NU Hosts Big 12 Track Championships this Weekend

Lincoln -- The Husker track and field team will play host to the Big 12 Indoor Championships this Friday and Saturday, Feb. 27-28, in the Bob Devaney Sports Center Track.

The action will get underway at 9:30 a.m. both days with the multi-event competitions. The running events will kick off at 2 p.m. on Friday and Saturday’s meet opens with field events at 1:30 p.m.

The Nebraska men will try to defend the conference title for the fifth consecutive year, while the women will try to regain the Big 12 crown from the Texas Longhorns. The Husker men won an exciting race over Texas in 2003, with a half-point win that came down to the anchor leg of the 4x400-meter relay.

The Texas women won the conference battle by 25 points in 2003 over the Huskers, but NU returns much more depth this season than they have in recent years. The Nebraska women last won the Big 12 Indoor title in 2001.

The women return all three of their conference champions from a year ago, while the men return only three-time national champion Carl Myerscough. However, the Huskers have three men leading the conference performance list in their respective events. The NU women are represented six times at the top of the conference list.

This meet also represents the multi-event athletes’ last chance to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships, March 12-13, in Fayetteville, Ark.

NU Women Vault to Second in National Rankings
The Nebraska women are ranked second in the nation according to the Trackwire 25 released Tuesday, Feb. 24. The Huskers are only projected to finish behind Louisiana State in the national championship meet. The NU men are currently ranked 19th in the Trackwire rankings.

The TrackWire 25 is a power ranking which projects a hypothetical score for the NCAA meet, factoring injury reports and other variables supported by information gathered from coaches and NCAA-qualifying competitions.

The Nebraska women have been projected to score 50 points in the national championship meet, which is only two points behind LSU’s 52 points. Florida is third with 46 points and Texas is fourth with 45 points.

The Husker men are projected to score 10 points in the team race.

The women have a sizeable lead on LSU in the Team Power Rankings, with a first-place points total of 300.73. LSU is second with 292.83, while South Carolina is third with 285.18. The Husker men are ranked fourth in the power rankings with 270.78 points. Florida leads the men’s race with 398.5 points, followed by Michigan and Brigham Young.

A Look at the Field
The Big 12 Indoor Championships will have will feature some of the best athletes in the nation, including eight returning NCAA champions, three of which are from Nebraska. It also includes three women’s teams and seven men’s teams in this week’s Trackwire Top 25.

The women’s 60-meter hurdles will feature three of the top four athletes in the nation with Texas’ Nichole Denby and Raasin McIntosh and NU’s Priscilla Lopes. The women’s 60 meters will put

Texas’ Sanya Richards against Oklahoma’s LaVerne Jones and Lopes in a highly competitive matchup.

NU’s Ineta Radevica will face Texas freshman Marshavet Hooker in the long jump, while Becky Breisch will go head-to-head with Kansas State’s Rebekah Green in the women’s shot put. Sophomore Ashley Selig will also compete against K-State’s JaNelle Wright for the first time this season in the women’s pentathlon.

On the men’s side, the men’s 60-meter dash should be an exciting race as three of the nation’s top 11 contenders compete in the Big 12, including DaBryan Blanton (OU), Dusty Stamer (NU) and Daniel McLemore (OSU).

Baylor brings in Darold Williamson and Jeremy Wariner as top competitors in the 400 meters.

The men’s 800 meters will be stacked with Kansas State’s Christian Smith, Nebraska’s Aaron Nasers and Dmitrijs Milkevics and Kansas’ Jeremy Mims all ranking in the top 13 in the nation. In addition, the field will also include six-time All-American Jonathan Johnson, who was the 2003 NCAA outdoor runner-up in the 800 meters.

Where to Find Results
Live results will be available on the Nebraska website at Huskers.com. There is a live stats link on the left side of the page and a link to the track results can be found there. Final results will also be available on the track and field page after the conclusion of each day.

For any media needing final results e-mailed or faxed, please contact NU track and field contact, Erin Smith, by either phone (402-472-7781) or by e-mail (esmith@huskers.com).

Graff Ties NU Pole Vault Mark at KSU Open
Jessie Graff led a small group of Huskers competing in the KSU Open last weekend with her NCAA automatic-qualifying performance and her school-record tying jump of 13-9 1/4. Graff led an NU sweep of the top four places and set the second-best mark in the country this season.

