Wims' National Best Leads Big 12 to Win

Lincoln - A national-best performance by Scott Wims led the Big 12 team to a victory over the Mountain West at the 2008 Conference Challenge at the Bob Devaney Sports Center Indoor Track.

<?xml:namespace prefix="st1"?>Nebraska, <?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>KansasState and Missouri teamed up to collect a total of 224 points, easily topping the Mountain West's team of  Air Force, Brigham Young and ColoradoState that totaled 145 points. Of the 34 events on the day, Nebraska athletes won 11 events, hit two NCAA provisional qualifying marks and reached one NCAA automatic qualifying mark.<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

The meet got started with a bang as Nebraska's own Peter van der Westhuizen entertained the crowed with a personal-best performance in the 5000m run with a time of 14:20.65. Van der Westhuizen torched the competition, as the next closest competitor finished 46-seconds behind him. Van der Westhuizen's time moved him up to third all-time on the Nebraska 5000m run list. 

Scott Wims and Dax Danns battled again in the 60m dash with Wims getting the better of Danns this meet after Danns won the title last weekend. Wims blazed in at 6.79 with Danns right behind him at 6.80.

The 60-meters was just a warm-up for Wims, who would reached a NCAA provisional mark, new personal best and moved up to fourth all-time on the Nebraska indoor list in the 200m dash with a lighting fast time of 21.20. Wims, an All-American last year in the outdoor 200m, now owns the fastest 200m time in NCAA Division I as of January 26. After the race, Wims was not focused on what he did right, but what he could do to better his time by the end of the season.

"I just have to run faster and see what I did wrong as opposed to what I did right. I can use that to my advantage in the upcoming weeks," said Wims.

Fellow Husker All-American Lukas Hulett also set a NCAA provisional mark in the 400m with a time of 47.00. It was also a new personal best for Hulett and bumped him up to third all-time on the Husker indoor list.

The Huskers would then sweep the jumps on the men's side as  LeRon Williams and Robert Rands finished 1-2 in the long jump with Williams going 7.10m (23-3 1/2) and Rands jumping 7.01m (23-0). Senior Dusty Jonas returned to Lincoln Saturday and earned a NCAA automatic qualifying mark in the high jump at a height of 2.25m (7-4 1/2), a mark that tied his personal best. The jumps were rounded out with freshman Nicholas Gordan (Kingston, Jamaica) who won the triple jump with a leap of 15.22m (49-11 1/4).

The Husker women would not be outdone as Erin Hannon and Epley Bullock took home the top two spots in the high jump with Hannon narrowly defeating Bullock with a jump of 1.75m (5-8 3/4), Bullock jumped 1.70m (5-7).

The Huskers then made a clean sweep of the 60-meter hurdles as freshman Karyn LaCour won the the event for a second straight weekend, bettering her time from last week to a new personal best at 8.51 and moving herself into 10th all-time on the Husker list in only her second collegiate meet. Ross Tyrell took the title for the men, clocking in a time of 8.07.

The meet was rounded out with the Husker men tearing up the competition in the 4x400 meter relay as Hulett, Andrew Pearson, Dan Christensen and Wims teamed up for a time of 3:13.53.

The Huskers will once again be home next weekend when they play host to the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational. The meet is one of the biggest on the Husker indoor schedule as 18 teams from across the United States embark on Lincoln for the two-day event that starts at noon on Friday, Feb. 1 at picks back up again at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 2. Tickets for the event can be purchased at Husker.com, the Husker Athletic Ticket Office or the day of the meet. Reserved seats are $7 while general admission tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for children. As always University of Nebraska students are able to get in for free with a valid ID.