Two Huskers Lead Field on Day Two of NCAA Championships

Sacramento, Calif. - The Nebraska track and field team continued to look strong through the second day of the NCAA Outdoor Championships at Hornet Stadium in Sacramento, Calif.

"We are doing pretty much what we needed to do today," Head Coach Gary Pepin said. "There have been a few disappointments, but more good things than bad."

Sophomore Becky Breisch automatically qualified for her second event of the NCAA Championships, throwing the shot put 56-7 1/2 on her second attempt to lead the competition. Breisch will pick up the discus again on Friday and try to capture her first-ever NCAA title.

Ineta Radevica also automatically qualified in her second event of the championships, leaping a mark of 44-9 3/4 on her final attempt to lead the competition as well. Radevica improved each attempt, starting at 43-10 3/4 on her first jump. Teammate Krisztina Kovesi is also among the finalist in the triple jump, leaping 43-1 1/2 on her second try of the evening.

Senior David Davis Jr. qualified for the first NCAA Championship final of his career, running a semifinal time of 13.84 in the 110-meter hurdles Thursday morning. Davis looked strong from the start and never let up, finishing second in his heat and recording the fourth-best time of the day.

"It did feel better than yesterday because I qualified automatically," Davis said. "I'm happy with the result and it was a good race. My goal was to run my race, be aggressive, and have a good time. All season my goal was to be an All-American and it didn't happen indoors. Now it looks like it is going to happen and that is the exciting part."

Sophomore Nenad Loncar had an outstanding start to his race in the 110-meter hurdles and was a favorite coming into the semifinals, but hit the ninth hurdle and struggled at the end of his race, clocking a time of 13.91 and finishing 14th overall.

"We were happy to see David Davis make the finals, but it is disappointing that Nenad will not be there too," Pepin said.

All three of Nebraska's men high jumpers qualified for the NCAA Championship finals, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CST on Saturday. Travis Baker was the only Husker to clearly qualify, going a height of 7-1 3/4. Shaun Kologinczak and Kyle Odvody both cleared 7-0 1/4, before missing their next three attempts at 7-1 3/4. The field jumped at 7-1 3/4 to try and pare the finals field down to 12 competitors or less, but only nine athletes cleared that bar and they were forced to take 19 competitors to the finals, allowing Kologinczak and Odvody to make the finals.

Na'Tassia Vice made the finals of the women's high jump, clearing a height of 5-10 1/2 to qualify for the finals. Vice easily cleared 5-7 1/4 on her first attempt. She cleared the next height on her second attempt, and took all three tries to clear 5-10 1/2 to join the 13-person field for the finals.

"Our high jumpers had a good day," Pepin said. "We weren't sure if Kyle and Shaun were going to make the finals when they didn't clear the last height, but we got everybody in, so now they just have to go out and jump well again Saturday."

In the decathlon, Casey Thom finished 10th with 7,279 points, after moving up and down throughout the entire competition. Thom didn't have a strong run in the 110-meter hurdles to start the day, running a time of 15.93 and finishing 21st overall. The hurdles took him from 14th place, where he started the day, to 15th. He made a strong comeback, however, in the discus, throwing it 137-00 for a sixth-place finish and 700 points, improving his standing to 13th. Thom struggled again in the pole vault, only clearing 13-1 1/2 for 617 points, setting him back to 16th place. In the javelin throw, he was 12th, with a mark of 170-9 on his second attempt. He put on an incredible performance, however, in the 1,500 meters, running away from the field by 12 seconds, to win the event and give him 827 points.

Throwing the hammer, senior Amanda Moreley threw a mark of 193-9 for a fourth-place finish in her flight and 11th overall to qualify her for the finals. Moreley improved immensely on every attempt.

James Bowler had a solid race in the 1,500 meters, clocking a time of 3:43.84 and making the finals with his time. Bowler finished fifth in his heat and ninth overall.

Sophomore Christi Lehman did not make the final round of the women's pole vault, clearing 12-9 1/2. Lehman fell short at the 13-1 1/2 mark.

Senior Chris Burns had a rough morning in the 800-meter run, falling to the back of the pack immediately, when the race got off to a very quick pace. Burns fought back throughout the race, but could not ever really get back into it, finishing 15th overall with a time of 1:49.82.

Leann Boerema finished 14th in the women's shot put competition with a throw of 51-4 1/2 on her second throw. She was two places shy of making the finals.

The Huskers will begin finals action Friday in the next to last day of the NCAA Championships. Ashley Selig will also make her NCAA debut, competing in the heptathlon beginning at 12 p.m. CST.