Relay Club Newsletter - Summer 2008

- Jonas Set to Fly High in Beijing

Despite a bleak outlook after failing to advance past 7-4 ¼, former Husker Dusty Jonas made the best of a second chance as he won a jumpoff for the third and final spot on the U.S. Olympic high jump team. With a win in the jumpoff, Jonas will head to Beijing to represent the United States in August. 

 

Jonas officially finished the U.S. Olympic Trials in a tie for sixth place with two other competitors. Five other jumpers topped the 7-4 ¼ bar, leaving Jonas to wait out a decision on the finals spots. 

 

Only two of the competitors ahead of him had previously reached the United States Track and Field Association “A” standard this year. Jesse Williams won the event outright to earn a spot on the Olympic team with a jump of 7-6 ½ while Andra Mason tied for second at 7-5 ¼ to wrap up another U.S. Team spot. Both Williams and Manson, who compete for Team Nike, had reached the “A” standard earlier in the season.

 

Jamie Nieto tied Mason for second place by clearing the bar at 7-5 ¼, but had not previously reached the “A” standard. Because he had not met both USATF qualifications, the next athlete to reach the “A” standard would be named to the third and final spot. Neither the fourth nor fifth place competitors had reached the elite “A” standard, but in the sixth-place tie, both Jonas and Kansas State jumper Scott Sellers had topped the mark.

   Jonas and Sellers faced a one-on-one jumpoff, matching two of the top collegiate jumpers this season. Jonas came away victorious to earn the final high jump spot on the 2008 U.S. Olympic roster.  

 

- Lopes Earns Spot on Canadian Team

Former collegiate national champion Priscilla Lopes-Schliep won the 100-meter hurdles on Saturday, July 5,  at University of Windsor Stadium to earn a spot on the Canadian Olympic Team. It is the second consecutive Olympiad that Lopes-Schliep will compete for her native country. 

 

Lopes-Schliep, a 2004 indoor national champion for Nebraska, cruised into Saturday's final contest with the best time in either semifinal heat a day earlier. She continued the strong effort in the final as she was one of only two athletes to go below the 13-second barrier. Lopes-Schliep earned the victory and wrapped up an Olympic berth with a stadium-record time of 12.78, easily outdistancing second-place finisher Angela Whyte, who crossed the line in 12.96. 

 

Four years ago, Lopes-Schliep finished 20th overall in the first round of the 100-meter hurdles at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece, in a time of 13.08. She had qualified for the Games by taking third at the Canadian Olympic Trials (13.05).

 

- Gaffigan Finishes 10th at US Olympic Trials

Former Husker Ann Gaffigan finished 10th in the finals of the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 9:54.93. Gaffigan cut just under a second off her preliminary time from Monday, June 30, but was unable to finish in the top three and earn a trip to Beijing.

 

When asked about making the finals, Gaffigan responded, “I think I will be able to appreciate it at some point. Right now it is not good enough. I don't think I could have been more ready mentally. That was all I had today. That was all I could do. I don't have any regrets. The worst feeling in the world is to get done with the race and feel like you gave up, you did something wrong, you could have done better and I don't have those feelings.”

 

“This could change, but right now I am going to take a little temporary retirement,” replied Gaffigan when asked what her future would hold. “It has been a long four years with a lot more downs than ups. It is time for me to take a little break.”

 

- Incoming Freshman Competes at World Junior Championships

Nebraska cross country and track and field incoming freshman Jessica Furlan finished ninth in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase at the 12th Annual World Junior Championships on Thursday, July 10, in Bydgoszcz, Poland.

 

Furlan snagged the final spot in the finals on Tuesday, July 8, when she finished 12th with a time of 10:23.88. The Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, native shaved over seven seconds off her preliminary time to finish with a new personal-best time of 10:16.32 in the finals. 

 

She has competed nationally at the Canadian Junior Track and Field Championships, IAAF World Youth Track and Field Championships, IAAF World Junior Cross Country Championships, Canadian Junior Cross Country Championships and now the World Junior Track and Field Championships. She was the Canadian Junior 3,000-meter steeplechase champion in 2006 with a time of 10:43.27 and the runner up in the 2,000-meter steeplechase in 2007 with a time of 6:39.36.

 

- Husker Javelin Thrower Comes Close to Olympic Berth

Adam Wolkins, a 2009 Nebraska track and field signee, advanced to the finals of the men's javelin at the Canadian Olympic Trials. With a toss of 215-1 (65.57), Wolkins finished third in the preliminaries. He went on to finish second in the finals. However, since he had not reached the Olympic ‘A' standard, he was not selected to the Canadian Olympic Team.

