Nebraska Sends 39 to NCAA Midwest Regional

Lincoln?As the 2007 track and field season continues to wind down, Nebraska will send 39 athletes to Des Moines, Iowa, this weekend for the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships. The event, hosted this year at the home of the Drake Relays, serves as the qualifying meet for next month's NCAA Outdoor Championships, to be held June 6-9 in Sacramento, Calif.

Competition for the two-day regional is scheduled to begin both Friday and Saturday at 1 p.m. with field events, while action on the track will begin at 2 p.m. on Friday and 3 p.m. on Saturday. Nearly all Friday track events will be preliminary rounds, with the only exceptions being the men's and women's 5,000-meter races to conclude the first day.

Live results from the NCAA Midwest Regional can be found on-line at Drake University's official athletics web site, www.drakebulldogs.com, while a live webcast of the meet will also be offered at the site free of charge. Final results and a complete recap will be available on Huskers.com following each day's events. A complete schedule listed with NU's entries can be found on page 2 of this week's Husker NCAA Midwest Regional Guide (link at top of page).

> Nebraska Men’s and Women’s Regional Rosters
Husker Women (19 Women; 23 Entries)
Name?Class?Hometown?2007 NCAA Regional Events (Regional Rank)
Epley Bullock?Fr.?Allen, Texas?HJ (6th)
Rachel Carrizales?So.?Morrill, Neb.?3,000m Steeplechase (10th)
Joslyn Dalton?So.?Fremont, Neb.?3,000m Steeplechase (12th)
Nikita Eades?Fr.?Aurora, Colo.?100m Hurdles (18th)
Jenny Green?Jr.?Grand Island, Neb.?PV (4th)
Erin Hannon?Fr.?Bradford, Pa.?HJ (T-16th)
Leandra McGruder?Fr.?Jefferson City, Mo.?LJ (15th); TJ (16th)
Chantae McMillan?Fr.?Rolla, Mo.?LJ (8th)
Sheryl Morgan?Sr.?Manchester, Jamaica?400m Hurdles (1st)
Kim Pancoast?Sr.?Cape Girardeau, Mo.?1,500m (15th)
Dace Rusukle?Sr.?Vecumnieku Pagasts, Latvia?DT (1st)
Ashley Selig?Sr.?Lincoln, Neb.?HJ (T-12th)
Kim Shubert?Jr.?Lincoln, Neb.?HJ (T-7th)
Danielle Smith?Fr.?Bellevue, Neb.?TJ (21st)
Tamara Solari?Jr.?Leawood, Kan.?HT (17th)
Brysun Stately?So.?Citrus Heights, Calif.?PV (1st)
Jeni Steiner?Sr.?Columbus, Neb.?SP (5th); DT (8th)
Zarinah Suluki-Drakes?So.?Orlando, Fla.?LJ (20th); TJ (10th)
Casie Witte?Sr.?Lincoln, Neb.?HJ (11th); JT (15th)

Husker Men (20 Men; 26 Entries)
Name?Class?Hometown?2007 NCAA Regional Events (Regional Rank)
Arturs Abolins?Sr.?Riga, Latvia?LJ (9th)
Gable Baldwin?Sr.?Grand Island, Neb.?PV (10th)
Bryan Bell?Jr.?Bellevue, Neb.?HT (17th)
Aaron Bozarth?Jr.?Lincoln, Neb.?HT (23rd)
Dax Danns?Fr.?Lemon Grove, Calif.?100m (8th); 200m (13th); 4x100m (5th); 4x400m (3rd)
Tim Grier?Fr.?Stone Mountain, Ga.?400m Hurdles (9th)
Zac Holoch?So.?York, Neb.?PV (T-16th)
Lukas Hulett?Fr.?Bellevue, Neb.?400m (4th); 4x100m (5th); 4x400m (3rd)
Dusty Jonas?Jr.?La Vernia, Texas?HJ (4th); LJ (5th)
Chris Nuttelman?RFr.?Kearney, Neb.?TJ (16th)
Brian Parr?RFr.?Fremont, Neb.?3,000m Steeplechase (8th)
Andrew Pearson?Jr.?Seward, Neb.?400m Hurdles (16th); 4x400m (3rd)
Nic Petersen?Sr.?Omaha, Neb.?PV (T-16th)
Nate Probasco?Sr.?Scribner, Neb.?200m (6th); 4x100m (5th); 4x400m (3rd)
Daniel Roper?Sr.?Plantation, Fla.?LJ (8th); TJ (2nd)
Aaron Ross?Sr.?Mullica Hill, N.J.?110m Hurdles (T-5th)
Tyrell Ross?RFr.?Mullica Hill, N.J.?110m Hurdles (T-5th); 4x100m (5th)
Peter van der Westhuizen?Jr.?Kempton Park, South Africa?1,500m (3rd)
Scott Wims?Fr.?Fort Wayne, Ind.?100m (6th); 200m (7th); 4x100m (5th); 4x400m (3rd)
Issar Yazhbin?Sr.?Yavne, Israel?HT (7th)

