Track and FieldJanuary 31, 2009

Four Top-20 Teams Battle in Lincoln

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Nebraska Track and Field Meet Day Information

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Lincoln - Track and field fans will be in for an exciting meet on Saturday, Jan. 31, as the No. 19 Nebraska men’s and women’s track and field teams host Florida State (Men - No. 6 / Women - No. 5), Kansas, Wichita State, Alabama (women), Minnesota (men) and Illinois (men) at the Devaney Center Indoor Track for the adidas Classic.<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

The meet will use an unlimited team scoring system, with a champion crowed on the men’s and women’s side. The individual events will be calculated as follows: 1st - 10 points, 2nd - 8 points, 3rd - 6 points, 4th - 4 points, 5th - 2 points, 6th - 1 point. In the men’s relays will be scored the same as the individual events, while the women’s relays will see no points awarded for sixth place.

The meet is scheduled to start at 1:30 p.m., with the women’s weight throw staring the meet. The women’s long jump, high jump and pole vault will all start soon after at 1:45 p.m. The preliminaries of the 60-meter hurdles will be the first running event of the day at 2 p.m. All running events will be conducted as finals against time, except the 60-meter dash and 60-meter hurdles, which a one section final will be contested. A full schedule of events can be found on page four.

NU Out of the Blocks

2009 NCAA Qualifiers - 10 (6-Men / 4-Women)

Men -

Lehann Fourie (60 Hurdles)

Seth Burney (Pole Vault)

Paul Hamilton (High Jump)

Lukas Hulett (400 Meters),

Chris Phipps (Triple Jump)

Nicholas Gordon (Triple Jump)

Women -

Natalie Willer (Pole Vault)

Arna Erega (60 Hurdles)

Epley Bullock (High Jump)

Kacie Sharp (Shot Put)

Big 12 Conference Leaders - 3 (1-Men / 2-Women)

Men -

Lehann Fourie (60 Hurdles)

Women -

Natalie Willer (Pole Vault), Natalja Callahan (1,000 Meters)

Division I Top 10 - 6 (4-Men / 2-Women)

Men -

Lehann Fourie (60 Hurdles - 3rd)

Paul Hamilton (High Jump - t6th)

Seth Burney (Pole Vault - 7th)

Lukas Hulett (400 Meters - 10th)

Women -

Natalie Willer (Pole Vault - 2nd)

Epley Bullock (High Jump - 6th)
Big 12 Athlete of the Week - 1 (1-Woman)

Women - Natalie Willer (1/20/09)

Scouting the adidas Classic

- Florida State (Men - No. 6 / Women - No. 5)

2009 NCAA Qualifiers

So. - Kimberly Williams ? Women’s Triple Jump - 46-0 1/2 (automatic)

NCAA Ranking - No. 1 | ACC Ranking - No. 1

Jr. - Tiara Swanagan ? Women’s Triple Jump - 43-3 (provisional)

NCAA Ranking - No. 4 | ACC Ranking - No. 2

So. - Ngonidzashe Makusha: Men’s 60 Meters ? 6.68 (provisional)

NCAA Ranking - No. 6 | ACC Ranking - No. 2

Fr. - Maurice Mitchell: Men’s 60 Meters ? 6.73 (provisional)

NCAA Ranking - No. 15 | ACC Ranking - No. 5

So. - Teona Rodgers ? Women’s 60 Meters - 8.30 (provisional)

NCAA Ranking - No. 8 | ACC Ranking - No. 3

- Minnesota Men (NR)

2009 NCAA Qualifiers

Sr. - Ibrahim Kabia: Men’s 60 Meters - 6.64 (provisional)

NCAA Ranking - No. 2 | Big 10 Ranking - No. 1

Jr. - Chris Rombaugh: Men’s 3,000 Meters - 7:59.36 (provisional)

NCAA Ranking - No. 1 | Big 10 Ranking - No. 1

So. - Hassan Mead: Men’s 3,000 Meters ? 8:03.50 (provisional)

NCAA Ranking - No. 4 | Big 10 Ranking - No. 2

Jr. - Ben Peterson: Men’s Pole Vault - 17-4 1/2 (provisional)

NCAA Ranking - No. 4 | Big 10 Ranking - No. 1

Jr. - R.J. McGinnis: Men’s Heptathlon - 5,511 (provisional)

