Huskers Conclude 2007 Season at NCAA Outdoor Meet

Lincoln?Nebraska looks to close out the 2007 collegiate track and field season this week, as 25 Huskers travel to Sacramento, Calif., for the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

The national meet will be held Wednesday, June 6 through Saturday, June 9 at Sacramento State's Hornet Stadium, host site of three of the last four NCAA outdoor meets and the last two U.S. Olympic Trials.

NU will have a busy week due to its high number of entries, which ranks second among all NCAA teams. The first two days will consist primarily of preliminary rounds, although the men's decathlon and men's and women's long jump and 10,000-meter run finals will be completed on Thursday. The women's heptathlon runs Thursday through Friday. A complete event-by-event schedule and list of NU's entries can be found on pages 2-3 of the Husker NCAA Outdoor Championships guide (link at top of page).

Live results from the NCAA Championships will be available at www.ncaasports.com, while the final two days of the meet are to be broadcast live by CSTV and CBS. Friday's telecast will air live from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. central time on CSTV, while CBS will carry the meet's conclusion Saturday from Noon to 2 p.m. Check local listings for channel numbers of each station.

> Nebraska's 2007 NCAA Outdoor Qualifiers

Women
Name?Event?Mark (NCAA rank)
Epley Bullock?High Jump?5-11 1/4 (T-17th)
Rachel Carrizales?3,000m SC?10:25.22 (27th)
Jenny Green?Pole Vault?13-5 1/4 (T-13th)
Leandra McGruder?Long Jump?20-4 1/2 (T-26th)
Chantae McMillan?Long Jump?20-6 1/4 (T-22nd)
Sheryl Morgan?400m Hurdles?57.04 (12th)
Dace Ruskule?Discus?182-10 (4th)
Ashley Selig?Heptathlon?5,726 (5th)
Kim Shubert?High Jump?5-11 1/4 (T-17th)
Brysun Stately?Pole Vault?14-3 1/4 (1st)
Jeni Steiner?Shot Put?53-8 1/2 (13th)
Zarinah Suluki-Drakes?Triple Jump?42-8 3/4 (24th)
Casie Witte?Heptathlon?5,347 (21st)

Men
Name?Event?Mark (NCAA rank)
Gable Baldwin?Pole Vault?17-3 (20th)
Dax Danns?4x400m?3:05.15 (7th)
Tim Grier?400m Hurdles?51.21 (T-24th); 4x400m?3:05.15 (7th)
Lukas Hulett?400m?46.01 (17th); 4x400m?3:05.15 (7th)
Dusty Jonas?High Jump?7-5 1/4 (5th); Long Jump?25-5 1/2 (13th)
Lee Martin?Decathlon?7,322 (10th)
Nate Probasco?200m?20.67 (T-13th); 4x400m?3:05.15 (7th)
Skyler Reising?Decathlon?7,244 (16th)
Daniel Roper?Long Jump?25-7 1/2 (T-7th); Triple Jump?51-8 1/4 (T-20th)
Peter van der Westhuizen?1,500m?3:41.17 (7th)
Scott Wims?100m?10.35 (23rd); 200m?20.66 (12th); 4x400m?3:05.15 (7th)
Issar Yazhbin?Hammer?207-7 (22nd)

> Nebraska Among the NCAA Field
This year's Husker NCAA contingent ranks as one of the largest among the field (special thanks to Missouri SID Tom Lewis for much of the following information):

● Nebraska is second among this year's field with 28 total entries, second only to LSU's 33 selections.
● NU's 15 men's entries lead the nation, while its 13 women's entries rank sixth. LSU's women lead with 23.
● Nebraska will have more jumpers (12) and multi-event (four) athletes than any other team. NU has four more jumpers than second-place Cornell (eight).
● NU's 11 underclassmen entries (freshman or sophomore) tie LSU and Virginia Tech for the NCAA lead.
● The Huskers' seven freshmen selections tie Tennessee for tops among the field. NU's four freshmen men lead all teams.
● Nebraska had only 15 NCAA outdoor entries in 2006.

