Huskers Head to Three Different Meets

Nebraska Track and Field Meet Day Information

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 Stanford Invitational
 Palo Alto, Calif. (Cobb Track at Angell Field)
 Friday, March 27 (12:30 p.m.) - Saturday, March 28 (11 a.m.)
 goStanford.com | Pac-10.org
 Meet Information | Meet Schedule
 Heat Sheets | Live Results
 Ground Transportation Guide | Dining Guide
 Stanford Hotels | Palo Alto Weather

 Arizona State Invitational
 Tempe, Ariz. (Sun Angel Stadium, Joe Selleh Track)
 Friday, March 27 (3 p.m.) - Saturday, March 28 (Noon)
 thesundevils.com | Pac-10.org
 Meet Information | Meet Schedule
 Heat Sheets | Live Results
 Sun Angel Track Map | Visiting Tempe
 Tempe Hotels | Tempe Weather

 Hastings College Bronco Relays
 Hastings, Neb. (Hastings College)
 Saturday, March 28 (9 a.m.)
 Hastings.edu | GPACSports.com
 Meet Schedule
 Visiting Hastings | Hastings Weather

 - all times Central

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The Nebraska track and field team will hit three different meets this weekend in the hopes off adding more regional-qualifying marks to the seven it achieved last weekend.

 

The distance and throws squads will head west to the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif., on Friday, March 27 - Saturday, March 28. The meet is set to start at 12:30 p.m. (Central) on Friday and continue at 11 a.m. on Saturday. The pole vault and multi-event groups will also head west for the Arizona Invitational in Tempe, Ariz. Also a two-day meet, it is set to start at 3 p.m. (Central) on Friday and continue on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. The men’s 10,000-meter runners will stay right here in Nebraska and run at the Bronco Relays in Hastings, Neb., which will begin at 9 a.m. on Saturday.

 

A full release as well as live results from both Stanford and Arizona State can be found at Huskers.com following the completion of each day's events.

 

NU Out of the Blocks

2009 NCAA Midwest Regional Qualifiers: 7

  (7-Men)

2009 Division I Outdoor Leaders: 1

  (1-Men)

2009 Division I Outdoor Top 10: 7

  (7-Men)

2009 Big 12 Conference Outdoor Leaders: 2

  (2-Men)

2009 Big 12 Athlete of the Week: 2

  (1-Men / 1-Women)

 

Huskers Open with Seven Regional Marks

The Nebraska track and field team opened the 2009 outdoor season on a high note, as the men’s hurdler squad had five hurdlers post seven regional-qualifying marks Saturday night at the Baldy Castillo Invitational in Tempe, Ariz.

 

The Husker foursome of Lehann Fourie (13.84), Kirkland Thornton (13.94), Tyrell Ross (14.09) and Eric Lund (14.18) started the night in dominant fashion, taking the top four spots in the 110-meter hurdles. The four Huskers were the only hurdlers to regionally qualify in the event, with Fourie, Thornton and Lund all running personal-best times.

 

Lund came back later in the night to regionally qualify in the 400-meter hurdles with a fourth-place time of 52.23. Lund was directly followed by Ross (52.24), Nick Makukutu (52.36), who joined Lund as a regional qualifier in the event.

 

Huskers Look to Youth in ?09

With only two outdoor All-Americans returning on the men’s side and none returning for the women, some may think the Huskers are in trouble during the 2009 outdoor season. However, the Big Red has high expectations as the team returns 16 of the 20 athletes that qualified for the 2008 outdoor championships, as 13 of the 20 were making their first outdoor championship appearance in 2008.

 

The Huskers were young in 2008 as 13 of the championship qualifiers were sophomores or younger, including seven true freshman. With the first-year jitters gone, the Big Red will look to those youngsters for major contributions in 2009. Three of the 2008 outdoor qualifiers that didn’t earn All-America honors in 2008 returned to the 2009 indoor championships to earn their first honor, including sophomore Nicholas Gordon, who won the national title in the long jump.

 

Jumping into Elite Company

After winning the first Big 12 title of his career at the 2009 Big 12 Indoor Championships, sophomore Nicholas Gordon returned to the same long jump runway to win his first NCAA national championship on Friday, March 13.

 

A native of Kingston, Jamaica, Gordon won the title on the final jump of the event, clearing eight meters for the first time in his career with a leap of 26-4 1/4. Entering the final two jumps, Gordon had the lead before Jeremy Hicks of LSU cleared 26-3 1/2 to take the lead, Gordon responded with a jump of 25-9 1/2, leaving him in second-place entering the final round of jumps. After a foul by Hicks and the national title on the line, Gordon rose to the occasion to win just the second men’s indoor long jump title in school history. Gordon joins NU school-record holder and 2006 indoor/outdoor champion Arturs Abolins, who, like Gordon, won the national title on the final jump of the 2006 meet.

