Relay Club Newsletter - Spring 2008

- Jonas Wins High Jump National Championship
Senior Dusty Jonas culminated his last indoor season as the best high jumper in the country as the four-time All-American won his first national championship Saturday, March 15. His height of 7-7 (2.31) was the highest jump in the history of Nebraska track and field either indoors and outdoors. The indoor record was previously held by Jeff Loescher who jumped 7-6 (2.29) in 1985.

Jonas was on top of his game all day, as he cleared the first six bars (2.09, 2.14, 2.19, 2.22, 2.25 and 2.28) on his first attempt. Jonas' only competition on the day was Big 12 indoor champion Scott Sellers of Kansas State, who stayed with Jonas until the 7-4 1/2 (2.25) bar. Sellers was then not able to clear at 7-5 3/4 (2.28). Jonas almost cleared 7-7 on his first attempt, barely clipping the bar with his leg. He would not be denied on his second attempt, as the 7-7 height put him somewhere no other Husker has been able to reach.

Jonas was relieved that all of his and Head Coach Gary Pepin's hard work had finally paid off.

"Truthfully it really hasn't sunk in yet that I am a national champion. Right now it just feels like I've set a new PR at any regular meet. Coming in, I knew I had a chance and both Coach Pepin and Nic (volunteer coach Nic Petersen) said they knew I had what it was going to take today to win. The strange thing is I think I am happier that I cleared 7-7. Hopefully over the next few days it will set in that I'm a national champion," said Jonas.

- Bullock, Hulett and Morgan Earn All-America Honors
Sophomore Epley Bullock earned All-America honors in the high jump for the second-straight year as the Allen, Texas, native finished tied for seventh in the high jump with a jump of 5-10 3/4 (1.80).

"My goal coming in was to earn finish in the top eight and have no question about the All-America honor. Last year I was so nervous coming in and couldn't keep myself still. This year I could just focus on having fun and doing my best," said Bullock.

Head Coach and jumps coach Gary Pepin was very pleased with his young high jumper's performance.

"I was very pleased to see Epley (Bullock) score and earn All-America. I am sure she was disappointed about not clearing 6-0, but she did better then she did last year and that is a plus. Epley has really come on strong at the end of the year and I am excited to see what she can do outdoors," said Pepin.

Both Lukas Hulett and Sheryl Morgan finished seventh in the 400-meter dash finals after strong performance on day one. Both ran new personal-best times and secured All-America honors.

Hulett didn't get out of the blocks as fast as he wanted, but finished very strong as his time of 46.77 was the fifth-fastest preliminary time and secured him All-America honors in the 400 meters for the second straight year.

"I didn't get out as hard as I wanted to. I didn't let that hold me back though. I know I can PR again tomorrow and as long as I get out good I know I can do that. It was definitely a weight off of my shoulders to know I've earned All-America honors again," said Hulett.

Coming into the meet Morgan was predicted not to make the finals on Saturday. The Kingston, Jamaica, native competing in her final meet as a Husker used that as motivation as her personal-best time of 53.54 was the seventh-fastest time in the women's 400-meter preliminaries. The time secures Morgan her first All-America honor as a Husker.

"It is really nice to earn my first All-American honor. I really enjoyed my time at Nebraska," said Morgan.

- van der Westhuizen Breaks Four-Minute Mile
Senior Peter van der Westhuizen, running on a 300-meter oversized track in Seattle, Wash., achieved a time he has been chasing his entire career, a sub-four-minute mile. In his last chance to qualify for NCAA Indoor Championships in Fayetteville, Ark., van der Westhuizen ran an NCAA automatic-qualifying time of 3:59.05.

van der Westhuizen ran the second-fastest time at the meet, being topped only by Andrew Acosta of Oregon who ran a 3:58.52. He was happy to have a spot at the national meet, but even happier to run under four minutes.

"This is a time I've been after for a long time," said van der Westhuizen.

van der Westhuizn's time was the fourth-fastest time in Divsion I during the 2008 season.

- Bullock & Morgan Win Big 12 Titles... Men & Women Finish Runner-Up
The Husker men's and women's team both came away with a runner-up finish on Saturday, March 1, at the Big 12 Track and Field Indoor Championships. The Husker men came within two points of defending their Big 12 title as the Texas Longhorns were just able to escape the Huskers with 106 points. On the women's side the Huskers continued to feed off their dominant day one performance, but it was not enough to hold off the Aggies of Texas A&M. The Aggies came on strong to finish the two-day event with 119.25 points and the Huskers finished runner-up with 95 points.

The Husker women earned two Big 12 Indoor Track and Field Championship titles on Saturday with Sheryl Morgan winning the 600-yard run and Epley Bullock winning the women's high jump.

Morgan capped off her final Big 12 Indoor Championships on a high note as the senior from Kingston, Jamaica, won the women's 600-yard run with a time of 1:20.63. Morgan had posted the top time in the Big 12 coming into the event and held on as she defeated two-time Big 12 indoor champion Morgan Bonds of Kansas State. Morgan paced herself until the final turn when she blew away Bonds and Tijahnni Netwon of Oklahoma. Morgan's time was a new personal best and moved her up to No. 11 all time in the women's indoor record book. After the race Morgan was focused strictly on what she could do for the team.

"I am very excited and I was just doing my best for the team. It is great to get this win in my senior season."