 

Wolkins will join the Big Red after two years at Cowley Community College in Arkansas City, Kan., where he was a two-time NJCAA javelin national champion. He holds the Cowley school record with a toss of 232-5 (70.84) at the 2008 NJCAA Championships. All but two of Wolkins' six throws at the 2008 NJCAA meet surpassed his previous personal best prior to the regional and national competitions. His school-record throw of 232-5 surpassed runner-up finisher Tyler Drake of Hutchinson Community College by more than 16 feet in the finals. His toss would have placed him fifth at the 2008 NCAA Outdoor Championships. Wolkins is originally from Shelburne, Nova Scotia, Canada.

 

- Shubert Honored as First-Team Academic All-American

Kim Shubert, a senior multi-event standout on the Nebraska women's track and field team, captured first-team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America honors, the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) announced on Wednesday.

 

Shubert, a Lincoln Southeast High School graduate, became the 56th two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American across all sports in NU history. She also pushed Nebraska's nation-leading CoSIDA Academic All-America total to 260 all time across all sports. She was the seventh Husker to earn CoSIDA Academic All-America honors in 2007-08, and the sixth Husker to claim first-team honors, joining Sarah Pavan (volleyball), Christina Houghtelling (volleyball), Tracy Stalls (volleyball), Stephen Tetrault (men's gymnastics) and Imke Reimers (women's tennis). Molly Hill added third-team honors for the NU softball team.

 

- Jonas Earns Eighth NCAA All-America Honor

In front of 11,282 avid track and field fans, senior Dusty Jonas earned his eighth NCAA All-America honor with a second-place finish in the finals of the men's high jump on Friday, June 13.

 

Jonas came into the meet with high expectations, but was never able to get into a rhythm as he was only able to clear 7-5 (2.26). After Jonas defeated Mikael Hanany of UTEP at the Midwest Regional with a jump of 7-7 (2.31), Hanany bounced back to take the national title with a leap of 7-7 1/4 (2.32). Jonas leaves a strong footprint on the Nebraska record book with the end of his four-year career. He owns both the indoor and outdoor school record with jumps of 7-7 (2.31) and 7-8 3/4, respectively. Jonas also won the 2007 indoor national title, 2008 Big 12 title and was an eight-time All-American.

 

“Everyone has days when they are on and off, and today I was off,” stated Jonas following the high jump. “I am still very proud of what I have accomplished at Nebraska. I've grown so much under Coach (Gary) Pepin.”

 

- Wilkinson Captures Second NCAA All-America Honor

Senior Kayla Wilkinson capped her final meet in a Husker uniform with a third-place finish in the women's javelin to earn her second All-America honor on Saturday, June 14, at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

 

Exactly one year and six months after a surgery to repair a torn labrum, the three-time Big 12 champion stepped onto the javelin runway North of Drake Stadium with the goal of a national title. She sat in third with her final throw remaining, but was not able to top her best of 179-2 (54.60). Wilkinson's five-year career at Nebraska ended with three Big 12 titles, two All-America honors and the Nebraska school record of 182-10 (55.73).

 

- Husker Jumpers Excell Under Pepin

Head Coach Gary Pepin's jumps squad was well represented in Des Moines with four jumpers on the men's side and three on the women's side. Seniors Dusty Jonas and Kim Shubert  along with junior LeRon Williams were the veterans of the group, and they were joined by freshmen Paul Hamilton and Nicholas Gordon and sophomores Erin Hannon and Epley Bullock.

 

In the high jump, Jonas had the biggest target on his back entering the meet as he had posted the top mark in the world during the 2008 season. On the women's side Bullock came in with the strongest resume, earning indoor All-America honors in 2007 and 2008, while also making a trip to the outdoor championships in 2007. After winning the 2008 Big 12 outdoor crown, Shubert was in search of her first NCAA All-America honor at her final collegiate track meet. The meet will be Hannon's first experience at the national level, while Hamilton will compete in his second national meet after placing 12th at the 2008 NCAA Indoor Championships.

 

Williams and Gordon represented the Husker in the long jump. Both were making their first appearance at the national meet. Williams unfortunately was unable to compete at the national meet after injuring his hamstring in the warm-ups of the preliminaries. Gordon advanced to the finals where he was unable to reach All-America status.

 

- Huskers Send 20 to NCAA Outdoor Championships

After only sending six athletes to the NCAA Indoor Championships, the Huskers responded in the outdoor season by sending 20 athletes to the NCAA Outdoor Championships. The first Husker to punch a ticket for Des Moines, Iowa, was redshirt freshman Megan Wheatley. She posted an automatic-qualifying score of 5,643 point in the women's heptathlon at the Big 12 Outdoor Championships on her way to her first Big 12 title. Following the regional meet, Wheatley was joined by 14 Huskers who placed in the top five at the meet to earn automatic bids. On Tuesday, June 3, the Big Red then received six at-large selections. Of the 20 athletes, junior Keith Lloyd pulled double duty by competing in the men's hammer throw and shot put.

 

Following the at-large selections, the Huskers were due to have 21 athletes make the trip to Des Moines. However, at-large selection Skyler Reising was not be able to compete in the decathlon due to a hamstring injury. The junior from Lincoln earned an at-large selection in 2007 as well.

 

- Jonas Posts World-Leading Mark in Boulder  

With his last chance at a Big 12 title on the line, Dusty Jonas added one more chapter to his storybook senior season on Sunday, May 18, during the final day of the 2008 Big 12 Outdoor Championships. Jonas set a new school and conference mark in the high jump, topping the bar at 7-8 3/4 and setting the top standard in the world.

 

Jonas entered the men's high jump competition starting at 7-0 1/2 (2.15) and stayed clean through the first five heights as he jumped, 7-1 3/4 (2.18), 7-3 (2.21), 7-4 1/4 (2.24), 7-6 (2.29) and 7-7 3/4 (2.33). With the Big 12 title already in the bag after no other competitor was able to clear a bar higher than 7-3, Jonas then moved the bar up to 7-8 3/4 (2.36). After just clipping the bar with his foot on his first attempt, the Potts Field crowd got behind the small-town kid from La Vernia, Texas, which has a population of 931. With the rhythmic clap from the crowd, Jonas cleared the mark on his second attempt and gave a dramatic fist pump to the crowd. With the jump he set the school record, Big 12 Championship meet record, Big 12 Conference record and put his name at the top of the 2008 World list.

 

- Nebraska Becoming “Multi-Event U”

After not competing in the heptathlon for almost two years prior to the Big 12 Outdoor Championships, redshirt freshman Megan Wheatley shined during the two-day event with a score of 5,643. With the victory, Wheatley brought the women's heptathlon crown back to Lincoln for the fourth straight year. 

 

Wheatley was in a class all her own as she won four of the seven events over the grueling two-day schedule, setting personal bests in the shot put (43-5 ¼; 13.24), 200 meters (24.75) and long jump (19-5 1/2; 5.93), to destroy her personal best mark in the heptathlon by 320 points this weekend. Wheatley owns the No. 4 spot all-time outdoor at Nebraska, trailing Cris Hall (5,936; 1992), Ashley Selig (5,794; 2007) and Nancy Kindig (5,704; 1981).     

 

With former Huskers Ashley Selig winning the heptathlon title in 2005 and 2007 and Sara Jane Baker winning in 2006, the Nebraska women's multi-event squad is quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with at the conference meet. Along with Wheatley's title, sophomore Chantae McMillan finished second with a new personal best of 5,444 points, freshman Rachel Butler finished fourth with a new personal-best of 4.905 points and sophomore Erin Hannon finished sixth with 4,719 points. The foursome scored 26 points for the Big Red on the second day of the Big 12 Championships.

 

- Shubert Earns Title in Final Big 12 Appearance

At the 2006 and 2007 Big 12 outdoor meets, senior Kim Shubert was part of the Huskers' dominating heptathlon performances, scoring at both meets. However, with Shubert posting the top mark conference in the high jump entering the meet at 5-10 ½ (1.79), the Lincoln native focused solely on the high jump and that strategy paid off as she came away with the first Big 12 championship of her career. She was the only athlete in the field of 12 to clear the 5-10 ¾ (1.80) bar.

  

.- Wilkinson Wins Third Javelin Title

With sunny skies and the Rocky Mountains in the background, Kayla Wilkinson won the javelin at the Big 12 Track and Field Championships by setting a new Big 12 Outdoor Championship meet record and breaking her own school record with a throw of 182-10 (55.73). The Big 12 title was the third of Wilkinson's career, becoming the first women's three-time conference champion in the event in the history of Nebraska track and field.

 

With her winning throw, Wilkinson joined Herbert Grote on the men's side as the only two individuals to ever win three conference titles in the javelin. Grote won Big Six titles in 1940, 1941, 1946 and 1947. Wilkinson is also one of only eight student-athletes in the rich history of Nebraska track and field to win three or more outdoor conference titles.

Wilkinson's third conference title continued her storybook senior season. The Deshler, Neb., native returned to competition for the Big Red for the 2008 season after sitting out the 2007 campaign due to a shoulder injury. After winning titles in 2005 and 2006, Wilkinson returned to the Big 12 Meet with nothing less than a Big 12 title in mind.