> Nebraska NCAA Regional Bits
● NU's 26 men's regional entries rank sixth among all teams nationally, as well as No. 1 for the Midwest region.
● NU's women's team owns 23 entries, which ranks 11th nationally and second in the Midwest region.
● The 10 Husker men's jumps (including pole vault) entries are more than any other NCAA team. Five others own eight each.
● NU boasts 13 women's jumps entries to tie for first nationally with UCLA.
● Nebraska has won three of eight Midwest Regional team titles since 2003 (see page 3).
● Nebraska set the Midwest Regional men's team scoring record in 2005 with 92.50 points.
● Three current Huskers have won NCAA Midwest Regional titles (Arturs Abolins and Nate Probasco - 4x100-meter relay; and
Dace Ruskule - discus).
● 11 Huskers enter the weekend ranked among the region's top five for their events (the minimum automatic qualification standard for the NCAA Championships).
● Each of NU's three No. 1 rankings belong to women.
● Dusty Jonas is the lone Husker with multiple top-five rankings in individual events (high jump, long jump).
● 13 of Nebraska's regional qualifiers are seniors.
● The Husker women's squad is very young with 11 of 19 entries either sophomores or freshmen.
● 13 total NU freshmen will compete this weekend.

> About the NCAA Regional System
Now in its fifth year of existence, the NCAA regional format is the system utilized by the NCAA to determine entries for June's NCAA Outdoor Championships, which will be held at Sacramento State's Hornet Stadium in Sacramento, Calif.

Four regional meets will be held at different sites: East?Gainesville, Fla.; Mideast?Columbia, Mo.; Midwest?Des Moines, Iowa; and West?Eugene, Ore.

All athletes finishing among the top five in an individual event, as well as all relays in the top three, will earn automatic qualifications to the NCAA outdoor meet. At-large selections will also be chosen next week to help fill out the field depending on top 2007 performances. Exactly 544 athletes from both men's and women's fields will be selected to fill out the national meet.

All events at the NCAA meet, with the exceptions of the heptathlon, decathlon and both 10,000-meter run events, are determined by the regional system. The four events excluded utilize the same automatic and provisional selection process used during the indoor season.

> Midwest Regional Breakdown
Nebraska should feel very comfortable at this year's NCAA Midwest Regional due to two huge factors:

1. Most of NU's regional qualifiers competed at Drake Stadium during the Drake Relays only four weekends ago. Also, the track at the facility is covered with the same Mondo synthetic rubber surface used at Nebraska's Ed Weir Stadium.

2. The Midwest Regional typically plays out much like the Big 12 Championships, as 11 of the conference's 12 schools help to make up the region. Missouri (Mideast) is the lone Big 12 school not included in the Midwest.

Competition should be much stiffer than the Big 12 meet, though, as there are 39 schools overall included in the region, including non-Big 12 powers such as Houston, Iowa, Minnesota, TCU and UTEP, among others.

