Nationally Ranked Huskers Head to Big 12 Championships

 

Nebraska Track and Field Meet Day Information

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 Big 12 Indoor Championships
 Friday, Feb. 27 (11 a.m.) - Saturday, Feb. 28 (3 p.m.)
 AggieAthletics.com | Big12Sports.com
 Meet Information | Live Results | Free Live Video: Fri.  Sat.
 Meet Schedule | Parking Map | Heat Sheets: Fri.  Sat.
 Visiting College Station | College Station Weather
 

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The nationally ranked Nebraska track and field team heads to College Station, Texas, this weekend for the Big 12 Indoor Championships on Friday, Feb. 27, and Saturday, Feb. 28, at the McFerrin Athletic Center on the campus of Texas A&M. The Huskers will travel 26 men and 26 women to Texas in search of the 100th conference team title in program history. Individually, the Big Red has totaled 827 conference champions over of the past 111 years.

 

The 13th year of the meet is set to start at 11 a.m. on Friday with the women’s pentathlon, with the 60-meter hurdles being the first event. The running events are then set to begin at 2 p.m. with the preliminaries of the women’s 60-meter hurdles. The field events will get their start at 4 p.m. with the women’s weight throw as well as the men’s and women’s pole vault. On Saturday action is set to start up again at 3 p.m. with the women’s shot put, men’s and women’s high jump and the men’s heptathlon 60-meter hurdles. The running events will start slightly later at 3:20 p.m. with the finals of the men’s 60-meter hurdles.

 

Tickets can still be purchased online at 12thManFoundation.com or by calling 888-99-AGGIE (888-992-4443). All-session tickets for both days are $32 for a reserved seat and $20 for a general admission seat.

 

Live results will be provided at Huskers.com. via FlashResults.com. A live video stream of the entire meet will also be available at AggieAthletics.com and Big12Sports.com.

 

NU Out of the Blocks (USTFCCCA Ranking - Men - No. 4 / Women - No. 22)

2009 NCAA Qualifiers: 26

  (14-Men / 12-Women)

Division I Leaders: 1

  (1-Men)

Division I Top 10: 11

  (7-Men / 4-Women)

Big 12 Conference Leaders: 6

  (3-Men / 3-Women)

Big 12 Conference Top 8: 55

  (33-Men / 22-Women)

Big 12 Athlete of the Week: 2

  (1-Men / 1-Women)

 

Husker Men Move to No. 4 Nationally

With the latest release of the USTFCCCA rankings on Wednesday, Feb. 25, the Nebraska men’s track and field team has moved from No. 5 to No. 4, ranking them as the top men’s team in the Big 12 Conference.

 

The Big 12 is arguably the top conference in the nation, boasting eight teams in the top 25, one more than the SEC who has seven top-25 teams and three more than the Pac-10’s five teams. In the top-10 alone, the Big 12 has five teams battling for position, including No. 4 Nebraska, No. 6 Texas A&M, No. 7 Texas, No. 9 Oklahoma and No. 10 Texas Tech. The conference is rounded out by No. 14 Baylor, No. 16 Oklahoma State and No. 21 Missouri.

 

On the women’s side, the Big 12 also leads the way with six teams in the top 25, one more than both the SEC and Pac-10. Texas A&M leads the way as the No. 1 ranked team, followed by No. 11 Texas, No. 16 Baylor, No. 17 Texas Tech, No. 22 Nebraska and No. 23 Colorado.

 

Pepin’s High-Jumping Trio

Of the 39 men’s high jumpers that have provisionally or automatically qualified for the 2009 NCAA Indoor Championships, Head Coach and Jumps Coach Gary Pepin’s squad owns three spots on the list, including the No. 1 spot with sophomore Paul Hamilton’s jump of 7-4 1/4 at the Tyson Invitational.

 

Hamilton is joined on the list by fellow sophomores Brandon Sheppard and Sam Haase, who each cleared 7-0 1/4 at the Nebraska Tune-Up to tie for 26th nationally with 12 other jumpers.

 

Nebraska is one of only six schools with at least two jumpers on the NCAA qualifying list and one of only two schools, along with Northern Iowa, to have three jumpers on the list. In the conference, Hamilton leads the way, while Sheppard and Haase are tied for fifth with Michael Healey of Kansas State.

 

Big Red Aims to Hit Century Mark at College Station

With a conference team title at the Big 12 Indoor Championships, the Nebraska track and field team will hit the century mark in conference 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.

 

On the men’s side, no team has come close to the team’s nine indoor titles. Texas has been the only other team to win an indoor title in the Big 12 era, with four, including a tie for the conference crown with the Huskers in 2007. Overall, the Huskers have finished first or second at every indoor Big 12 meet, while also finishing in the top two at every Big 8 meet going back to 1986, when they placed third.

 

On the women’s side, the Huskers are tied with Texas for the Big 12 lead in indoor titles with five, with Nebraska’s last titles coming back-to-back in 2004 and 2005. Prior to the formation of the Big 12 Conference in 1997, the Nebraska women’s team won an unheard of 17 straight Big 8 titles from 1980 to 1996, then followed with a 18th straight title by winning the first Big 12 indoor title in 1997.

 

Vaulting at Another Level

Sophomore Natalie Willer had been at a level all her own during the 2009 Big 12 indoor season, posting a personal-best and indoor school-record clearance of 14-0 in the women’s pole vault. Of the other 33 vaulters on the Big 12 indoor performance list, only one other vaulter has cleared 13 feet, with Texas Tech junior Amanda Alley clearing 13-3 3/4.

 

Willer, who ranks No. 3 nationally, has cleared 13-9 1/4 or better at all four meets she has competed in this year, posting three wins and a runner-up finish at the Tyson Invitational.

 

Bullock Continues to Raise the Bar

Two-time NCAA indoor All-American Epley Bullock has been dominant as ever in 2009, posting wins at four of the five indoor meets she has competed in this season. The Allen, Texas, native cleared NCAA provisional-qualifying heights of 5-10 and 5-10 3/4 at the first two meets of the year, before busting out with a then lifetime-best jump of 6-0 3/4 at the adidas Classic on Jan. 31, automatically qualifying her for the 2009 NCAA Indoor Championships in College State, Texas. Bullock then rose to new heights at the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational on Saturday, Feb. 17, clearing 6-1 1/4.

 

Bullock, who won the 2008 Big 12 Indoor Championship in the high jump, ranked No. 6 in Division I and is ranked No. 2 in the Big 12 Conference, trailing Destinee Hooker (Texas), who has cleared 6-3 1/4 in 2009.

 

Flash Gordon

After coming just short of All-America honors at the 2008 NCAA Outdoor Championships in the long jump, Nebraska sophomore Nicholas Gordon is looking to make sure he gets a shot at this season’s indoor championships.

 

Gordon broke out in Fayetteville, Ark., at the Tyson Invitational with a personal-best leap of 25-8 in the championship division of the men’s long jump. In the prelims, Gordon cleared an NCAA-provisional qualifying mark of 25-2 on his first attempt to post the top jump in the first of two flights and the No. 4 jump overall through the prelims. The jump was just one-half inch short of his personal best. Following the completion of second flight, Gordon returned to clear 25-8 on his final attempt of the finals to take third overall, just missing the NCAA automatic-qualifying mark of 25-9 1/4 by one and one-quarter inches.

 

Gordon’s jump of 25-8 ranks him No. 5 in Division I, while he will enter the Big 12 Indoor Championships as the No. 1 in the conference. Gordon will be challenged by Texas A&M defending indoor and outdoor long jump champion Julian Reed, who will be competing on his home.

 

Wheatley on a Mission

After a runner-up finish at last season’s Big 12 Indoor Championship in the pentathlon, Megan Wheatley dominated the Big 12 Outdoor Championships in the heptathlon with a personal-best score of 5,643 points to win her first Big 12 title. This season Wheatley enters the indoor conference meet ranked No. 1 in the Big 12 and fifth nationally with a score of 4,601, as she is the only multi-eventer in the conference to score more than 4,000 points.

 

The Huskers look to be the odds-on favorite to win the pentathlon title as they also possess the conference’s No. 2 pentathlete in Chantae McMillan, who has scored 3,996 points this season to rank 10th in Division I.

 

The Husker multis have won the past four Big 12 outdoor heptathlon titles, but will be in search of their first indoor pentathlon title since Ashley Selig won back-to-back titles in 2004 and 2005, while also winning the national title in ?05.

 

Billy’s Bunch

Hurdles Coach Billy Maxwell has one of the top 60-meter hurdle corps in not only the Big 12, but nationally. The Husker men are loaded with four athletes on the conference’s top 10 list, including conference leader, Lehann Fourie.

 

Fourie leads the way with a time of 7.75, but is closely followed by fellow NCAA provisional-qualifier Kirkland Thornton, who recorded a personal best of 7.80 in 2009. A 2008 NCAA Outdoor Championship qualifier in the 110-meter hurdles, Tyrell Ross is eighth in the conference with a time of 7.96, while Milford, Neb., native Eric Lund is tied for ninth in the Big 12 with a time of 8.02.

 

Of the 30 hurdles qualified for the indoor championships, Fourie is tied for sixth with Ramon Sosa of Syracuse, while Thornton close behind at the No. 8 spot. Nebraska is the only program with two hurdlers in top-10 nationally, while also being one of only four programs, along with Syracuse, Florida and South Carolina, to have two athletes qualified for the national meet.

 

Bj?rn Looks to Breakout

Stockholm, Sweden, native and Nebraska freshman Bj?rn Barrefors is set to compete in the first heptathlon of his collegiate career this weekend at the Big 12 Indoor Championships.

 

Of the seven events competed in the heptathlon, Barrefors has set PR’s in five of the events since joining the team in January, including the 60-meter dash (7.18), long jump (23-9), shot put (45-3 1/2), 60-meter hurdles (8.11) and pole vault (16-2. Most impressively, Barrefors has improved his personal-best in the pole vault by almost a foot since arriving in Lincoln, increasing it from 15-2 3/4 to 16-2, ranking him tied for eighth in the conference.

 

Barrefors will be joined in the heptathlon by senior teammates Skyler Reising and Pat Burke. Reising is ranked third in the Big 12 and 10th nationally with a score of 5,485, while Burke is ranked fifth in the conference and 18th nationally with a score of 5,392.

 

In 2008, Burke finished fourth at the indoor championship, while Reising was right behind him in fifth. The last Husker to win a conference title in the heptathlon was Bill Vacek, who scored a school-record 5,766 points to win the 1996 Big 8 title.

 

Quarter-Mile Specialist

In 2008, Lukas 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, the Bellevue, Neb., native has become a four-time NCAA All-American, while winning nine medals at the Big 12 Championships, including a third-place finish in the 400 meters at the 2008 indoor championships.

 

In 2009, Hulett is tied for 11th nationally with a time of 46.75, notching him third in the Big 12. Hulett has also teamed with fellow All-American Dan Christensen, as well as Kirkland Thornton and Adam Dailey to post the fifth-best 4x400-meter relay time in Division I, running a 3:08.54 at the ISU Classic. The time ranks second in the Big 12, trailing Division I leader Baylor, who has posted a time of 3:06.67.

 

55 Big 12 Scorers

Over all events entering the Big 12 Indoor Championships, the Nebraska track and field team owns 33 top-eight spots on the men’s side and another 22 spots on the women’s side. With each squad limited to only 26 competitors, the Husker men will have to leave athletes in Lincoln that are in positions to score at the conference meet.

 

The team also holds the top spot in the conference in three events on both the men’s and women’s side. For the men, Lehann Fourie (7.75) holds the top time in the men’s 60-meter hurdles, Nicholas Gordon (25-8) leads the long jump while Paul Hamilton (7-4 1/4) leads the high jump both in the conference and nationally. On the women’s side, Megan Wheatley (4,601) owns the top pentathlon score, 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.

 

Danish Dynamo

NCAA All-American and Nebraska junior Dan Christensen briefly held the Danish under-23 indoor record in the 400 meters with his time of 47.55 at the adidas Classic on Saturday, Jan. 31. Christensen, who is half Danish, broke Jacob Riis’ mark, before Riis came back to tie the record in Torino, Italy on Tuesday, Feb. 3.

 

Christensen and Riis are now only .17 seconds away from the Danish all-time indoor mark of 47.38, held by Christian Birk (2001). Christensen’s time qualifies him for the European Indoor Championships in Torino in March.

 

World-Class Athletes

The Huskers boast four athletes that rank in the top 15 in their respective event on the under-20 world indoor list, including the world’s No. 2 under-20 women’s pole vaulter and men’s 600-yard runner.

 

Sophomore Natalie Willer sits second on the women’s pole vault list with a vault of 14-0, the No. 3 vault in Division I in 2009. For the Husker men, Rochelle, N.Y., native Blaise Rewaka is No. 2 in the men’s 600 yards, with a time of 1:11.17 at the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational

 

Willer is joined on the women’s team by Humble, Texas, native Karyn LaCour, who it tied for 12th in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.44. The Husker men have welcomed Lodi, N.J., native Chris Phipps, who is ranked in the top 25 on the under-20 list in both the long jump and triple jump. Phipps is tied for 22nd in the long jump with a leap of 24-3 3/4, while in the triple jump he sits in the No. 13 spot on the list with a mark of 51-6 1/2, also ranking him No. 23 in Division I.