Finishing runner-up to Graff was teammate Christi Lehman, who cleared a career-best height of 13-5 1/4. Lehman won the 2003 Big 12 Indoor Championship with a leap of 13-3 1/2. Lehman reset the school record in the women’s pole vault on several occasions last season, including a record of 13-3 3/4 at the NCAA Championships.

Freshman Jenny Green dismantled that record in her first meet in a Husker uniform, clearing 13-9 1/4 at the Pole Vault Summit in January.

Green and Graff both cleared 13-8 1/2 in the adidas Classic, but Graff tied Green’s school record at the KSU Open last weekend.

Sophomore Oliver Williams Jr. won the men’s 60-meter dash preliminary, as well as the finals in times of 6.87 and 6.83, respectively. Shelldon Simpson took third in 6.91 in the finals.

Tim Williams won the men’s 1,000 meters, clocking a season-best time of 2:29.67.

The Best of the Best
The Huskers boast some of the best track and field athletes in the country, and they have the rankings to prove it. Eight NU marks rank in the top five among NCAA Division I performances and 14 marks rank in the top 10 in the country.

Carl Myerscough is leading the nation in the men’s shot put with his throw of 67-10 3/4 in the adidas Classic on Feb. 14.

Ashley Selig has the second-best mark in the NCAA pentathlon with her score of 3,958 points in the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational.

Sophomore Priscilla Lopes is fourth on the women’s 60-meter hurdle list with her time of 8.13 from the adidas Classic. Lopes is also 10th on the 60-meter dash list in 7.36 and is tied at 33rd in the 200 meters with her 23.98 clocking.

Nebraska’s depth shows in the women’s pole vault, three Huskers rank in the top 10 in the nation and four are in the top 14, including Jessie Graff, who is second with her leap of 13-9 1/4 last weekend. Freshman Jenny Green is third, Christi Lehman is seventh and Alissa Koerner is tied at 14th. In the men’s pole vault, senior Brad Teeple is tied at eighth on the national list with his clearance of 17-6 1/2.

Ineta Radevica’s leap of 21-0 1/2 in the long jump is third in the nation after she led the country for a few weeks. Radevica’s mark of 43-10 1/2 in the triple jump ranks fifth.

The Huskers also have depth in the men’s 800 meters with two athletes ranking in the top nine in the NCAA. Aaron Nasers is currently seventh with his school record time of 1:48.37, while Dmitrijs Milkevics is ninth clocking a time of 1:48.75.

Dusty Stamer’s time of 6.67 is tied for seventh in the nation in the 60-meter dash.

In the shot put, Becky Breisch is fourth on the national descending order list with her throw of 56-10 1/4, while Leann Boerema is 15th with her mark of 53-1 3/4 last weekend in the KSU Open.

Big 12 Standings
Several Huskers hold the top spot in the Big 12 rankings, and several more rank near the top of their events.

The Husker women pole vaulters have a firm grip on the conference race, taking the 1-4 spots, led by Jenny Green and Jessie Graff, who are tied for first with a height of 13-9 1/4. Christi Lehman is third at 13-5 1/2, while Alissa Koerner is tied for fourth with a height of 13-0 1/4.

Carl Myerscough is leading the conference and the nation in the shot put (67-10 3/4).

Ineta Radevica is on top of the long jump with a mark of 21-0 1/2 and the triple jump with a leap of 43-10 1/2, while Ashley Selig is the leading pentathlete in the conference with her score of 3,958 points. Becky Breisch is leading the women’s shot put with her throw of 56-10 1/4, while teammate Leann Boerema is in fourth with a throw of 53-1 3/4.

Dmitrijs Milkevics has the top time in the 600 yards with his conference record mark of 1:08.67. Aaron Nasers has the second-best time in the 800 meters (1:48.37), followed by Milkevics in third in 1:48.75.

Brad Teeple holds the top spot in the men’s pole vault with his leap of 17-6 1/2. Anne Shadle leads the Big 12 in the 1,000 meters with her time of 2:48.48, followed by teammate Danute Ceika in second at 2:49.63.

