Nebraska Women Capture Midwest Regional Title at Home

 

Lincoln, Neb. - The Nebraska women's track and field team pulled off a spectacular feat, winning the inaugural NCAA Midwest Regional Championship title Saturday night at Ed Weir Track Stadium in Lincoln, Neb. 

 

The Husker men finish tied for third with Texas Tech, coming in behind Minnesota and Texas A&M, and the team as a whole claimed 19 automatic bids throughout the meet to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Sacramento, Calif., June 11-14.

 

"I was a little surprised at the how different the conference meet is from the regional meet in terms of competition and complexion," head coach Gary Pepin said. "The girls had an outstanding meet.  We had a few titles, but what really helped us were our second- and third-place finishes in various events.  This was by far the best meet of the year for the women."

 

Becky Breisch and Ineta Radevica paced the Huskers once again, claiming two titles in two days.  The pair accomplished the same task two weeks ago at the Big 12 Championships in Austin, Texas.

 

Breisch doubled in the shot put and the discus, throwing the discus 181-5 Saturday for the gold.  She was not in the lead, however, going into the next to final round, but launched her mark in a clutch performance.

 

"I'm happy that I was able to get points for the team today," Breisch said.  "It was a fierce competition and I'm sure it will carry on through nationals.  What I want out of nationals is a discus national championship title, but there are several other girls that will also easily contend for it."

 

Radevica leaped 44-11 on her first attempt of the finals in the triple jump to claim the title.

 

"Today I was ready for everything knowing that the three top triple jumpers in the nation were competing," Radevica said.  "Since we all qualified, I expect that the national competition will be just as competitive and close."

 

Teammate Krisztina Kovesi also secured a trip to Sacramento with a fourth-place finish in the triple, leaping 43-7 for the automatic qualifier.

 

Carl Myerscough collected a regional title as well, notching a career-best mark and a new Ed Weir Stadium record with a throw of 69-5 1/4.

 

Anne Shadle will make her first-ever appearance at an NCAA Championship meet, qualifying in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a career-best time of 10:36.49 by nearly 10 seconds.

 

The women's 4x100-meter relay team ran an unbelievable race, finishing third and qualifying for nationals with a time of 44.77.  The team was made up of Vesna Kostic, Ineta Radevica, Authea Chambers and Shelley-Ann Brown.

 

Chris Burns put on a gutsy performance in the 800 meters, clinching his first trip to the national meet, with a time of 1:49.70.  Burns was forced to the back of the pack in the middle of the race, but with about 200 meters remaining, started making a move and forced his way into the top five on the straightaway.

 

James Bowler had another stellar performance, taking the third-place spot with a time of 3:43.36.

 

Nenad Loncar will also make his first appearance at a national meet for the Huskers, clocking a time of 13.74 in the 110-meter hurdles for a second-place finish.  David Davis Jr. did not have as strong of a day, coming in sixth with a time of 14.03.  Davis is now on the bubble of the NCAA Championship meet and will have to wait to find out if he makes the final list.

 

Na'Tassia Vice contributed a significant eight points to the team effort with a second-place finish in the women's high jump, clearing a mark of 5-10 1/2.   She went to the 2002 Indoor Championships and finished 12th.

 

Senior Amanda Moreley will make a return trip to the national meet in the hammer throw, throwing it 186-8 for the silver.

 

Eric Eshbach will make his sixth NCAA meet appearance, finishing fourth in the pole vault.  The senior cleared 16-11, before looking really frustrated and falling short of the 17-3 mark.