> Nebraska at the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships
Women
Year?Place?NU Finish (Points)?Champion (Points)?NU Top-Five Finishers*
2006?Austin, Texas?Fifth (46)?Texas (93)?Five (Three Champs)
2005?Norman, Okla.?Second (65.5)?Texas (75)?Nine (Two Champs)
2004?College Station, Texas?Second (105)?Texas (110)?Fourteen (Three Champs)
2003?Lincoln, Neb.?First (103)?Nebraska (103)?Twelve (Five Champs)

Men
Year?Place?NU Finish (Points)?Champion (Points)?NU Top-Five Finishers*
2006?Austin, Texas?Sixth (42)?Texas (91.33)?Seven (No Champs)
2005?Norman, Okla.?First (92.5)?Nebraska (92.5)?Thirteen (Two Champs)
2004?College Station, Texas?First (86)?Nebraska (86)?Eleven (Two Champs)
2003?Lincoln, Neb.?Tie - Third (56)?Minnesota (65.5)?Seven (Two Champs)
* - All top-five finishers in individual events under the current regional format, as well as the top three relays, earn automatic qualifications to the NCAA Championships.

> Four Huskers Claim Big 12 Titles
The Nebraska women's team registered the program's first four conference champions of the 2007 season on the road to earning a surprising runner-up finish (117 points) at the Big 12 Outdoor Championshps May 11 though 13 in Lincoln. The squad rebounded from a disappointing fourth-place effort during the indoor conference meet.

The Huskers also finished fifth (86) during a balanced men's team race that featured just 37.5 points separating the top six teams.

Ashley Selig and Jenny Green each won their fourth career Big 12 crowns on Saturday with Selig in the women's heptathlon and Green in the women's pole vault. Selig broke the Ed Weir Stadium record with her score of 5,726, while Green exceeded the 13-foot mark for the first time outdoors in 2007 (13-5 1/4).

Dace Ruskule put her senior season back on track with a win in the women's discus with a season-best throw of 182-10. The performance marked her second career Big 12 crown and the first time she had reached 180 feet since the season-opening Stanford Invitational.

Sheryl Morgan closed out the weekend with her first career conference victory in the women's 400-meter hurdles. She posted the nation's seventh-fastest time of 57.04 while ending an eight-year Texas winning streak in the event.

Other Husker standouts at the Big 12 meet included:
● Daniel Roper?While he was unable to reach the finals of the men's triple jump, he did soar to 25-7 1/2 in the long jump?No. 5 in NU history?to earn second place.
● Lee Martin and Casie Witte?Placed second in the decathlon and heptathlon, respectively, while registering scores that could qualify for the NCAA Championships.
● Scott Wims?Earned four All-Big 12 finishes, including fifth place in both the 100 and 200 with personal bests.
● Aaron Ross and Tim Grier?Ran career-best times in the finals to finish third in the 110- and 400-meter hurdles.
● Rachel Carrizales and Joslyn Dalton?Finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in the women's steeplechase after entering the weekend ranked ninth and eighth.

> Morgan Stands Out During Senior Year
One of Nebraska's most noticeable success stories in 2007 has been Sheryl Morgan's rise to stardom as a senior. A standout prep star in Jamaica before coming to Nebraska, Morgan had been a dependable All-Big 12 performer for the Huskers but had never made much of a splash on the national scene.

After focusing primarily on the 400-meter dash in 2005 and 2006, Morgan placed her full efforts on the 400 hurdles this spring and the work has certainly paid off. She claimed Nebraska's first conference title in the event since 1991 (Susan Hendrick) at the Big 12 outdoor meet with a blistering time of 57.04.

Morgan's clocking, which is nearly three full seconds faster than any other time she had previously run at Nebraska prior to this season, currently rates No. 7 nationally. She also has risen up the Huskers' all-time performance list to third for the event.

Her streak of races cutting down season-best times currently stands at five dating back to the prelims of the Kansas Relays (April 20).

> Selig Shines in Home Finale
Ashley Selig's season-long plan of building for the NCAA Outdoor Championships continued to pay dividends at the Big 12 outdoor meet, where she claimed her fourth career conference crown in the combined events.

Interestingly, Selig's final performance at NU's outdoor home?Ed Weir Stadium?also marked her first outdoor multi-event competition in Lincoln. She was able to set a new facility record with 5,726 points to break the former mark of 5,666 by Teri LeBlanc (Missouri, 1989).