 

Relay Makes Most of 300-Meter Oval

The Nebraska track and field team closed the ISU Classic on Saturday, Feb. 14, in style with the top 4x400-meter relay, running an NCAA provisional-qualifying time of 3:08.54. Taking advantage of the Lied Center’s 300-meter oval, Dan Christensen, Kirkland Thornton, Adam Dailey and Lukas Hulett teamed to run faster than 35 other teams, ranking the Huskers No. 5 in Division I this season. The Huskers are now ranked No. 2 in Big 12, trailing Baylor’s Division I leading time of 3:06.67.

 

Wims Getting Back on Track

After a sophomore season that was riddled with injury, Scott Wims is returning to his 2007 NCAA All-American form. Wims put his name on the NCAA provisional-qualifying list in the 200 meters at the adidas Classic with a personal-best matching time of 21.20 (oversized best ? 21.06). Wims’ time ties him for No. 19 spot in Division I and the No. 7 spot in the Big 12.

 

McGruder Honored as Community Champion

On Thursday, Feb. 5, the Big 12 Conference named Nebraska track and field junior Leandra McGruder to its Winter Chick-fil-A Community of Champions team. The honor is the second of McGruder’s career, as she was also named to the 2008 spring team.

 

A native of Jefferson City, Mo., McGruder was selected for the team based on her combination of academic success, community service and leadership/sportsmanship. One student-athlete from each of the 12 conference schools were selected, and the winter team is the second of three seasonal teams during the year, with Husker volleyball player Amanda Gates named to the fall team.

 

Pepin Primed for 2009

Nebraska Head Coach Gary Pepin returned 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).

 

Huskers Ink Three for 2010

On Tuesday, Feb. 10, the Nebraska track and field team announced the signings of three future Huskers. Tommy Brinn (Otsego, Mich.), Jordan Oddo (Arlington, Texas), and Anne Martin (Waverly, Neb.) all signed a National Letter of Intent to join the Nebraska track and field family for the 2010 season. With their senior seasons still ahead, the three have already combined to win six state championships.

 

Tommy Brinn ? Middle Distance: Otsego High School (Otsego, Michigan)

Otsego High School product Tommy Brinn joins the Huskers as an accomplished 800-meter runner, posting a personal best of 1:51.07 at the 2008 Midwest Distance Gala in Lisle, Ill. As a junior in 2008, Brinn’s time was the top prep time in Michigan, while ranking No. 22 among prep runners nationally and ranking him No. 7 in the country among returning 2009 preps. At the MHSAA LP Division 2 Championships, Brinn set the finals meet record in the 800 with a winning time of 1:51.76 in 2008.

 

Brinn, who chose Nebraska over Tennessee, Michigan and Indiana, went on to finish 16th at the 2008 Nike Outdoor Championships in the 800 with a time of 1:54.25.

 

Jordan Oddo ? Pole Vault: Grace Preparatory Academy (Arlington, Texas)

Pole vaulter Jordan Oddo joins the Nebraska pole vault squad as a three-time 5A TAPPS state champion from Grace Preparatory Academy in Arlington, Texas. Oddo holds a lifetime-best vault of 12-1, ranking her No. 1 among TAPPS vaulters and No. 23 nationally in 2008. She set the all-class state meet record with a vault of 11-10 in 2008, propelling the Lions’ to their first 5A state title on the women’s side.

 

Oddo also dominated on the volleyball court, setting the school record for kills in a season and a match, as well the school record for kills per game. She was named by the Fort Worth Star Telegram as of one its private school players of the year.

 

Oddo chose Nebraska over San Diego State, Notre Dame, Cornell, Columbia, Air Force, South Alabama, Louisiana Monroe and Baylor.

 

Anne Martin ? Multi-Events: Waverly High School (Waverly, Nebraska)

Waverly, Neb., native Anne Martin joins the Huskers as one of the most versatile track and field athlete in the state, qualifying for the Class B state meet in four events each of the first three years she’s been in the prep ranks.

 

Martin won her first state title in the high jump as a freshman with a leap of 5-4, also finishing fifth in the triple jump (35-1 3/4) and competing in the long jump and 400 meters. She returned as a sophomore in 2007 to win the long jump (17-10 1/2), finish second in the high jump (5-4), take third in the triple jump (36-2 1/12) and finish fifth in the 400 (1:01.27). Martin then won the All-Class gold medal and took back her state title in the high jump with the top mark during the 2008 Nebraska high school season, clearing 5-8. She also finished runner-up in the 200 meters (25.94) and triple jump (36-10 1/4), along with earning a bronze in the long jump (17-9 1/2).

 

Martin, the sister of former Husker multi-eventer Lee Martin (2003-07), picked Nebraska over Missouri and Iowa. She also excels on the hardwood, averaging 15.8 points and 9.8 rebounds per game this season for the Vikings’ basketball team.