6 3/4 (t34th)
Daniel Roper?Triple Jump?51-8 1/4 (t12th)
Aaron Ross?110m Hurdles?13.99 (26th)
Tyrell Ross?110m Hurdles?14.00w (t27th)
Peter van der Westhuizen?800m 1:50.04 (48th); 1,500m?3:41.74 (7th)
Scott Wims?100m?10.40w (t29th); 200m?21.07 (t51st)
Issar Yazhbin?Hammer?207-3 (24th)
Relays?4x100m?40.21 (20th); 4x400m?3:06.09 (5th)

> Husker Goes the Distance at Stanford
Also competing Sunday was Peter van der Westhuizen, who hopped a flight to the west coast after running the 4x800-meter relay at Drake on Friday. The Husker junior ran the 1,500 meters at Stanford's Cardinal Invitational and placed fifth overall, and second among collegians, with a time of 3:42.13.

> NU Records Falling Like Rain this Spring
Following an indoor season that featured not a single school-record-setting performance, Huskers picked up the pace outdoors with four such efforts in a 10-day period in mid-April.

The Nebraska men's 4x200-meter relay team of Scott Wims, Lukas Hulett, Dax Danns and Nate Probasco got the ball rolling by clocking a time of 1:23.12 at the Kansas Relays on April 20 to erase the previous mark of 1:23.27 set in 1987 by a squad comprised of former Huskers Bill Trott, Dave Burrage, Mark Perry and Bob Jelks. The record lasted only a week, as the same Husker team re-set its own mark at 1:22.62 during the Drake Relays on April 27.

Brysun Stately followed up NU's first record of 2007 with one of her own in the women's pole vault on April 21 at KU. 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 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 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 most recent school record to fall came at the hands of Issar Yazhbin in the hammer throw. Yazhbin recorded a mark of 207-3 to break Greg Armitage's 1996 record of 207-2 by an inch on his fourth of six attempts. Yazhbin previously ranked second on the school's list with a career best of 206-11, which he registered during his junior season at the 2005 Big 12 Championships.

> Parr Ends NU Steeplechase Drought
Brian Parr has had a solid freshman season in the 3,000-meter steeplechase capped by a time of 8:58.30 during a runner-up performance at the Drake Relays on April 28. His time marks the fastest by a Husker in the event in nearly a decade, as former Huskers David Olson (8:50.15) and Jeroen Broekzitter (8:51.89) each broke the nine-minute barrier back in 1997.

Parr opened his Husker outdoor 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 on March 31 with a then-personal-best time of 9:05.95.

With the time, Parr became the first Husker to record a regional qualifying mark in the men's steeplechase since the NCAA instituted the regional format in 2003.

> Husker Relays Solid at Drake
Nebraska wasted little time in receiving solid efforts from its men's relays this season, as the 4x100- and 4x400-meter groups each 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.

Those times were further lowered at the Drake Relays, as the teams recorded new season bests of 40.21 and 3:06.09. While the 400-meter time came from the same foursome during the Drake prelims, the 1,600-meter crew lined up with Danns instead of Pearson for both prelim and final heats. The squad also ran under 3:07 during the prelims.

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.

> 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 Invitational, and he inched closer to the 25-foot plateau with a mark of 24-11 3/4 at Drake. While he has yet to even approach his career best, he still ranks 16th nationally in the event.

> Probasco Earns NCAA Scholarship
Three-time All-American Nate Probasco was one of 58 winter sports student-athletes from across the nation awarded an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship, it was announced Tuesday. Probasco was one of only four indoor men's track and field athletes?and the lone Division I competitor?to receive the honor.

A native of Scribner, Neb., Probasco was named a second-team Academic All-American as a junior in 2006. He has competed as a senior this season after already having earned his bachelor’s degree in history last August with a 3.78 cumulative grade-point average. On the track, Probasco has combined to win four Big 12 championships in the 200-meter dash and 4x100-meter relay events during his career. He also ran on the Huskers’ eighth-place 4x400-meter relay at the NCAA Indoor Championships in early March.

To qualify for an NCAA postgraduate scholarship, a student-athlete must have an overall grade-point average of 3.200 (on a 4.000 scale) or its equivalent and must have performed with distinction as a member of the varsity team in the sport in which the student-athlete was nominated. The student-athlete also must intend to continue academic work beyond the baccalaureate degree as a full-time or part-time graduate student.

> 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 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 16 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.

Penn Relays (April 26):
● Sheryl Morgan?Ran the No. 6 400 hurdles time of 58.56, moving up from eighth place.

Drake Relays (April 27-28):
● Men's 4x200-Meter Relay?Broke its week-old school record with at time of 1:22.62.
● Natalja Zarcenko?Moved into fifth on NU's women's 1,500-meter chart in 4:21.57.

Nebraska Open (April 29):
● Issar Yazhbin?Broke the school record for the men's hammer throw with a toss of 207-3.
● Dusty Jonas?Became NU's No. 6 all-time performer in the men's long jump with a wind-aided leap of 25-5 1/2.
● Casie Witte?Moved into fifth place on NU's women's javelin list with a throw of 150-2.

> Five Huskers 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.

> 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.

> Huskers in the 'Dandy Dozen'
The Trackwire 25 projection of the 2007 outdoor season was updated Tuesday with the NU men joining the Husker women in the rankings for the first time this season at No. 22. The Husker women occupied the 15th position for the second straight week.

The Trackwire scoring is calculated by track and field statistician Gary Verigin, who utilizes an individual event rankings system named the 'Dandy Dozen.' Huskers among the 'Dandy Dozen' athlete rankings this week included:

Women
Brysun Stately, PV?2nd
Dace Ruskule, DT?4th
Ashley Selig, Hep?8th
Sheryl Morgan, 400h?10th

Men
Dusty Jonas, HJ?3rd
4x400m Relay?4th
Arturs Abolins, LJ?7th
P. van der Westhuizen, 1,500m?9th

> Women Ranked 17th in Coaches Poll
Nebraska continued its recent outdoor run in the USTFCCCA track coaches poll this week after earning the poll's No. 17 position. NU was ranked 16th last week.

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.

> 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.