Thornton Paces NU Men at Regionals

Norman, Okla. ? Senior Kirkland Thornton claimed individual titles in the 110 and 400 hurdles to guide the No. 7 Nebraska men to second place at the 2009 NCAA Midwest Regional on Saturday at the John Jacobs Track in Norman, Okla. Thornton notched personal-best times in both events to lead six Huskers earning automatic berths to the NCAA Championships on the day. NU claimed 84.25 team points, while champion Texas A&M had 98.

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“I wasn’t satisfied with what I ran at the Big 12 Championships,” Thornton said. “I didn’t live up to my potential. I wanted to come out here and prove what kind of athlete I am. This was potentially one of my last meets so I wanted to come out and lay it all on the track.”

Racing two other Huskers in the 110-hurdle finals, Thornton posted the top wind-aided time in NU history with a 13.47. The start was called back twice, but Thornton didn’t miss a beat as he found his stride early and raced to first. NU junior Lehann Fourie was nearly stride for stride with Thornton, until he hit the second-to-last hurdle and flipped it over himself. The hurdle tangled with another one in front of Fourie and forced him to stop. Nebraska junior Tyrell Ross edged out an Air Force opponent by .02 of a second to claim third with a 13.86 and give NU 16 points in the event.

“I got out first and once I got in that clean air, I just ran smooth and relaxed,” Thornton said. “I saw a hurdle go down next to me but I didn’t know who it was. I just stayed in my lane and in my race.”

Thornton followed up with an even more dominating performance in the 400 hurdles. The South Holland, Ill., native laid down the second fastest time in school history with a 49.77 to claim first by five meters. His performance trails only Mark Jackson’s 49.18 in 1992 in the NU record book. Big 12 champion Adam Dailey claimed third with 50.92 to give NU another 16 team points.

“I give credit to God on that because I didn’t have any strength,” Thornton said. “I was tired. It was my sixth race of the weekend. I had [Adam] Dailey in front of me and I knew I had to catch him because he is strong at the end. I just knew if I ran my race I would be fine and that is what happened.”

Five other Huskers earned the automatic bid to the national meet, including freshman Tyler Hitchler, who turned in a third-place showing in the men’s discus. His final throw of 182-9 during the second flight advanced him to the finals, but he was unable to further the mark.

Sophomore Seth Burney made his first three heights in the pole vault with just one miss, but he could not make it over 17-7 as the Big 12 champion finished with a mark of 17-3 for fourth.

Brian Parr ran some steady splits to work his way through the field in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. He held off several late charges from opponents to finish fourth in 8:54, as the third-, fourth- and fifth-place finishers were all within .06 of second of each other.

On the women’s side, juniors Epley Bullock finished second in the high jump and Leandra McGruder placed fifth in the triple jump to help the No. 19 Nebraska women’s squad finish with 29.5 points in 10th place, behind champion Texas A&M (96).

Texas’ Destinee Hooker got the best of Bullock for the second consecutive meet, after the two dualed at the Big 12 Championships. Bullock was neck and neck with Hooker today after making her first four heights on her first attempt at each, but Bullock could not make it over 6-0 1/2, as she finished with a mark of 5-11 1/4.

After finishing just one place short of automatically qualifying in the long jump yesterday, McGruder busted out a personal-best mark in the triple jump to claim the fifth and final automatic spot. McGruder notched a 43-5 1/4 on her first attempt, a mark nine inches farther than her best. She moved into the finals in fourth, but one athlete improved her mark and bumped McGruder.

Several other Husker student-athletes posted impress performances, but will have to wait until the at-large bids are announced next week to find out if they qualify for the NCAA Championships.

Nebraska's 4x100 relay of Dax Danns, Lukas Hulett, Scott Wims and Thornton didn't get an automatic spot, but it wasn't for a lack of effort. Wims ran a great anchor leg, closing a five-meter gap to bring the Huskers into a battle for second. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough as NU finished with a time of 39.91, just .04 of a second behind third place.

Freshman Chris Phipps posted a personal-best jump of 52-1 3/4 in the triple jump, bettering his previous mark by nearly two feet, but finished eighth in the final standings as he fouled on all three attempts in the finals. His mark is the ninth best jump in NU history.

The women’s 1,500 meters was another close call for the Huskers. Freshman Ashley Miller placed sixth with a 4:30, just one second off her personal-best time. Blaire Dinsdale also finished sixth with a 2:08 in the 800. In the 3,000-meter steeplechase, Rachel Carrizales earned seventh with a 10:21.

For full results from the meet, click on the link above.