NCAA Ranking - No. 1 | Big 10 Ranking - No. 1

So. - Brock Spandl: Men’s Heptathlon - 5,319 (provisional)

NCAA Ranking - No. 4 | Big 10 Ranking - No. 2

- Alabama Women (NR)

2009 NCAA Qualifiers

Jr. - Chealsea Taylor: Women’s High Jump - 5-10 (provisional)

NCAA Ranking - Tied for No. 8 | SEC Ranking - No. 2

So. - Kimberley Laing: Women’s 60 Hurdles - 8.40 (provisional)

NCAA Ranking - Tied for No. 14 | SEC Ranking - No. 2

Sr. - Lynda Cooper: Women’s Pole Vault - 12-11 1/2 (provisional)

NCAA Ranking - Tied for No. 18 | SEC Ranking - No. 7

- Illinois Men (NR)

2009 NCAA Qualifiers

Sr. - Gakologelwang Masheto: Men’s 400 Meters - 47.07 (provisional qualifier)

NCAA Ranking - No. 6 | Big 10 Ranking - No. 1

Men’s 4x400-Meter Relay - 3:09.97 (provisional qualifier)

NCAA Ranking - No. 7 | Big 10 Ranking - No. 1

- Kansas (Men - No. NR / Women - NR)

2009 NCAA Qualifiers

Jr.- Jordan Scott: Men’s Pole Vault ? 18-0 1/2 (automatic qualifier)

NCAA Ranking - No. 1 | Big 12 Ranking - No. 1

- Wichita State (Men - NR / Women - NR)

No 2009 NCAA Qualifiers

Vaulting Through the Record Books

Sophomore Natalie Willer has now broken four pole vaulting records in the last three meets she has competed in. The Elkhorn, Neb., native started the 2009 season on a high note as she broke the NU indoor record in the pole vault with a leap of 13-9 3/4 at the Holiday Inn Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 17, breaking Jenny Green’s 2004 record of 13-9 1/4. However, Willer did not let the mark stand long, as she raised the bar with a vault of 14-0 at the Big 12 vs. Mountain West - Conference Challenge just one week later.

An NCAA automatic qualifier, Willer’s new mark moved her from No. 3 to No. 2 in the Division I, trailing Minnesota’s Alicia Rue, who has vaulted 14-4. Willer also extended her lead on the Big 12 performance list to over a foot, as she is the only vaulter on the women’s side to clear 13 feet. Willer is trailed in the Big 12 by sophomore Laura Asimakis of Texas A&M, who has vaulted 12-8 3/4.

Going back to last season, breaking records is nothing new for Willer. She ended the 2008 season at the USATF National Junior Olympics, where she shattered the national youth and meet records with a vault of 13-9 3/4. Along with breaking Kira Costa’s 2003 national youth record of 13-5 1/4 by four and one-half inches, Willer demolished the meet record by over a foot, with the previous mark being set by Melissa Gergel, who vaulted 12-9 1/2 in 2007.

World Class Athletes

The 2009 season has started well for the Nebraska track and field team, with its early success partially due to the team’s young talent. The Huskers boast four athletes that rank in the top 25 in their respective event on the under-20 world indoor list, including the world’s No. 1 under-20 pole vaulter, sophomore Natalie Willer, who has vaulted 14-0 in 2009. Willer is joined in the pole vault by sophomore Rachel Birtles, who ranks No. 25 with a vault of 12-5 1/2. The Husker women are rounded out by the world’s No. 7 60-meter hurdler, Humble, Texas, native Karyn LaCour (8.54). The Husker men have welcomed Lodi, N.J., native Chris Phipps, who in just his second collegiate meet jumped an NCAA provisional-qualifying mark of 50-10 in the triple jump, ranking the freshman No. 8 on the under-20 list.

Hurdling the Competition

Nebraska sophomore Lehann Fourie and Arna Erega posted NCAA provisional-qualifying times in the 60-meter hurdles at the Big 12 vs. Mountain West - Conference Challenge on their way to event wins.

Fourie, who had already provisionally qualified at the Holiday Inn Invitational with a time of 7.89, ran a personal best of 7.79 at the Conference Challenge, moving him to No. 4 in Division I while improving his Big 12 leading time. Fourie is highly motivated in 2009, as he was the first athlete left out of the 2008 NCAA Indoor Championships field, with a time of 7.80.