> Husker NCAA Outdoor Bits
● Both NU men's and women's teams have finished among the NCAA's top 25 outdoor teams for five straight years dating back to 2001.
● The Husker women have recorded five consecutive top-10 outdoor team finishes, tying the previous school record set from 1980 through 1984.
● Huskers have claimed at least two individual NCAA titles during each of the last four seasons.
● Nebraska has boasted at least one All-American every season since 1975.
● The NU men last went without an All-America honor during the 1984 season.
● The Husker women have registered at least one outdoor All-American every year since 1979.
● Nebraska will send a men's 4x400-meter relay to the NCAA outdoor meet for the first time since 1992.

> Nebraska at the NCAA Outdoor Championships
The Last 10 Years...

Women
Year?Site?NU Finish (Points)?Champion (Points)?NU All-Americans (Champs)
2006?Sacramento, Calif.?T-4th (37)?Auburn (57)?Five (One)
2005?Sacramento, Calif.?8th (24)?Texas (55)?Three (One)
2004?Austin, Texas?3rd (58)?UCLA (69)?Eight (Two)
2003?Sacramento, Calif.?5th (33)?LSU (64)?Six (Two)
2002?Baton Rouge, La.?9th (21)?South Carolina (82)?Four
2001?Eugene, Ore.?Tie-54th (3 1/2)?USC (64)?One
2000?Durham, N.C.?Tie-8th (26)?LSU (58)?Six
1999?Boise, Idaho?Tie-14th (15)?Texas (62)?Five
1998?Buffalo, N.Y.?8th (26)?Texas (60)?Seven (One)
1997?Bloomington, Ind.?Tie-25th (10)?LSU (63)?Seven (One)

Men
Year?Site?NU Finish (Points)?Champion (Points)?NU All-Americans (Champs)
2006?Sacramento, Calif.?14th (19)?Florida State (67)?Three (One)
2005?Sacramento, Calif.?18th (15)?Arkansas (60)?Four (One)
2004?Austin, Texas?Tie-13th (20)?Arkansas (65 1/2)?Four (One)
2003?Sacramento, Calif.?5th (33)?Arkansas (59)?Six (Two)
2002?Baton Rouge, La.?Tie-19th (14)?LSU (64)?Five
2001?Eugene, Ore.?DNS?Tennessee (50)?None
2000?Durham, N.C.?DNS?Stanford (72)?None
1999?Boise, Idaho?Tie-58th (3)?Arkansas (59)?Two
1998?Buffalo, N.Y.?18th (12 1/2)?Arkansas (58 1/2)?Three
1997?Bloomington, Ind.?15th (16 1/2)?Arkansas (55) ?Four

> Three Huskers Pace Midwest Region
Three Huskers won titles during the NCAA Midwest Regional May 25 - 26 to push the Nebraska men and women to respective second- and third-place team finishes.

Leading the NU women were seniors Sheryl Morgan and Dace Ruskule, who each followed Big 12 championship performances with Midwest Regional crowns. Ruskule became the first three-time women's discus winner in Midwest Regional history with a winning mark of 177-1, while Morgan clocked in with a time of 57.41 to collect her first career regional title in the 400-meter hurdles.

Freshman Scott Wims provided the Husker men with a surprising win in the 200-meter dash, as he out-ran Big 12 champion Reggie Witherspoon (Baylor) and teammate Nate Probasco for the victory with a personal-best time of 20.66. The win marked only Wims' third career individual collegiate victory, and only his second in the 200. He added a third-place finish and career-low time of 10.35 in the 100.

Other Husker standouts at regionals included:
● Rachel Carrizales?Cut more than 11 seconds off her career-low time in the steeplechase to earn a surprising NCAA bid.
● Leandra McGruder?Earned an NCAA long jump berth with a personal-best leap of 20-4 1/2.
● Kim Shubert?High jumped a personal-best height of 5-11 1/4 to secure her first career NCAA bid.
● Brysun Stately?Notched her No. 2 all-time clearance of 13-11 3/4 to place second in the women's pole vault.
● Gable Baldwin?Won a jump-off for fifth place in the pole vault with a season-best mark of 17-3.
● Peter van der Westhuizen?Ran a career-low time (3:41.17) in the 1,500 meters.
● Issar Yazhbin?Broke the NU men's hammer throw record for the second time this season (207-7).
● Men's 4x400?Ran the No. 8 time in school history (3:05.15) while finishing third.