The Big 12 championship made Selig the first Husker woman ever with two conferce titles in the heptathlon, while she also became the first woman in the Big 12 era to earn four overall combined events league titles.

The Lincoln native earned a standing ovation down the home stretch of the 800 meters to conclude the competition while winning the event.

Selig 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.

Her current score ranks her fifth among all NCAA athletes and earned her an automatic qualification to the national meet. Selig earlier hit the auto standard in her first attempt of the year during a fifth-place finish (5,595) at the Texas Relays.

> Ruskule Finds Groove in Discus
Dace Ruskule put a highlight on a tough outdoor season with her second career conference championship in the women's discus at the Big 12 meet.

The reigning NCAA outdoor champ in the event, Ruskule had reached 180 feet in the discus only once this season, in the season opener, while dealing with nagging injuries. In comparison, her 2006 championship season featured all nine meets with no marks under 180 feet.

Ruskule showed signs of progress with a winning mark of 182-10?also a season best?at the Big 12 meet to earn Nebraska's fifth conference title in the event over the past six seasons. She also ended her six-meet stretch of top throws in the 170s, dating to a spin of 180-5 at the Stanford Invite.

> Green Back to Top of Big 12
Jenny Green put a stop to her season-long frustration in the women’s pole vault, as she led a Husker sweep of the top two positions with a winning clearance of 13-5 1/4 at the Big 12 outdoor meet. She previously had failed to reach a bar higher than 12-9 1/2 this season.

A Grand Island, Neb., native, Green once again proved to be clutch in her specialty event, as she became the first women’s athlete in Big 12 history to earn a second career outdoor championship in the pole vault. With the addition of her two indoor titles, she now owns four conference crowns overall. No other athlete in Big 12 history has registered as many as three victories in the event.

Green's effort helped make up for last season's disappointing showing at the 2006 Big 12 outdoor meet, when she no-heighted for the only non-All-Big 12 season of her storied Husker career.

She currently ranks tied for 11th nationally, as well as fourth in the Midwest Region, and appears to have an excellent shot at making her fifth career NCAA Championships.

> NU Records Falling Like Rain this Spring
Following an indoor season that featured no school-record-setting performances, 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, erasing 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 remain 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.

The most recent school record to fall came at the hands of Issar Yazhbin in the hammer throw on April 29 during the Nebraska Open. 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 NU's list at 206-11, which he registered during the 2005 Big 12 outdoor meet.

> Jonas Leads Husker Regional Qualifiers
Of Nebraska's 39 NCAA Midwest Regional qualifiers, none have done more to bolster his team's title hopes this season than Dusty Jonas. The five-time All-American leads the squad with three regional qualifications in individual events.

While Jonas will compete only in the high jump and long jump at the regional meet, he enters the weekend ranked in the top five for both events. He also is the lone Husker with two top-five regional ratings in individual events.

While his high jump season-best effort of 7-5 1/4 comes as no surprise?he has finished as the NCAA runner-up in the event twice during his career?Jonas' long jump and triple jump qualifications certainly do. The Husker junior had never broken 24 feet during his career in the long jump prior to a 25-5 1/2 leap at the Nebraska Open, and he followed that breakout performance with his first career regional mark in the triple jump during his first attempt of the year at the Nebraska Invitational.

Four other Huskers?Nate Probasco (200), Lukas Hulett (400), Scott Wims (100, 200) and Dax Danns (100, 200)?own regional marks in their individual events to go with a pair of such qualifications in the men's 4x100- and 4x400-meter relays.

Casie Witte paces the women's team with regional marks in the high jump and javelin after having provisionally qualified for the NCAA meet in the heptathlon.

> Stately Vaults to NCAA Lead
Brysun Stately accomplished more than just setting a school record with her phenomenal performance at the Kansas Relays. More than one month later, her pole vault mark of 14-3 1/4 still sits atop the NCAA's season performance list.