 

First Time for Everything

True freshman Bj?rn Barrefors become the first Husker in school history since the indoor championships started in 1965 to earn All-America honors in the men’s heptathlon with a school-record score of 5,795, topping Bill Vacek’s 1996 score of 5,766. Barrefors ended the national meet in third place, trailing national champion Ashton Eaton (Oregon ? 5,988) and runner-up Gonzalo Barroilhet (FSU ? 5,879). Over the two-day seven-event conquest, Barrefors set four personal bests on his way to a personal-best score, including three straight PR’s on day one in the 60-meter dash (7.13), long jump (24-2 1/2) and shot put (46-10), before ending the heptathlon with a nearly two second personal best in the 1,000-meter run with a time of 2:50.57.  

 

Tops Since ?96

At the NCAA Indoor Championships, the Nebraska men’s track and field team scored 25 points to finish tied for fifth with Arizona State and Baylor. The men’s finish was their best since 1996, when they finished runner-up to George Mason, 39-31.5. For the Husker women, they placed 29th with 8.5 points, marking their top finish since 2005, when they came in fourth.

 

All-America Honors Continue to Rise

The Nebraska men’s and women’s track and field teams had eight athletes combine to earn nine All-America honors at the NCAA Indoor Championships, the most since 2005 when the two combined to earn 10 honors. Overall, the two squads have now combined to earn 253 indoor All-America honors since the men’s indoor championships began in 1965 and women’s championships began in 1980.

 

For the men’s team, its five honors were the most at the indoor championships since 2005, when it earned seven. On the women’s side, the team’s four honors tied the 2006 squad.

 

Multi-Event U

Along with Bj?rn Barrefors’ third-place finish in the men’s heptathlon, Megan Wheatley and Chantae McMillan each earned the first NCAA All-America honor of their careers in the women’s pentathlon.

 

Wheatley finished fourth with a personal-best score of 4,267 points, ranking her as the No. 2 performer all-time indoors at NU, while McMillan finished eighth with 4,096 points. The duo’s pair of top-eight finishes marked the second time in Husker history that two Huskers have earned All-America honors in the pentathlon at the same meet, with Marjan Goedhart (8th) and Nancy Kindig (2nd) being the first teammates to achieve the feat in 1982.

 

Hurdling History

South Holland, Ill., native Kirkland Thornton made history at the NCAA Indoor Championships as he became the first Husker on the men’s side in school history to earn All-America in the 60-meter hurdles, with the NCAA switching from the 55-meter hurdles to the 60-meter hurdles in 1999. The last time a Husker earned All-America honors in the indoor hurdles on the men’s side was in 1996, when Frank Mensah (4th) and Willie Hibler (5th) both finished in the top eight of the 55-meter hurdles.

 

Three-Peat Performance

Junior Epley Bullock earned the third straight All-America honor of her career in the women’s high jump with tie for sixth at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Bullock joined Cris Hall as the only Husker on the women’s side to earn three straight All-America honors, with Hall finishing in the top eight from 1991-93.

 

Burney Vaults to Another Level

At the NCAA Indoor Championships Seth Burney became the first Husker on the men’s side to earn All-America honors indoors since 2006 when Ray Scotten finished 11th overall and eighth among American vaulters. The Beatrice, Neb., native’s fifth-place finish is also the top finish for a Husker in the pole vault since 2005, when Scotten finished second.

 

Dalton Earns Scholarship

Joslyn Dalton was recently selected as one of 13 winners of the NCAA’s Women’s Enhancement Postgraduate Scholarship, joining fellow Husker Amanda Gates (volleyball). Nebraska was the only school on the list to be represented twice, while the Big 12 Conference had four student-athletes honored.

 

A 2009 team co-captain that excels both on the track and in the classroom, Dalton has been a four-time All-Big 12 performer on the track, while ranking in the top-25 in four different events on the NU all-time performance list.

 

A communication studies major, Dalton has been named to the First-Team Academic All-Big 12 team the past three seasons, the USTFCCCA All-Academic team the past two seasons and the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor roll the last eight semesters, carrying a GPA of 3.771.

 

Grimes Honored by USTFCCCA

During the recent NCAA Indoor Championships, the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) released its regional coach, assistant coach and athlete of the year awards. In the Midwest Region, Multi-Event and Pole Vault Coach Kris Grimes was selected as Women’s Assistant Coach of the Year.

 

The fourth such honor of his career and third at Nebraska, Grimes coached two women and two men to five All-America honors at the recent indoor championships, including one school record.

 

In his fourth season at Nebraska, Grimes has coached athletes that have earned a total of 13 All-America honors, while also coaching 10 Big 12 Champions.

 

Doubling Up

With 13 Huskers making the trip to College Station and Chantae McMillan entered in two events, the Huskers’ 14 entries into NCAA Indoor Championships more than doubled the six entries the Big Red had in 2008. However, the 2008 squad made a big impact as the Huskers came away with four All-America honors and a national championship with Dusty Jonas’ school-record leap of 7-7 in the high jump.

 

Overall, the Husker men were tied with Florida State for the third-most entries in the meet with nine, while Arkansas led the way with 13 entries. On the women’s side, the Huskers tied with nine other teams for eighth with five entries, with Oregon’s 14 entries the most on the women’s side.