> 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 Championships 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 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 then-seventh-fastest time of 57.04 while ending an eight-year Texas winning streak in the event.

> 10 Seniors to Wrap Up NU Careers
Among the 25 Huskers competing this week are 10 seniors who will conclude careers on their sport's highest stage.

The group has made a huge impact to the Nebraska program over the last five seasons, combining to win two NCAA titles, 11 All-America honors, 16 individual Big 12 titles and nine conference team championships (six men's crowns).

Three of the athletes?Lee Martin, Sheryl Morgan and Jeni Steiner?reached the NCAA Championships for the first time in their final opportunities.

2007 Husker Senior NCAA Qualifiers
Sheryl Morgan
Dace Ruskule
Ashley Selig
Jeni Steiner
Casie Witte
Gable Baldwin
Lee Martin
Nate Probasco
Daniel Roper
Issar Yazhbin

> Ruskule Looks for NCAA Repeat
Dace Ruskule enters the NCAA meet as the reigning discus champion who will look to add only Nebraska's third all-time title in the event. Despite struggling for a good portion of the outdoor season, she appears to finally be rounding into form after winning her second career Big 12 title and third Midwest Regional crown.

Ruskule first 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. Ruskule enters the NCAA Championships ranked fourth among the field with her season best.

The Riga, Latvia, native continued her recent success by winning the Midwest Regional title with a throw of 177-1 on May 26 in Des Moines, Iowa.

> Stately Returns Home for NCAA Title Run
Brysun Stately, the NCAA's top-ranked athlete this season in the women's pole vault, is likely to have more on her mind this week than trying to claim her first national title.

Stately will compete in front of a hometown crowd, as the Husker sophomore grew up in the Sacramento area and graduated from Rancho Cordova High School in neighboring Rancho Cordova, Calif. This marks the second straight year Stately will have concluded her college season at home in Sacramento. She finished sixth during the 2006 NCAA outdoor meet while competing for USC.

Stately accomplished more than just overtaking the national lead back in April with a phenomenal performance featuring a vault of 14-3 1/2 during the Kansas Relays. She also set the Nebraska record, breaking the former standard of 13-11 1/4 set by teammate Jenny Green in 2004.

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 NU woman (No. 9) on the USATF's 2007 performance list.

Her mark also surpassed the IAAF's "B" standard for both the 2007 World Championships and the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.

> Husker 4x400 Breaks Long Drought
While Nebraska has fielded one of its youngest groups ever in the men's 4x400-meter relay this season, youth has done anything but held the squad back. The relay typically has been comprised of three freshmen this season along with senior Nate Probasco.

Following an eighth-place finish at the NCAA indoor meet, the first Husker NCAA scoring spot in the event since 1994, the team has again broken a sizeable drought outdoors this year. Nebraska will field a men's 4x400 relay at the NCAA outdoor meet for the first time since 1992, when the team of Jerry Marsee, Mark Jackson, Pat Trainor and Ken Waller (all seniors but Trainor) finished 10th.

This year's squad will have the opportunity to become NU's first outdoor scoring team since 1991, as well as the first Husker squad ever to finish among the top eight at both NCAA indoor and outdoor meets in the same season.

> Jonas Aims for No. 6 and No. 1
In addition to Dusty Jonas' quest for his first career NCAA title in the men's high jump this weekend, he will also look to continue his long climb to the top of the Husker record books.

The junior is currently 5-for-5 in earning All-America finishes in the high jump at the NCAA Championships and ranks only two national honors shy of former Husker great Shane Lavy for the school's record total of seven. The lone season Lavy did not finish as an All-American was the 1996 outdoor campaign, when he tied for 16th as a freshman. Lavy never finished as high at the national meet as Jonas, who owns a pair of silver-medal places.

Jonas also will make his first attempt at the NCAA long jump competition this week. No Husker men's athlete has ever earned All-America honors in both the high jump and long jump in a career (indoor or outdoor), let alone a single season. The La Vernia, Texas, native looks to have an excellent chance after entering the week ranked fifth among the field in the high jump (7-5 1/4) and 13th for the long jump with his season- and career-best distance of 25-5 1/2.

