Wims, Steiner Advance in Day Two of Outdoor Championships

Sacramento, Calif. ? After gaining five spots in the event finals during the opening day of competition on Wednesday, Nebraska qualified two more athletes through preliminary rounds on Thursday at the 2007 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Sacramento, Calif. Freshman Scott Wims became the first Husker newcomer to advance as he moved on in the 200m dash, while senior Jeni Steiner pushed through in the shot put in her national championships debut.<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

“I’m very pleased with the performance of both these athletes today,” Head Coach Gary Pepin said. “I don’t know if we’ve ever had a freshman athlete advance in the 200m. Scott has just done a tremendous job in the last two days and I’m happy with Jeni’s finish as well.”

Wims (20.92) and senior Nate Probasco (20.92) both sailed into the semifinals in the 200m dash by finishing among the top three in their respective heats early in the afternoon. After failing to qualify to the finals in the 100m dash on Wednesday, Wims found a better result in the 200 meters, posting a personal best time of 20.61 and advancing to the event finals on Saturday. With his time, Wims became the third fastest in the event all-time at <?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Nebraska, trailing Probasco who stands in second place with a career-best time of 20.59.

“I’m so excited for Scott,” said assistant coach Matt Martin, who trains the Nebraska sprinters. “He’s had a great two days and just continues to get confidence each time he runs. That’s what sprinting is about. He knows he can run with the best people here and it’s a tremendous honor for him to do as well as he has this week.”

Unfortunately for Probasco, his season-low time of 20.64 in the semifinals at the 2007 outdoor championships was just short of taking him through to the finals and kept him just one place short of All-America honors in the event.

Steiner tossed a mark of 52-1 to place 11th overall in the opening round of the shot put. She will now have the chance to end her collegiate career at Nebraska with All-America honors as she aims to finish among the top eight in the final field on Saturday at Noon central time.

Sophomore Skyler Reising and senior Lee Martin wrapped up the men’s decathlon on Thursday. After two days of competition in hot, windy conditions, the pair of Nebraska natives claimed spots among the top-20 finishers. Martin grabbed NU’s best finish in 13 th place overall with a score of 7,165, while Reising grabbed 20th with a score of 7,063. Reising’s best event of the day was the pole vault, where he soared to a personal best height of 14-9, demolishing his previous vault of 14-6, which he notched during the indoor season. Reising also set a career best in the 1,500m run of 4:44.14, more than a full second below his previous best of 4:45.52.

In other multi-event action, senior Ashley Selig began day one of the women’s heptathlon in fine form, matching her personal best in the high jump with a leap of 5-10 to tie for third in the event. Selig also neared her fastest career time of 13:94 in the 100 hurdles with a mark of 13:98 and bettered her previous best in the 200m dash (24.89) by nearly four-tenths with a wind-aided mark of 24.50. The Lincoln, Neb., native finished the day on pace for All-America honors with a seventh-place ranking overall and a score of 3,491, while fellow senior Casie Witte ended day one in 22nd place (3,107).

“Ashley Selig is doing especially well for our multi-event athletes,” Pepin said. “She had a great first day and I think she’ll represent Nebraska well (Friday). She has set herself up to finish very well in this event.”

Selig and Witte will complete the heptathlon Friday with the long jump, javelin and 800m run, while several Huskers will vie for All-America honors in the event finals. Senior Dace Ruskule will defend her title in the discus, while junior Dusty Jonas looks for his sixth consecutive All-America finish in the men’s high jump. In the pole vault, senior Gable Baldwin and sophomore Brysun Stately will each be in search of a top-eight finish during simultaneous men’s and women’s action beginning at 8:15 p.m. CST.

The triple jump gets under way on Friday as well, with senior Daniel Roper competing in the men’s division at 3:45 p.m. and freshman Zarinah Suluki-Drakes making her national championship debut with the women at 5:15 p.m.

The final days of the 2007 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships will be broadcast live on CSTV and CBS. Friday’s telecast will air from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. central time on CSTV, while CBS will carry the meet’s conclusion on Saturday from Noon to 2 p.m. Check local listings for channel numbers of each station.

 

NCAA Outdoor Championships ? Day Two
Alex G. Spanos Sports Complex?Sacramento, Calif.

Men’s Decathlon (100m, LJ, SP, HJ, 400m, 110h, DT, PV, JT, 1,500m) Through 5 of 10 Events
13. Lee Martin, 3,640 (11.69, 22-9 1/4 (PR), 42-4, 6-5, 52.58, 15.54, 142, 13-9 1/4, 4:33.96)  
20. Skyler Reising, 3,717 (11.29 (PR), 22-1 3/4, 43-2 1/4, 6-5, 52.09, 16.24, 133-9, 14-9 (PR), 4:44.14 (PR) 

Women’s Heptathlon (100h, HJ, SP, 200m, LJ, JT, 800m) Through 4 of 7 Events
7. Ashley Selig, 3,491 (13.98, 5-10 (t-PR), 37-2 1/2, 24.50 (PR) )  
22. Casie Witte, 3,107 (14.82, 5-8 3/4, 33-9 1/2, 26.24, 26.24)

Men’s Long Jump-Finals
10. Daniel Roper, 23-9 1/2

Women’s Shot Put
11. Jeni Steiner, 52-1 FQ

Men’s 200m-Prelims
8. Nate Probasco, 20.92 SQ
9. Scott Wims, 20.92 SQ

Men’s 200m-Semifinals
9. Scott Wims, 20.61  PR FQ
10. Nate Probasco, 20.64 SB

Men’s 400h
23. Tim Grier, 52.60

Women’s 400h
20. Sheryl Morgan, 59.69

Men’s 1,500m
15. Peter van der Westhuizen, 3:45.05

Men’s 4x400 Relay
10. Nate Probasco, Scott Wims, Tim Grier, Dax Danns, 3:06.42

SQ ? Semifinals qualifier
FQ ? Finals qualifier

PR ? Personal best

SB- Season Best