Dusty Stamer is second behind Oklahoma’s DaBryan Blanton in the 60-meter dash with a personal-best time of 6.67, which he ran at the Holiday Inn Invitational. Oliver Williams Jr. is ranked fourth in the 60 meters and seventh in the 200 meters. Isaiah Fluellen is just ahead of Williams in the 200 meters in sixth with a time of 21.65.

Going 2-3-4 in the 60-meter hurdles are sophomore Courtney Jones (7.90), Nenad Loncar (7.94) and Richard Davidson Jr. (7.95).

Priscilla Lopes ranks third in the women’s 60-meter hurdles with her time of 8.13, as well as coming in at fifth in the 60-meter dash (7.36) and seventh in the 200 meters (23.98).

Daniel Roper is ranked third in the long jump (24-8 1/2) and fifth in the triple jump (48-11 3/4), while Jason Thompson is fourth in the triple jump (49-9 1/4).

Selig is followed in the pentathlon by teammate Sara Jane Baker, who is third with 3,676 points. Chris Richardson ranks second on the men’s heptathlon list, followed by Martin (third) and Jesse Colburn (fifth).

Husker Pole Vaulting Corps Sets NCAA First
Three Nebraska women pole vaulters have cleared 13-5 1/4 this season, becoming the first team in NCAA history to accomplish such a feat. Jessie Graff and Jenny Green have both cleared 13-9 1/4, while Christi Lehman has cleared 13-5 1/4 this season.

The only other team to put three pole vaulters over the 13-5 mark is the University of Arkansas, which had three vaulters make it to the 2003 NCAA Championships qualifying height of 13-5 or better.

The Huskers are not stopping there, however, as they try to become just the second team in NCAA history to ever have two or more vaulters clear 14 feet in one season. Green and Graff have both come close to clearing the 14 feet mark, and Lehman is capable of accomplishing that height as well. The only other team to accomplish that feat is Oregon, who had two vaulters clear 14 feet during the 2003 season.

Nasers Gets to 800 Meter Record First
It appeared that Dmitrijs Milkevics would be the one to rewrite the Nebraska school record in the 800 meters when he ran the second fastest time school history (1:48.75) in the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational. Milkevics was just .38 of a second off of the record after just beginning to run the 800 this season.

Aaron Nasers didn’t give him the chance, as he tied the school record of 1:48.37 in the Prairie Wolf Invitational, on Feb. 13.

Milkevics couldn’t be outdone, setting his own school record in the 600-yard run the next day in the adidas Classic. In a race that was just meant to be used for training, Milkevics reset the eight-year old record with a time of 1:08.67.

Nasers and Milkevics are currently seventh and ninth on the NCAA descending order list.

School Records Falling Like Rain
The Huskers have already seen five school records go down this season, and the championship season is just getting underway.

Priscilla Lopes has led the way in the women’s 60-meter hurdles, setting a new record on three occasions, most recently setting it at 8.13 in the adidas Classic on Feb. 14.

Two newcomers have made more than a dent in the women’s pole vault record. Freshman Jenny Green broke the NU record as well as the Big 12 record in her very first meet, clearing 13-9 1/4 at the Pole Vault Summit. Sophomore transfer Jessie Graff cleared that same height last weekend at the Kansas State Open to tie the record.

Aaron Nasers tied the school record in the men’s 800-meter run in the Prairie Wolf Invitational, clocking a time of 1:48.37. Teammate Dmitrijs Milkevics would not be outdone, setting the school record in the 600-yard run the following day in the adidas Classic. Milkevics ran a time of 1:48.75 to break the eight-year old record. The time was also good for a new conference record as well.

A Look Back at the 2003 Big 12 Indoor Meet
The Nebraska men won an exciting Big 12 Championship race by a half point last season in a meet that came down to the very last leg of the final relay event. The women were not as fortunate, falling to Texas by 25 points for a second-place finish.

The Huskers claimed nine individual titles between the men’s and women’s teams, led by Ineta Radevica and Frank Tolen, who both captured dual titles in the long and triple jump events.

On the men’s side, David Davis Jr. won a thrilling 60-meter hurdle race in a school record time of 7.70. Eric Eshbach won the men’s pole vault with a height of 18-1 3/4 and Carl Myerscough took the shot put crown with a throw of 68-10 1/2.