Erega posted a provisional time of her own in the women’s race with a season-best 8.40. The time is tied for No. 14 in Division I and is No. 2 in the Big 12. The Rijeka, Croatia, native owns a personal-best of 8.30 in the 60-meter hurdles.

Phipps Breaks Out

After sophomore Nicholas Gordon provisionally qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships in the triple jump with a leap of 50-7 1/4 at the Holiday Inn Invitational, freshman Chris Phipps made his own mark at the Big 12 vs. Mountain West - Conference Challenge with a personal-best leap of 50-10.

Phipps’ jump of 50-10 ranks No. 24 in Division I, while ranking No. 7 in the highly competitive Big 12. The Big 12 has three jumpers in the Division I top 10, including No. 1 jumper Zuheir Sharif of Texas A&M who has cleared 53-3.

A highly recruited jumper out of Lodi, N.J., Phipps chose Nebraska over LSU and Maryland. Phipps’ short time under Jumps Coach Gary Pepin is already showing results as Phipps left the prep ranks with a personal-best of 50-5, a New Jersey state record.

Winning Attitude

The 2009 Husker women’s freshmen class knows the taste of victory as the 10 newcomers combined to win 54 state championships and four Canadian provincial championships in high school. The 2008 class was ranked No. 10 ranked recruiting class in the country by Track and Field News.

The winning attitude of the new crop of athletes has transitioned to the collegiate level as two of the newcomers have posted victories in 2009. Blaire Dinsdale and Erica Hamik posted their first collegiate victories at the Holiday Inn Invitational.

After finishing runner-up in the 800 meters on Friday, Jan. 16, Dinsdale came back strong on Saturday in the 600-yard run to win her first collegiate event, just beating out fellow freshman teammate Suzanne Higgins. Hamik posted her first win in the 1,000 meters on Saturday, beating out a field full of upperclassmen.

Raising the Bar

Nebraska junior Epley Bullock wasted no time getting on the path to her third straight indoor NCAA All-America honor in the women’s high jump. At the Holiday Inn Invitational, the returning Big 12 indoor champion posted an NCAA provisional-qualifying leap of 5-10, ranking her tied for sixth in Division I and No. 2 in the Big 12 Conference. Bullock improved her mark at the Big 12 vs. Mountain West - Conference Challenge, adding three-quarters of an inch, taking over sole possession of the No. 6 spot in Division I, while staying No. 2 in the Big 12. Bullock finished ninth (fifth American) as a freshman in at the 2007 national meet, before placing seventh in 2008.

Conference Challenge = No Challenge for Big Red

For the third straight year the Big 12 Conference showed its dominance over the Mountain West Conference with a 249-118 win at the Big 12 vs. Mountain West ? Conference Challenge. The Huskers ran well on their home track, winning 19 of the 34 events, contributing a meet-high 146 points to the Big 12 squad of Nebraska, Kansas State and Missouri. The Mountain West team of Air Force, Colorado State and Wyoming was unable to stop the Big 12 from winning its third straight meeting between the two conferences. The Big 12 has won all three meetings between the two conferences, with scores of 223-144 in 2007 and 224-145 in 2008.

Big 12 Leaders

The Nebraska track and field team currently holds to the top spot in the three events on the Big 12 performance list. Lehann Fourie (7.79) holds the top time in the men’s 60-meter hurdles, while Natalie Willer (14-0) has the women’s pole vault locked down and Natalja Callahan (2:49.52) is the conference’s top 1,000-meter runner.

Overall, the Huskers have at least one athlete in the top 10 in 28 of the 38 combined men’s and women’s events. However, the Huskers are yet to compete in the men’s and women’s distance-medley relay, men’s heptathlon and women’s pentathlon.

The Home of High Jumping

Jumps Coach Gary Pepin is once again on top of his game as he has four men and four women in the top 10 on the Big 12 performance list.

On the men’s side, the Big Red is led by NCAA provisional-qualifier Paul Hamilton (7-1 1/2), who ranks third in the Big 12. Hamilton is joined by John Ottun and Sam Haase, who are tied for sixth in the conference with leaps of 6-10 1/4, while Brandon Sheppard is ranked ninth with a jump of 6-8 1/4.