Stately is the lone Husker to garner a No. 1 national ranking in 2007. Outside the collegiate realm, the effort helped her surpass the "A" qualifying standard to this summer's USATF Championships for the first time in her career. The two-time All-American is the highest-ranked Husker on the USATF's season performance list at No. 8.

On the world list, Stately currently sits tied for 16th in the pole vault. Her mark surpassed the IAAF's "B" standard for both the 2007 World Championships and the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.

> 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 at Drake marked 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. He added a third-place finish at the Big 12 Championships?the highest for a Husker in the Big 12 era.

> Husker Relays Solid Early in Season
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 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, respectively. 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 is a true freshman. The best times that NU managed to run in 2006 were 39.70 for the 4x100 and 3:07.37 for the 4x400.

> NU Collects Three Big 12 AOW Awards
While Nebraska concluded the indoor season without earning a Big 12 athlete-of-the-week honor for the first time in recent memory, a productive outdoor season has led to three Huskers receiving conference accolades:

● Dace Ruskule?April 3, placed as the top collegian in the women's discus at the Stanford Invitational.
● Brysun Stately?April 24, broke the school record in the pole vault with the NCAA's top mark this season.
● Dusty Jonas?May 1, registered top-six NCAA efforts in the high jump and long jump at the Nebraska Open.

> Women Ranked 15th in Coaches Poll
Nebraska continued its recent outdoor run in the USTFCCCA track coaches poll after earning the poll's No. 15 position last week. The ranking marked a season high for the Huskers, who began the outdoor campaign unranked.

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.

> Huskers in the 'Dandy Dozen'
The Trackwire 25 projection of the 2007 outdoor season was updated this week with the women's squad keeping a spot in the rankings. The NU women, boosted by recent performances by Jenny Green, Sheryl Morgan and Dace Ruskule, are tied for 15th this week, while the men's squad dropped out of the rankings after previously sitting in a tie for 22nd place last 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 included:

Women
Brysun Stately, PV?2nd
Dace Ruskule, DT?4th
Jenny Green, PV?8th
Sheryl Morgan, 400h?8th
Ashley Selig, Hep?7th
Epley Bullock, HJ?11th

Men
Dusty Jonas, HJ?4th
Daniel Roper, LJ?11th
Lee Martin, Dec.?10th

> 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 17 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.
● Lindsey Maher?Moved into ninth place on NU's women's pole vault chart at 11-11 3/4.

Nebraska Invitational (May 5):
● Joslyn Dalton?Moved from fourth to third on NU's women's steeplechase list (10:48.18).
● Jeni Steiner?Moved into ninth from 10th on the women's discus chart (170-10).

Big 12 Championships (May 11-13):
● Sheryl Morgan?Moved from sixth to third on the NU women's 400-meter hurdles chart (57.04).
● Rachel Carrizales?Jumped teammate Joslyn Dalton into third on the women's steeplechase list (10:36.50).
● Zarinah Suluki-Drakes?Moved from ninth to sixth on the women's triple jump list (42-8 3/4).
● Dax Danns?Entered the men's 100-meter dash list at No. 10 (10.39).
● Scott Wims?Previously unranked in the men's 200, tied Tom Fish (1996) for fourth at 20.67.
● Lukas Hulett?Entered the men's 400 chart at No. 5 (46.01).
● Tim Grier?Entered the men's 400 hurdles list at 10th place (51.21).
● Daniel Roper?Leaped 25-7 1/2 in the men's long jump, NU's No. 8 mark under any conditions (inc. wind-aided).
● Bryan Bell?Entered the men's hammer list at No. 10 (190-6).
● Lee Martin?Moved into fifth place on NU's decathlon chart (7,322).
● Skyler Reising?Moved into sixth on NU's decathlon list (7,244).

For a complete updated list of NU's outdoor records, see pages 33-34 of this week's Husker track & field notes.

> Wilkinson to Sit Out 2007 Season
The Nebraska women have been without one of their strongest returnees during the outdoor season, as senior Kayla Wilkinson is redshirting 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. NU 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 combined for 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 Nate Probasco and 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.

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 for the NU women, as she tied for seventh in the vault at 13-5 1/4.

NU's other women's athlete in action, 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.