Bullock came into the meet with a personal best of 5-8 3/4 (1.75) and left the meet with a new personal best, NCAA provisional-qualifying jump and the seventh-best high jump this year in Division I at 6-0 1/2 (1.84). The returning All-American had struggled throughout the year, but her teammates kept faith in her.

"I've had a rough year, but everyone else kept my confidence up. I don't even know how to explain today. Making that bar (6-0 1/2) is something I've been working on forever and making it at the Big 12 meet is unbelievable. This is easily the best meet I have ever been at."

- Young Huskers Prove They Belong
During the 2008 indoor season 17 events were won by Husker freshmen. Leading the pack for the men was NCAA Indoor Championship participate Paul Hamilton of Sidney, Neb., and Nicholas Gordan of Kingston, Jamaica. Hamilton achieved a NCAA indoor provisional mark in the high jump with a leap of 2.19m (7-2 1/4) in his first collegiate meet. Gordon won the long jump three times and the triple jump twice during the year. Other winners for the men include Adam Dailey (800m), David Adams (3000m) and Mikel Thomas (mile run).

The women were carried by NCAA provisional qualifier Karyn LaCour, who posted the top collegiate time in the 60m hurdles at five of the eight meets she competed in. NCAA provisional qualifiers Lara Croffod (5,000-meter run) and Arna Erega (60-meter hurdles) also posted wins, with Crofford also posting wins in the mile run while Natalie Willer also won the pole vault.

- Wheatley Thrives in Multi-Events
Sophomore Megan Wheatley (Perth, Australia) was the headliner of the Frank Sevigne meet, destroying her personal best in the pentathlon by 511 points, as she posted an NCAA automatic qualifying mark of 4,122 points en route to a second-place finish. Wheatley only lost to first-place winner Shevell Quinley of Arizona by three points. On the way to her record-setting day, she also set new personal bests in the 60-meter hurdles (8.69), high jump (1.64m; 5-4 1/2), long jump (5.93m; 19-5 1/2) and 800-meter run (2:18.46). Wheatley's performance ranks sixth on NU's all-time record book and was the sixth-highest score all year in Division I.

- Huskers Hit the Books
The Nebraska track and field team earned an amazing 89 spots on the 2007 Big 12 Fall Commissioner's Honor Roll, released by the Big 12 Conference on Wednesday, Feb. 13.

The men's team contributed 52 athletes to the list, with the women adding another 37. Nine athletes produced perfect 4.0 grade-point averages. On the men's side, Anthony Oberle, Ben Schutter, Bryce Somer and Issar Yazhbin produced 4.0 grade-point averages in the fall, while Joslyn Dalton, Betsy Miller, Kim Shubert, Kayla Ubel and Natalie Willer added perfect semesters on the women's side.

Overall, an impressive list of 298 Nebraska student-athletes across all sports claimed spots on the Big 12 Commissioner's Fall Academic Honor Roll. Among the 298 student-athletes who achieved 3.0 or better grade-point averages during the semester, 35 Huskers posted perfect 4.0 GPAs.

Nebraska's approach to recruiting the nation's finest student-athletes yielded a remarkably diverse contingent of fall academic honorees that included representatives of 31 U.S. states and 16 foreign countries, including honor roll members from four Canadian provinces. Husker honor roll members also came to Nebraska from Australia, Belgium, Brazil, China, Croatia, France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Jamaica, Latvia, Mexico, Scotland, South Africa and Sweden.

The Huskers' Big 12 Commissioner's Fall Academic Honor Roll class also carried a distinct state flavor with 114 native Nebraskans among the 298 award winners.

- T&F Adds 12 New Huskers
The Nebraska track and field team has announced 12 signees to its 2008 class. The men's team will welcome four athletes while the women's team adds eight. The class includes five Nebraska natives, two athletes from Iowa, one from Kansas, two from Canada, one from South Africa and one from Panama. Check out Huskers.com for a full bio on all the signees.

Men
- Alonso Edwards (Sprints)
- Adam Mitteis (Distance)
- Pieter Smith (Sprints)
- Adam Wolkins (Javelin)

Women
- Blaire Dinsdale (Distance)
- Brooke Dinsdale (Distance)
- Jessica Furlan (Distance)
- Roxi Grizzle (Javelin)
- Erica Jamik (Distance)
- Tara Korshoj (Jumps)
- Katie White (Distance)
- Morgan Wilken (Throws)

- Husker Legend Earns Honor
In the February issue of Track and Field News, the publication celebrated its 60th birthday with a list of the best track and field athletes over the past six decades. Under the "Best College Woman" section, former Husker Merlene Ottey was named the best collegiate woman sprinter.

Ottey is easily the most decorated track and field athlete in Nebraska history as she won 14 national championships from 1980 to 1984. Ottey also competed in seven straight Olympic Games from the 1980 games in Moscow to the 2004 games in Athens. Over her seven Olympics, Ottey was runner-up three times and also earned five bronze medals, including earning the silver in the 100- meter dash (1992 Barcelona), 200-meter dash (1996 Atlanta) and 4x100-meter relay (Sydney 2000). Ottey still holds 13 school records, including four relay marks.

Ottey earned indoor national championships in the 55-meter dash (1984), 60-yard dash (1982), 300-yard dash (1982), 4x220-yard relay (1982), 60-meter dash (1981) and 300-meter dash (1980-81). Outdoors she won titles in the 100-meter dash (1983), 200-meter dash (1983), 1982 (100-meter dash), 4x100-meter relay (1982), 100-meter dash (1981) and 200-meter dash (1980-81).