The Husker women are led by two-time All-American Epley Bullock, who is ranked second in the conference with a leap of 5-10 3/4. Bullock is joined by fellow Texan Audrey Svane, who has cleared 5-7. Multi-eventers Chantae McMillan and Megan Wheatley round out the group, tied for ninth with jumps of 5-5.

Qualifying Early and Often

The Nebraska track and field team is jumping on the NCAA qualifying list early this in 2009, with 10 athletes posting NCAA provisional or automatic marks after three meets. The Husker women have posted four qualifying marks, including Natalie Willer’s auto-mark of 14-0 in the pole vault. The Husker men have posted six provisional marks, with Paul Hamilton (high jump), Seth Burney (pole vault), Lukas Hulett (400 meters) and Lehann Fourie (60-meter hurdles) all ranked in the top 10 in Division I. At this team last season, the Huskers had four NCAA qualifiers.

Flash Gordon

Husker sophomore Nicholas Gordon started his bid for the 2009 NCAA Indoor Championship with a win and NCAA provisional-qualifying mark in the triple jump at the Holiday Inn Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 17. Gordon’s jump of 50-7 1/4 was an indoor personal-best, pacing the Huskers to a 1-2 finish, as freshman Chris Phipps finished runner-up with a leap of 49-9.

Hulett Hungry for More

Most collegiate track and field athletes would be more than satisfied to be a four-time NCAA All-American, but not Nebraska junior sprinter Lukas Hulett, who has already achieved the feat in his first two years at Nebraska.

After reaching All-America status in the indoor 400-meter dash and as a member of the indoor 4x400-meter relay as a freshman in 2007, Hulett returned to earn All-America honors in the indoor and outdoor 400 meters in 2008.

Last season, Hulett became the first Husker on the men’s side to earn NCAA All-America honors in the 400 meters indoors and outdoors in the same season and was the first Husker to achieve the feat since 1993 when Shanelle Porter won the indoor national title and finished fourth at the outdoor championships.

In just two seasons, Hulett has won 10 medals at the Big 12 Championships, including third-place finishes in the 400 meters at the indoor and outdoor championships in 2008.

Hulett started the 2009 season with a win in the 200 meters at the Holiday Inn Invitational, posting a personal-best time of 20.39, moving to the No. 10 spot on the Huskers’ all-time indoor performance list. At the Conference Challenge he posted a NCAA provisional time of 47.17 in the 400 meters, ranking Hulett 10th in Division I.

Big Red Aims to Hit Century Mark at College Station

With a conference title in 2009 at the Big 12 Indoor Championships on Feb. 28 at College Station, Texas, the Nebraska track and field team will hit the century mark in conference team titles. The Huskers have been the most dominant team in conference history over the past 111 years, totaling 99 team titles and 827 individual titles. In the Big 12 alone, the Huskers have won 143 individual titles and a league-best 20 team titles in the 12-year history of the conference.

Pepin Primed for 2009

Nebraska Head Coach Gary Pepin returns in 2009 for his 29th season as the head coach of the women’s team and his 26th season as the head coach of both the men’s and women’s programs. In 2008, Pepin tied Frank Sevigne as the longest tenured head coach in the history of the Nebraska program, and Pepin is still at the top of his game for coaching athletes to the highest levels of competition.

Of the seven NCAA All-America honors brought home by Huskers in 2008, three were personally trained by Pepin in the jumps area, including eight-time All-American Dusty Jonas, who won the 2008 indoor high jump national championship and went on to earn a spot on Team USA at the 2008 Beijing Games. Overall, Pepin sent seven jumpers to the NCAA Championships, including two true freshmen in Nicholas Gordon (long jump) and Paul Hamilton (high jump).

Double Dipper

As the lone senior on the men’s throws squad, Keith Lloyd returns in 2009 following an impressive 2008 outdoor season where he participated in both the shot put and the hammer throw at the NCAA Outdoor Championship. Lloyd was hampered by a hand injury during the 2008 indoor season and was forced to redshirt.

The Omaha, Neb., native has started 2009 strong as ever, winning the shot and weight throw at the Holiday Inn Invitational, then following with a win in the shot at the Conference Challenge and a win in the weight throw at the NWU Invitational.