While the event winners were valuable to NU, every point in every event became crucial for the Huskers to claim their ninth conference title in the last 10 years.

Becky Breisch completed the Husker sweep in the shot put, winning the women’s event with a throw of 56-4 1/2, while Christi Lehman claimed the women’s pole vault championship with her leap of 13-3 1/2.

Selig Remains in NCAA Top Two of Pentathlon
Sophomore Ashley Selig recorded her then NCAA-leading mark in the women’s pentathlon in the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational with a score of 3,958 points on Feb. 7.

The mark provisionally qualifies Selig for the first NCAA indoor pentathlon in history and should be a solid enough mark to get her into the national meet.

Arizona State’s Jacquelyn Johnson moved ahead of Selig with a score of 4,044 points on Feb. 13.

No one in the country has hit the NCAA automatic-qualifying mark for the pentathlon this season.

It’s Just Not the Same
Carl Myerscough will look to claim his third consecutive Big 12 indoor shot put title, but this one will not be as highly anticipated as the last two since Missouri’s Christian Cantwell is out of eligibility.

The matchup between the two national contenders has been highly regarded as one of the best competitions of the conference championships.

In 2004, Myerscough leads the conference by nearly five feet and the nation by more than a foot over Ohio State’s Dan Taylor.

Texas A&M’s Ronnie Jimenez is the closest to Myerscough in the conference race with his throw of 62-3 1/2 on Feb. 14.

Count On It
The Huskers will take no less than five athletes to the NCAA Indoor Championships next month, as NU has clinched five automatic berths in six events already this season.

The women greatly outnumber the men, as four females have already booked their tickets to the national championships. Becky Breisch (shot put), Jessie Graff (pole vault), Priscilla Lopes (60-meter hurdles) and Ineta Radevica (long jump, triple jump) have all met automatic-qualifying standards.

On the men’s side, only Carl Myerscough has met the automatic qualifying mark in the shot put.

Several other Huskers have strong provisional-qualifying marks and look to be a lock for the national championship meet, but the only sure way to make the trip to Fayetteville is by securing an automatic mark.

Fluellen Catches on in Track
Joining the Nebraska track and field team after the conclusion of the 2003 football season, Isaiah Fluellen’s impact was immediately felt.

Fluellen competed for the first time this season in the 200 meters in the adidas Classic, and ran the Huskers’ fastest time this season with a time of 21.64, which ranks sixth in the Big 12 Conference. He ran a career-best time in his first race back on the track in two years.

Fluellen made an immediate impact as a redshirt-freshman on the NU football team as a wide receiver. Fluellen caught 19 passes for 287 yards and a pair of touchdowns, using his sprinter speed to average 19.1 yards per catch last season.

A New Trick for the Trade
Junior Becky Breisch has picked up a new event and not surprisingly, she has done very well at it.

Breisch, one of the national leaders in the shot put, began practicing the weight throw four days before the Prairie Wolf Invitational. The result was a win in the event and a nearly NCAA provisional-qualifying mark.

The junior from Edwardsburg, Mich., threw a mark of 60-5 3/4 in the Prairie Wolf Invitational, then came back the next day to throw a mark of 60-3 in the adidas Classic.

Her mark ranks third in the conference and is the fourth-best mark in Nebraska school history.

Dwelling in the Past
While the Huskers are focused on the future and the potential they have in the 2004 Big 12 Indoor Championships, the history books are full of great endings for Nebraska in conference championship meets.

The Nebraska men have won six out of the seven Big 12 Indoor Championship crowns, and 14 out of the last 19 conference titles dating back to the 1985 season.

The NU women have won two out of the last four Big 12 titles and have claimed 20 out of the last 24 conference championships. Texas has won the last two indoor titles, but the Huskers won 18 consecutive championships from 1980 to 1997.

The Husker men have also crowned 206 individual conference champions in school history and have claimed at least three individual titles in 10 out of the last 11 seasons.

The women have notched 148 individual indoor conference crowns, including at least three event winners in 22 out of the last 24 years.

Shadle Clinches Provisional Mark
Junior Anne Shadle provisionally qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships for the first time in her career with a time of 4:47.74 in the mile run.

Shadle’s time was the fourth best in Nebraska school history and eclipsed her previous personal-best mark by more than five seconds.