> Carrizales Makes Waves in Steeple
One of Nebraska's most surprising success stories this season has been the progress of Rachel Carrizales in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase.

Carrizales, a native of Morrill, Neb., has set personal-best times in the steeplechase each time out during her first season running the event, culminating in a time of 10:25.22 at the NCAA Midwest Regional.

Carrizales entered the outdoor season owning a top 3,000-meter run time of 10:29.34, which she recorded indoors in 2007 while redshirting. Her current steeplechase time is more than four seconds faster that that mark?with 28 hurdle barriers and seven water pit jumps.

Further proving how impressive the sophomore has been is the comparison to former NCAA mile champion Anne Shadle. Shadle's top steeplechase time was 10:32.21, also registered during her sophomore season.

> Morgan Stands Out During Senior Year
Another Nebraska success story 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. 12 nationally. She also has risen up the Huskers' all-time performance list to third for the event.

Morgan continued her run to the NCAA Championships by claiming victory during the Midwest Regional meet, the first-ever regional win for a Husker (male or female) in the event.

> Selig Shines in Final Season
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 conference titles in the heptathlon, while she also became the first woman in the Big 12 era to earn four overall combined events league titles.

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 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. She will be aiming for her sixth career All-America finish this week.

> Green Back to the Top of Big 12
Jenny Green put an end to a long stretch of 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 is tied for 13th nationally and appears to have an excellent shot at earning her third career NCAA All-America finish.

> 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. After recording a mark of 207-3 to break Greg Armitage's 1996 record of 207-2 by an inch on his fourth of six attempts at the Nebraska Open, the Husker senior extended that mark to 207-7 while placing third at the NCAA Midwest Regional. Yazhbin entered the season ranked second on NU's list at 206-11, which he registered during the 2005 Big 12 outdoor meet.

> 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 14th in Coaches Poll
Nebraska continued its recent outdoor run in the USTFCCCA track coaches poll after earning the poll's No. 14 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.

> 11 Huskers Own USATF Standards
Next up for Nebraska following the NCAA outdoor meet is the USA Outdoor Championships, and the Huskers appear likely to send quite a few athletes to this year's national meet.

Eleven Huskers have combined to meet 14 USATF standards this season, including seven with "A" standards. The USATF qualifying system works much like the system for the combined events for the NCAA outdoor meet, where "B" standard qualifiers (provisional to NCAA fans) will be selected to fill up the pre-determined field size not filled up by "A" standard (automatic) qualifiers.

This year's Husker USATF qualifiers include:

USATF "A" Standard Qualifiers:
Men's 200m?Nate Probasco, Scott Wims
Men's High Jump?Dusty Jonas
Women's High Jump?Epley Bullock
Women's Pole Vault?Brysun Stately
Women's Shot Put?Jeni Steiner
Women's Heptathlon?Ashley Selig

USATF "B" Standard Qualifiers:
Men's 100m?Wims
Men's 400m?Lukas Hulett
Men's Long Jump?Jonas, Daniel Roper
Men's Triple Jump?Roper
Women's High Jump?Kim Shubert
Women's Triple Jump?Zarinah Suluki-Drakes

> Huskers in the 'Dandy Dozen'
The Trackwire 25 projection of the 2007 outdoor season was updated this week with the NU women's squad keeping a spot in the rankings. The women, boosted by highly-ranked athletes Ashley Selig, Brusyn Stately and Dace Ruskule, are tied for 17 this week with Penn State, while the men's squad was left unranked 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 included:

Women
Brysun Stately, PV?2nd
Dace Ruskule, DT?3rd
Ashley Selig, Hep?8th
Jeni Steiner, SP?12th

Men
Dusty Jonas, HJ?5th
4x400m Relay?7th
Scott Wims, 200m?8th
Lee Martin, Dec.?10th
Daniel Roper, TJ?10th
Peter van der Westhuizen?1,500m?11th

> 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?Turned in NU's No. 6 all-time performance of 25-5 1/2 (wind-aide) in the men's long jump.
● 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 ninth 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).

