Jonas and Relay Squad Bring Flags Back to Lincoln

<?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Des Moines, Iowa ? The Nebraska track and field team returned for the final day of the 99th annual Drake Relays on Saturday to a packed Drake Stadium. The highly energized crowd and the aura that comes with the Drake Relays propelled the Huskers to record-setting performances on the final day of competition.<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

 

Senior Dusty Jonas gave the crowd a performance to be remembered as he won the invitational division of the high jump with a new personal-best and Nebraska all-time outdoor record tying jump of 7-6 ? (2.30). Jonas is now tied with Shane Lavy who cleared 7-6 1/2 in 1999. With a break in the running events, all eyes were focused on Jonas as he cleared the 7-6 1/2 bar on his first attempt. With the crowd behind the senior for La Vernia, Texas, he went after 7-8 which would have set the Drake Relays record and would have been the top jump in the world this year.

 

“It’s bittersweet to beat some of the other jumpers today because we’re all friends,” Jonas said following his win in the high jump. “I feel that 7-8 (2.34) is reachable. It’s something that really means something to me.”

 

“That was really important for Dusty because (athletes with) 10 of the best jumps in the United States were here,” stated Head Coach Gary Pepin following the high jump. “(This win) should give him a lot of confidence.”

 

The team of Jamie Ryder, Eric Lund, Pat Burke and Tyrell Ross won the lone relay championship for the Huskers on Saturday. The team posted the second-fastest time in men’s shuttle hurdle relay preliminaries at 58.74, trailing the University of Northern Iowa which ran a 58.67. The Husker foursome rallied in the finals as they cut almost a second off their time to finish in first at 57.74. Given that Ryder and Ross are the only Huskers that run the 110 hurdles on a consistent basis, while Lund is a 400-meter hurdles specialist and Burke concentrates on the pole vault and multi-events, the four gelled like a well-oiled machine as they recorded the seventh-best time in Nebraska outdoor history.

 

“I’ve never seen so many people packed into one place to watch a track meet. This is unbelievable, “Ryder said following the relay.

 

“I just found out on Sunday that I was going to have the chance to compete at the Drake Relays,” Burke stated when asked about his first appearance at the Drake Relays. “To be able to call myself a Drake Relays champion is something special.”

 

“I felt a bit high on some of the hurdles. We ran well and I am just happy I could help this team win,” Lund responded when asked about switching from the 400-meter hurdles to the shuttle hurdle relay for the Drake Relays.

 

When asked about taking a victory lap at the Drake Relays, Ross simply responded, “This atmosphere is priceless.”

 

The women’s shuttle hurdle relay squad started Saturday with a dominant performance as it posted the top time in the preliminaries at 55.83. The Big Red showed no ill affects from the 33-degree temperature at race time as Arna Erega, Nikita Eades, Rachel Butler and Karyn LaCour recorded the second-fastest time in school history.

 

“We were up at 6 a.m. this morning and weren’t able to get breakfast,” Butler said following the relay. “It’s time to go get some waffles.”

 

In the finals the Husker women shaved nearly seven tenths of a second off of their preliminary time to finish at 55.18, setting a new outdoor school record. However, the Michigan Wolverines used a strong final leg from 2008 Drake Relays 100-meter hurdles champion Tiffany Ofili to knock 1.25 seconds off their preliminary time to take first place in the event.

 

The men’s 4x100 team of Dax Danns, Scott Wims, Dan Christensen and Lukas Hulett gave Baylor all it could in the finals, but was unable to overtake the Bears as the Big Red finished runner-up with a time of 40.33. With the time the foursome improved the regional-qualifying time of 40.55 they set on Friday in the preliminaries

 

Lehann Fourie returned to the Drake Relays with a vengeance on Saturday as he cut four tenths of a second off his 110-meter hurdle preliminary time from Friday. The South Africa native improved his regional-qualifying time with a second-place finish of 13.71 in the finals.

 

Sophomore Brian Parr cut more than seven seconds off his regional-qualifying time to finish in third in the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase at 8:56.86. With the time Parr is projected to jump from No. 12 to No. 6 in the Midwest Regional standings and moves to No. 10 all-time at Nebraska. In other distance action, Peter van der Westhuizen finished third in the 800 meters with a time of 1:50.51.

 

The women’s 4x1,600-meter team of Natalja Zarcenko, Lara Crofford, Jen Pancoast and Rachel Carrizales teamed to finish in sixth at 19:50.11. Zarcenko opened well for the Huskers as she passed nine teams during the final 600 meters of her leg. Crofford then separated the Big Red from North DakotaState before Pancoast held off a strong push from Texas Tech 5,000-meter All-American Irene Kimaiyo. The foursome’s time ranks No. 2 all-time outdoors at Nebraska.

 

Zarianah Suluki-Drakes finished fourth overall and second among collegiate competitors in the women’s triple jump with a season-best jump of 41-10 3/4 (12.77). The mark improves Suluki-Drakes regional standing on the year as she previously jumped 40-8 3/4 (21.41) at Jim Click Shootout on April 5, in Tucson, Ariz.

The Huskers will now make the short trip back to Lincoln for the Nebraska Open on Sunday at Ed Weir Stadium. The meet is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. with the women’s hammer throw and men’s javelin. The first running event of the day will be at Noon with the running of the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Live results and a full recap will be available at Huskers.com.