During 2003, Shadle qualified for her first NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. The South Sioux City, Neb., native finished third at the NCAA Midwest Regional in the event to earn a berth in the national championships. Shadle went on to set a new school record in the event with a time of 10:32.21 for a 20th place finish at the national meet.

Radevica Quietly Making Mark
One of Nebraska’s four 2003 outdoor national champions, Ineta Radevica has been impressive in the long and triple jumps this season, but has done it quietly and without much notice. She will try to claim her fifth and sixth conference titles this weekend in both horizontal jumps.

Radevica claimed an automatic-qualifying mark in the long jump in the very first week of the season with her leap of 21-0 1/2. That mark still ranks second in the nation.

In the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational, Radevica claimed the long and triple jump titles, capturing her first automatic-qualifying mark in the triple jump with her leap of 43-10 1/2.

Devaney Center Standards Raised
Three Bob Devaney Sports Center records have fallen this season in the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational on Feb. 7.

Florida’s Candice Scott reset her own Devaney Center record in the women’s weight throw with a launch of 75-5 1/2.

Minnesota’s Mitch Potter ran a fantastic race in the men’s 400 meters, setting a new standard of 46 seconds flat.

North Carolina’s Alice Schmidt, an Elkhorn, Neb., native also set a new Devaney record time in the 800 meters, with her run of 2:05.33.

Loncar Becomes Third NCAA Qualifier in Hurdles
Three of the top four 60-meter hurdlers in the Big 12 Conference compete for Nebraska and all three of them have NCAA provisional-qualifying marks.

Sophomore Courtney Jones has led the Huskers early in the 2004 season, running a career-best time of 7.90 in the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational.

Jones time provisionally qualified him for the NCAA Indoor Championships, as did teammate Richard Davidson Jr.’s time of 7.95 ran in the semifinals of the same meet.

The pair rank second and fourth in the conference. Teammate Nenad Loncar sits between the two with his NCAA provisional time of 7.94, which he ran at the Prairie Wolf Invitational on Feb. 13.

The Huskers will try to make up the loss of departed senior All-American David Davis Jr. in the hurdles. Davis won the 2003 Big 12 Indoor championship in the 60-meter hurdles, while Loncar took fourth (8.02) and Jones finished fifth (8.02).

Breisch Continues Improvement
Junior Becky Breisch has improved her mark in the shot put every week this season, including her throw of 56-101/4 in the adidas Classic two weeks ago.

The 2003 NCAA outdoor champion threw the shot 54-5 1/2 in the Panther Open to begin the 2004 season with an NCAA automatic-qualifying mark. The following week at the Holiday Inn Invitational, Breisch improved the mark to 54-8 to win that meet as well.

In the Tiger Classic, Breisch unleashed another fantastic throw of 55-1 1/2 to take her game once again to the next level. She bested that throw with a toss of 56-1 3/4 in the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational.

Lopes Improves Hurdle Record Weekly
Sophomore Priscilla Lopes has been impressive in the outset of her career in a Nebraska uniform. Lopes has run a faster time in the 60-meter hurdles almost every time she has gotten in the blocks.

In the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational, Lopes ran a time of 8.21 in the preliminaries to tie her previous season-best mark. In the semifinals, she set her first Nebraska school record with an 8.19 clocking, and in the finals Lopes dropped her time even farther to 8.15.

The following week in the adidas Classic, Lopes once again improved her time and the record to 8.13.

The time automatically qualified the Whitby, Ontario, native for the NCAA Championships.

Lopes went on to run an NCAA provisional-qualifying time of 23.98 in the 200 meters. She has also provisionally qualified in the 60 meters with a time of 7.36 at the adidas Classic.

NU Returns Four National Champs in 2004
Nebraska is the only Division I university that returns four 2003 NCAA individual national champions to its 2004 squad. The Huskers return Carl Myerscough (indoor and outdoor shot put), Eric Eshbach (outdoor pole vault), Ineta Radevica (outdoor triple jump) and Becky Breisch (outdoor shot put). North Carolina comes the closest to Nebraska, returning three individual national champs from the 2003 season. The Huskers also return the services of seven All-Americans, including Kyle Odvody (high jump), Na’Tassia Vice (high jump) and Artur Wszelaki (javelin) in addition to the four national champions.