NCAA Midwest Regional (May 25-26):
● Rachel Carrizales?Moved from third to second on NU's women's steeplechase list (10:25.22).
● Scott Wims?Entered NU's 100-meter dash top 10 at No. 7 (10.35-tie), while moving into sole possession of No. 4 on the 200-meter list (20.66).
● Men's 4x400-Meter Relay?Ran the No. 8 time in school history (3:05.15).
● Issar Yazhbin?Re-set his own month-old school record in the hammer throw at 207-7.

For a complete updated list of NU's outdoor records, see pages 39-40 of the Husker NCAA Outdoor Championships guide.

> Probasco Receives Post-Graduate Honor
Three-time All-American Nate Probasco was one of 58 winter sports student-athletes from across the nation awarded an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship. 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.

> League-High 40 Huskers Named Academic All-Big 12
A conference-leading 40 members of the Nebraska track and field team recently earned academic All-Big 12 honors, including 35 first-team representatives. The Huskers paced each of the league’s women’s teams with 22 honors, while NU’s 18 men’s selections ranked second only to Missouri for number of individuals.

Leading the men’s first-team selections was Issar Yazhbin, who continued his own excellence in the classroom by maintaining a perfect 4.0 grade-point average for the fourth consecutive year. While Yazhbin claimed his third career nomination, two other Husker seniors?Lee Martin and Nate Probasco?were named to their fourth consecutive academic All-Big 12 squads.

Nic Petersen added his third career honor, while Keith Lloyd and Thorin Meyer each received their second honors.

Nebraska placed three of its four returning women’s NCAA All-Americans on the academic All-Big 12 first team in Ashley Selig, Kayla Wilkinson and Jenny Green. Selig received her fourth career mention, while both Wilkinson and Green received their third awards. Kim Pancoast joined Selig as a four-time honoree, while NU’s other All-American, senior Dace Ruskule, was listed on the second team for the second straight year.

Other Husker repeat picks included three-time selections Ashlee Dickinson, Justine Roach, Kim Shubert, Jeni Steiner and Val Zajac; and two-time honorees Joslyn Dalton and Betsy Miller. Shubert and freshman Briget Meduna were the lone Husker women to boast 4.0 GPAs during the two previous semesters.

First-team members consist of those who have maintained a 3.20 or better grade-point average, and the second team are those who have a 3.00 to 3.19 GPA.To qualify student-athletes must maintain a 3.00 GPA or higher either cumulative or the two previous semesters and must have participated in 60 percent of his/her team’s scheduled contests.

> Steiner, Witte Among Spring Graduates
Eleven current and former members of the Husker track and field program were among 52 student-athletes who received diplomas from the University of Nebraska - Lincoln on May 5 during commencement exercises at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. Among NU's track and field senior class, which was the largest among Nebraska's 23 sports programs, were four NCAA All-Americans and three former Big 12 champions.

Two members of Nebraska's NCAA outdoor squad received diplomas in Jeni Steiner and Casie Witte, who earned their respective degrees in Natural Science Education and Sociology.

Also included among the group was 2005-06 Nebraska Male Student-Athlete of the Year Aaron Plas, a three-time NCAA All-American in the high jump who also earned the 2005 Big 12 outdoor championship. Aaron Nasers and Oliver Williams Jr. added All-America careers on the track before graduating from Nebraska, while Kayte Tranel added All-America honors for Coach Jay Dirksen’s cross country team.

Mark Harrison, the 2006 Big 12 outdoor champ in the men's 400-meter hurdles, also earned his degree. Each of NU's five major award-winners completed their eligibility following the 2006 season.

Two additional 2007 Husker seniors?Kim Pancoast and Aaron Ross?also graduated.

Nebraska's Spring 2007 Track & Field Graduates
Mark Harrison?Sociology
Michaela Lenihan?Speech Pathology and Audiology
Aaron Nasers?Communication Studies
Kim Pancoast?Nutrition, Fitness and Health Promotion
Aaron Plas?Business Education
Aaron Ross?Economics
Patrick Southern?Mathematics
Jeni Steiner?Natural Science Education
Kayte Tranel?Nutrition, Exercise and Health Science
Oliver Williams Jr.?Sociology
Casie Witte?Sociology

> 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, 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.