Twenty-Six Huskers Headed to NCAA Indoor Championships

Lincoln, Neb. ? Twenty-six Nebraska track and field athletes will compete in the 2004 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships Friday and Saturday, March 12-13, in Fayetteville, Ark., the NCAA track committee announced Monday evening.

Ten Huskers were assured a trip to the national championship meet by virtue of their NCAA automatic-qualifying marks. Priscilla Lopes and Ineta Radevica led the way for the women with two automatic qualifiers each. Lopes is qualified in the 60-meter dash as well as the 60-meter hurdles, while Radevica was automatically qualified in the long and triple jumps.

Senior Carl Myerscough will try to become only the third athlete in NCAA Indoor history to win three consecutive titles in the shot put. The Hambleton, England, native is the reigning indoor and outdoor champion and has won the last two indoor titles. Myerscough leads the NCAA this season with his throw of 68-7 ? at the Big 12 Indoor Championships.

Jessie Graff, Jenny Green and Christi Lehman will all compete for the Huskers in the women’s pole vault. Graff and Green both automatically qualified and are tied for the fourth-best mark in the NCAA this season at 13-9 ?. Lehman will make her second consecutive trip to the NCAA Indoor meet with her career-best mark of 13-5 ? coming this season.

Junior Becky Breisch will compete for NU in the women’s shot put, despite being qualified in the women’s weight throw as well. Breisch is ranked fourth nationally in the shot put with her toss of 56-10 ? at the adidas Classic. The Edwardsburg, Mich., native is the reigning NCAA Outdoor champion in the shot put and will try to pick up her first career win at the indoor national meet.

Senior Chris Richardson will make his first trip to the NCAA Championships and will compete in the heptathlon in the inaugural season of the multi-events at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Richardson’s automatic-qualifying mark of 5,565 points was enough to win the Big 12 title and ranks sixth nationally.

Sophomore Oliver Williams Jr. earned his first career NCAA automatic-qualifying mark in the 60-meter dash last weekend at the Last Chance Qualifier. Williams clocked a time of 6.61, which tied the previous NU school record and set the fifth fastest time in the NCAA this year.

Newcomers Dmitrijs Milkevics and Aaron Nasers both automatically qualified for NU in the 800 meters. Milkevics’ time of 1:47.09 ranks fourth and Nasers’ 1:48.10 clocking ranks ninth in the NCAA.

The men’s 4x400-meter relay and the women’s distance medley relay teams highlighted the list of provisional-qualifying marks the Huskers claimed in the meet.

Leann Boerema will also compete in her third NCAA Indoor meet in the shot put, as she was the next to last person allowed to enter in the event with her throw of 53-1 ? at the KSU Open.

Other provisional qualifiers for the Huskers include Dusty Stamer (60-meter dash), Brad Teeple (pole vault), Arturs Abolins (long jump), Na’Tassia Vice (high jump), Angela Dies (long jump), Ashley Selig (pentathlon) and Sara Jane Baker (pentathlon).

The Huskers will leave for Fayetteville on Wednesday morning and the NCAA Indoor Championships will take place March 12-13 at the Randal Tyson Track Center.