 

The Wizard of Jumps

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 13 athletes that competed at the NCAA Indoor Championships, Pepin personally coached five of them in the jumps area, including 2009 indoor long jump champion, Nicholas Gordon. Along with Gordon, Pepin also coaches fellow 2009 All-Americans Epley Bullock (high jump) and Chris Phipps (long jump).

 

Long Jumping Dominance

At the NCAA Indoor Championships the men’s long jump was filled with scarlet and cream as the Huskers had three jumpers in the field, including 2009 NCAA and Big 12 champion, Nicholas Gordon.

 

Joining Gordon in the field was All-American Chris Phipps and senior LeRon Williams, with the three slotting Nebraska as the team with the most entries in the event, topping LSU and Arkansas, who each have two.

 

Overall in the jumps (long jump, triple jump, pole vault and high jump) the Huskers tied with fellow Big 12 school Texas A&M on the men’s side for the most entries with five.

 

Huskers Bring Four Big 12 Titles Back to Lincoln

The Nebraska track and field team came up short of winning the conference team titles with the men finishing second and the women finishing third, but the teams were able to bring four individual titles back to Lincoln.

 

Megan Wheatley (pentathlon), Natalie Willer (pole vault), Nicholas Gordon (long jump) and Keith Lloyd (shot put) all won the first Big 12 indoor championship of their careers in College Station, with Wheatley earning her second conference title of her career after a win in the heptathlon as last season’s outdoor championships.

 

The two titles on the women’s side mark the second straight year that the women have won two individual titles at the indoor championships, with Epley Bullock (high jump) and Sheryl Morgan (600 yards) winning titles in 2008. On the men’s side, Lloyd and Gordon became the first individual winners at the indoor meet since 2006, when the men won five indoor titles.

 

Wheatley Wins Second Straight Title

Following a win at the 2008 Big 12 Outdoor Championships in the heptathlon, which marked the fourth straight title in the heptathlon for the Big Red multis, Megan Wheatley brought top honors in the indoor pentathlon back to Lincoln for the first time since 2006, when Ashley Selig won her second straight championship. Wheatley’s score of 4,211 points at the indoor conference meet was a then-personal best, ranking her as the No. 3 performer all-time indoors at Nebraska, trailing Selig’s score-record score of 4,336 points.

 

Wheatley was not alone on the award stand in College Station, as she was joined by fellow NCAA automatic-qualifier Chantae McMillan, who finished runner-up with 4,061 points, and fourth-place finisher Rachel Butler, who provisionally qualified with a personal-best score of 3,858 points.

 

Gordon Continues NU’s Long Jumping Dominance

Sophomore Nicholas Gordon’s victory in the long jump at the 2009 Big 12 Indoor Championships marked the seventh long jump title for the Husker men indoors, the most of any other program in the conference’s 13-year history.

 

Gordon’s winning jump of 26-1 1/2 was a then-personal best, automatically qualifying him for the NCAA Indoor Championships. Gordon’s jump was also a meet record, breaking former Husker Chris Wright’s 10-year old record of 26-0 at the 1998 championships.

 

Overall, the Husker jumps dominated the field as freshman Chris Phipps and senior LeRon Williams finished third and fourth, respectively, with each clearing a personal best of 25-6 1/4, with Phipps breaking the tie with a better second jump.

 

Lloyd Roars Back

Senior co-captain Keith Lloyd capped the final Big 12 Indoor Championships of his career in dramatic style, winning his first Big 12 title. The Omaha, Neb., native tossed 59-4 1/4 in the men’s shot put, shattering his previous best of 58-0 1/2 by nearly 16 inches.

 

Lloyd entered the finals with the top throw in the competition, tossing 58-5 3/4 on his first attempt of the meet. In the first round of the finals, redshirt freshman Luke Pinkelman of Iowa State took the lead with a toss of 58-8 3/4, but Lloyd came roaring back on his first final’s attempt with the winning toss of 59-4 1/4. The win was the first conference title for the men in the shot since Carl Myerscough won back-to-back titles in 2003-04.

 

Distance Double Threat

For the second straight year sophomore Lara Crofford scored in both the 5K and 3K at the Big 12 Indoor Championships, as she was one of three runners in the conference to achieve the feat on the women’s side.

 

After finishing third in the 5K and eighth in the 3K at the 2008 meet, Crofford improved in both in 2009, finishing runner-up in the 5K on Friday and sixth in the 3K on Saturday. The Newville, Pa., native recorded personal-best and NCAA provisional-qualifying times in each, running a time of 16:28.84 in the 5K and a time of 9:33.37 in the 3K.

 

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.

 

Huskers Ink Four for 2010

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.

 

Annie Jackson ? Throws: Tekamah, Neb. (Tekamah-Herman HS)

Annie Jackson enters her 2009 senior season at Tekamah-Herman High School as the defending Nebraska Class C  state shot put champion, posting a school-record throw of 43-7 1/2 at the 2008 state meet. Jackson also holds the school record in the discus with a toss of 134-3 and is the most decorated women’s track and field athlete in school history with four state medals.

 

A two-time defending East Husker Conference champion in the shot put, Jackson has also starred on the volleyball and basketball courts, earning unanimous First-Team All-East Husker Conference honors in each. A leader off the track, Jackson is a member of the National Honor Society.