Nebraska Plays Host to First-Ever NCAA Midwest Track and Field Regional - Huskers.com - Nebraska Athletics Official Web Site

Lincoln -- The Nebraska track and field team plays host to the first NCAA Midwest Track and Field Regional Championship in history Friday and Saturday, May 30-31, at the Ed Weir Track Stadium. The Huskers will vie for individual titles and tickets to the 2003 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Sacramento, Calif., as well as regional team titles.

Nebraska is coming off a trip to the Big 12 Championships in Austin, Texas, where the Huskers claimed eight individual titles but came up short of both team titles, with the women taking silver and the men taking bronze. Texas captured both team titles on its home turf and the Longhorns will likely be the favorites coming into the regional championships.

Fifty individuals have qualified for the regional meet for 62 event entries, as well athletes who qualified on relay teams. NU has 24 athletes currently ranked in the top 10 in the region in their respective events and 16 rank in the top five.

In order to make the NCAA Outdoor Championships, athletes must finish in the top five of their event or in the top three in the relay events. The NCAA will also use the national descending order list to fill the rest of the NCAA Championships field.

The region includes 11 of the 12 teams in the Big 12 Conference, with Missouri being shipped to the Mideast Region at Ohio State.

Nebraska will face teams such as Iowa, Wichita State, Texas Christian, Sam Houston State, Colorado State, Minnesota, Northern Iowa, Tulsa, New Mexico, SMU, and Air Force in addition to the conference foes. The Midwest region is made up of 39 women