Multi-Event ?U’

Husker women Megan Wheatley (junior/sophomore), Chantae McMillan (sophomore/junior) and Rachel Butler (sophomore) make up one of the toughest multi-event groups in not just the Big 12 Conference, but in the nation. All three scored at both the indoor and outdoor Big 12 Championships, Wheatley won the 2008 outdoor conference heptathlon title and both Wheatley and McMillan competed at the 2008 NCAA Outdoor Championships in the heptathlon.

The trio will have high expectations in 2009 as Wheatley was recovering from injury during the 2008 indoor season, but still managed to post an NCAA-automatic qualifying score and finish second at the indoor conference meet in the pentathlon. Butler, just a freshman, was adjusting to college competition and McMillan was in her first year as a multi-eventer after qualifying for 2007 NCAA Outdoor Championship in the long jump.

In 2009 the Big Red will look to continue its dominance at the conference meets, where it has won four straight outdoor heptathlon titles and two of the past four indoor pentathlon crowns, adding an indoor national title in the pentathlon by Ashley Selig in 2005.

The group will get its first shot at the pentathlon at the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational on Friday, Feb. 6 - Saturday, Feb. 7, at the Devaney Center Indoor Track.

Huskers Add Three at Semester

The Nebraska track and field team added three athletes to the 2009 squad prior to the spring semester with the additions of Nandi Meyer (middle distance), Bj?rn Barrefors (multis) and Lorena Mengia (high jump).

Lorena Menghia - Fr./So., Isai, Romania (Athletic High School / Jacksonville State)
A native of Iasi, Romania, Lorena Menghia (pronounced laur-AA-nah Men-GEE-uh) transferred to Nebraska after one season at Jacksonville State in Jacksonville, Ala., where she was the 2008 Ohio Valley Conference champion in the outdoor high jump with a clearance of 5-6. Menghia set the outdoor school record earlier in the 2008 season with a personal-best outdoor leap of 5-8 3/4 at the Coach O Invitational in Troy, Ala. She placed third in the triple jump at the outdoor conference meet with a school-record and personal-best leap of 40-3 1/4. Menghia cleared a lifetime best in the high jump at the 2006 Romanian indoor championships in Bucuresti, Romania, with a jump of 6-0 1/2 to finish runner-up, ranking her No. 12 on the under-20 world indoor list. She cleared an outdoor personal best of 5-10 3/4 four times between 2005 and 2007, ranking her No. 22 in the world on the outdoor under-18 list in 2005, while ranking No. 48 in 2006 and No. 54 in 2007 on the under-20 world outdoor list.

Bj?rn Barrefors - Fr., Skara, V?sterg?tland, Sweden (Teknikum)
Bj?rn Barrefors (pronounced Ba-YUHORN BAR-eh-FORSH) joined Nebraska after winning the 2008 Swedish senior championship in the indoor heptathlon (personal-best score of 5,577) and outdoor decathlon after finishing third in both events the previous year. Barrefors posted a personal-best decathlon score of 7,405 at the 2008 European Cup in Jyv?skyl?, Finland, to finish seventh. He ranked No. 14 on the under-20 world list in 2006 with a decathlon score of 7,012, while also finishing 11th in the junior decathlon at the 2006 IAAF World Junior Championships in Beijing, China, with a score of 7,332.

Nandi Meyer - Fr., Kempton Park, Guateng, South Africa (Kempton Park)

Nandi (pronounced NAHN-dee) Meyer joins Nebraska as a middle distance runner from Kempton Park, Guateng, South Africa, South Africa, where she broke onto the track and field scene in 2005 with the top South African under-16 times in the 800 (2:10.16) and 1,500 (4:28.78) meters, also ranking No. 10 on the under-16 world list in the 800 meters and No. 11 in the 1,500 meters in 2005. Meyer posted a personal-best 800-meter time of 2:08.10 in 2006, ranking No. 1 on the South African under-18 list and No. 34 in the world, while running a personal-best 400 meters in Sasolburg, Free State, South Africa, to rank No. 3 on the South African under-18 list in 2006. She recorded 2007 season bests of 56.39 in the 400 meters and 2:08.9 in the 800 meters in Germiston, Gauteng, South Africa, ranking No. 3 in both events on the 2007 South African under-18 list and No. 41 on the 800-meter under-18 world list. Meyer competed in the 800 meters at the 2005 IAAF World Youth Championships in Marrakech, Morocco, and the 2007 championships in Ostrava, Czech Republic.

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Four Top-20 Teams Battle in Lincoln