Nebraska Men Take Bronze at NCAA Track and Field Championships

Fayetteville, Ark. - Carl Myerscough launched the Nebraska men's track and field team into third place at the 2003 NCAA Indoor Championships with an NCAA meet record throw in the shot put to capture his second national title Saturday in Fayetteville, Ark.

 

The third-place finish by Nebraska is the best finish since the Huskers took second in 1996 and is only the fourth time in school history the Huskers have finished in the top-five.  The Nebraska women also had a great meet, finishing 11th in the nation.

 

"This is super," head coach Gary Pepin said.  "That is the best performance we have had in a long time.  It was a real tribute to the athletes that came down and to all the kids on the team."

 

Myerscough got into a heated competition with an unexpected competitor from Ohio State.  The Hambleton, England, native competed in the second flight of throwers, but in the first flight Dan Taylor of OSU let go of an outstanding throw of 69-11 3/4 on his second throw, turning the heat on to Myerscough.

 

The junior stepped up to the challenge, however, unleashing an NCAA meet record throw of 70-6 1/4 on his second attempt of the meet.  Myerscough's new mark was only one centimeter short of the NCAA record and is currently second in the world. It resets his previous NU school record, and set a new Randal Tyson Track Center record.

 

"I feel relieved and pleased," Myerscough said.  "When I was in the back and heard he (Taylor) threw 21.33m (69-11 3/4) my heart rate went up 100 beats.  During warm-ups it felt like the most serious and important thing I had ever done in my life. I knew I could beat him, but I had to pull out all the stops. I knew I was ready.  It was the first meet that I was really rested for and I knew I could throw farther than I had all season."

 

In the women's triple jump, Krisztina Kovesi won the bronze with a remarkable personal record jump of 44-1 1/4 on her second jump in the finals.  Kovesi defeated teammate Ineta Radevica for the first time this season.

 

"I didn't know what was going to happen," Kovesi said.  "My performance last week gave me a lot of confidence.  I was hoping I could go out and have a new personal record.  I knew I could do it. I was nervous but I calmed myself down and I am just so happy with how I finished."

 

Radevica had a good day as well in the triple jump, finishing fifth with a leap of 43-10 1/2 on her first attempt of the day.

 

In the men's triple jump, Frank Tolen took 10th place going a distance of 52-6 1/2.  Tolen took the silver in the long jump on Friday.

 

The day improved for the Huskers, after a disappointing beginning in the men's high jump.  Freshman Aaron Plas finished 15th, clearing a height of 6-11 3/4.  Junior Kyle Odvody tied for 17th after clearing the first two heights with a final mark of 6-10 1/4.

 

In the women's pole vault, Christi Lehman finished in 14th, clearing the second height at 12-11 1/2, in her first NCAA Championship appearance.

 

Arkansas won its 17th indoor national title with 52 points and Auburn finished just ahead of the Huskers in second with 28 points.  The Huskers scored 26 points from Myerscough (1st, Shot Put), Eric Eshbach (2nd, Pole Vault), and Frank Tolen (2nd, Long Jump).

 

Louisiana State won the women's title with 62 points, followed by South Carolina and Florida with 44 points each.  Nebraska finished in 11th with 18 points.

 

"Our goal for the women was 10th at the beginning of the season, so it was pretty good," Pepin said.  "Like every meet, we had some athletes that did really well and some that didn't have a good meet, but overall we are happy with the meet."

 

The Huskers will begin the outdoor season in two weeks when they travel to the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif.