Husker Relay Squads Post Top Times in Lawrence

Lawrence, Kan. ? After dealing with unfavorable weather conditions that included an hour and 40 minute delay due to lightning on Thursday, the Husker track and field team returned to a damp track on Friday for the 81st annual Kansas Relays.

 

The Husker relay squads were on top of their game all day as they finished first or second in five of the seven events entered. The Huskers hit the track at 10:05 a.m. for the rarely competed shuttle hurdle relay. Jaime Ryder, Skyler Reising, Pat Burke and Tyrell Ross took the top time at 1:00.31 on the men’s side while the women’s team of Kim Shubert, Nikita Eades, Rachel Butler and Karyn LaCour finished second at 57.48.

 

The women’s 4x200 relay team was up next as Chi Kalu, LaCour, Alyssa Vierregger and Butler finished second with a time 1:41.95. The men then took their turn and put on a dominating first-place performance. The first 200 meters were close before Dax Danns handed off to All-American Dan Christensen who created space before All-Americans Lukas Hulett and Scott Wims finished off the relay with ease. The Big Red finished almost two seconds ahead of the pack at 1:25.99.

 

Danns, Wims, Christensen and Hulett then teamed in 4x100 to post the top time in the preliminaries at 41.10 and will compete in the finals on Saturday at 2:15 p.m. The women’s team was in the lead pack until a faltered exchange knocked the Huskers out of the race.

 

The final relay for the Huskers on Friday was the preliminaries of the men’s 4x400 meters where Wims, Christensen, Blaise Rewaka and Erwin Schmidt Jr. combined to finish fifth with a time of 3:20.10. The team will now compete in the finals on Saturday at 5:35 p.m.

 

The women’s javelin was one of the most heated events on Friday as the No. 1 and 2 ranked throwers in the Midwest Region collided in a battle that was dominated by Nebraska’s Kayla Wilkinson. The No. 2-ranked Wilkinson continued her triumphant return to the Husker track and field team with her third straight weekend win in the javelin. Her throw of 174-0 (53.05) was 5-7 farther then second-place finisher Ruby Radocaj of Minnesota, who currently holds the No. 1 throw in the Midwest Region at 187-6 (57.15).

 

Wilkinson, a Belleville, Kan., native, was excited to compete at the Kansas Relays one more time during her college career.

 

“This is my second Kansas Relays in college, but I also competed here in high school as well,” Wilkinson said following the event. “This is my second win here, and it feels good.”

 

After sitting out the indoor season due to a hand injury, senior Keith Lloyd continues to get stronger with every outdoor meet. Lloyd’s shot put throw of 55-3 3/4 (16.86) was the only mark in the field good enough to qualify for NCAA Regionals. Lloyd already had previously qualified for the Midwest Regional in both the shot put and hammer throw as he ranks in the top eight in both events in the region.

 

“I can't complain. I've been injured quite a bit the past couple months, and the weather made it a crummy day, but I am happy to get a win,” Lloyd said when asked about how the weather affected his performance Friday.

 

Chris Nuttelman and Nicholas Gordon both jumped well in the men’s triple jump as Nuttelman earned an NCAA Regional-qualifying jump and Gordon increased his regional mark. Nuttelman finished sixth overall and third among college athletes with a leap of 49-9 (15.16) while Gordon finished right behind in seventh overall at 49-6 1/2 (15.10). Nuttelman moved to No. 13 in the Midwest Regional rankings with his leap.

 

Kim Shubert and Zarinah Suluki-Drakes led the women’s attack in the jumps as Shubert won the high jump and Suluki-Drakes placed second in the triple jump. Shubert tied her season best in the high jump at 5-8 3/4 (1.75). It is the second time this year Shubert has made the regional-qualifying height. Shubert cleared the first three bars (5-3, 5-5, 5-7) on her first attempt before having to use all three attempts to get over the 5-8 3/4 bar. She then missed on all three attempts at 5-10 3/4 (1.80) height. Suluki-Drakes increased her regional-qualifying mark by four and three-quarter inches in the triple jump with a leap of 41-4 1/2 (12.53). With the new mark, Suluki-Drakes moves from No. 19 in the Midwest Region into a tie for the No. 15 spot.

 

Junior Zac Holoch posted the top vault in the men’s college division of the pole vault at 16-0 3/4 (4.90), while Pat Burke tied for second with a vault of 15-7 (4.75). Redshirt freshman Seth Burney and former Huskers Gable Baldwin and Ray Scotten will compete on Saturday in the invitational division of the men’s pole vault.

 

Redshirt freshman Cylend Simmons advanced to the finals of the men’s 400-meter hurdles with a time of 53.67. The finals will be run on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. as Simmons will look to better his regional-qualifying time of 52.23 which he earned on April, 12, in Norman, Okla., at the John Jacobs Invitational.

 

David Adams and Mikel Thomas ran at the top of the field in the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase as Adams finished in first at 9:20.64 and Thomas finished third at 9:36.14.

 

The Husker javelin and hammer throwers were also in competition on Friday at the Doane Relays in Crete, Neb.

 

Aaron Bozarth and Lisa Minnick swept the hammer as Bozarth qualified for the NCAA Regional with a new personal-best throw of 187-8 (57.22) and Minnick earned the win on the women’s side with a new personal-best toss of 161-4 (49.19). Eric Petersen finished in third on the men’s side with a season-best throw of 173-6 (52.89).

 

Beth Christensen won the women’s javelin with a throw of 120-11 (36.86) while Thorin Meyer finished third in men’s javelin with a toss of 176-4 (53.76).

 

The Huskers will return to Kansas’s Memorial Stadium on Saturday for the final day of the Kansas Relays. Tyrell Ross and Jamie Ryder will start the running events for the Big Red when they compete in the preliminaries of the 110-meter hurdles at 9:15 a.m. The field events get started at 10 a.m. with Reising, Scott Jorgenson, LeRon Williams and Gordon competing in the long jump. Former Husker and three-time Big 12 Conference triple jump champion Daniel Roper will also be competing in the long jump for Team Nebraska. Check Huskers.com for live results as well as a full recap following the completion of the meet.

 

Some Huskers will compete on Saturday as well in Crete as Chris Brown will throw the discus at 11 a.m. and Janae Mueller will run the 800 meters at 3 p.m. Check Huskers.com for live results.