Huskers Play Host to Nebraska Quadrangular

Lincoln, Neb. - The Nebraska track and field team plays host to its only home meet of the outdoor season this Saturday, April 17, when the Huskers open the Ed Weir Track Stadium for the Nebraska Quadrangular.

The meet will feature the Huskers as well as Missouri, Colorado State and Indiana, and will not be scored.

The field events will kickoff at 2:30 p.m., while the running events are slated to begin at 4 p.m.

While most of the Huskers have already competed during the outdoor season, a handful of athletes will be taking the track or field for the first time, including 2003 NCAA Outdoor champions Ineta Radevica and Carl Myerscough. Radevica also claimed gold in the triple jump at the 2004 NCAA Indoor Championships, while Myerscough won silver in the shot put. The pair has taken the last six weeks to train and recuperate before getting back into competition.

Nebraska is coming off a fairly successful weekend in which the women’s team took the title and the men finished second at the K.T. Woodman Classic in Wichita, Kan.

The Huskers will look to add to their several NCAA Regional-qualifying marks in their one opportunity to compete in front of a home crowd.

Ed Weir Track Stadium

Nestled between Memorial Stadium and the NU Coliseum, the Huskers’ outdoor track is in the very heart of NU’s athletic complex. Ed Weir Stadium is surrounded by vine-covered columns and provides a beautiful setting for home meets. During the 25-year existence of the stadium, Nebraska has played host to eight National Junior Olympics, a USA-USSR Junior Dual Meet, and six Big Eight Outdoor Championships. The stadium celebrated its 25th anniversary with a $2 million track replacement in the spring of 2000.

The Huskers hosted three meets at the Ed Weir Track and Field Stadium last season, including the first NCAA Midwest Regional. In 2004, Nebraska will travel for almost all of its outdoor meets, but will enjoy the confines of Ed Weir Stadium for the Nebraska Quadrangular this weekend.

Where to Find Results

Results will be provided to the media after each event if requested. Results will also be posted on the garage doors on the southeast end of the track.

While live results will not be available for this meet, a complete set of results can be found following the meet at Huskers.com.

Breisch Claims Yet Another Honor

Becky Breisch was honored for the second time this season as the Big 12 Athlete of the Week, the conference office announced April 12.

Breisch has been outstanding during the outdoor season, garnering national athlete-of-the-week honors on March 23 for her opening-week performance at Texas A&M.

The Edwardsburg, Mich., native has not lost a competition through the first five weeks of the outdoor season, improving her marks in both the shot put and discus in nearly every competition.

Last week, Breisch won titles in both the shot and discus at the Concordia Invitational and the K.T. Woodman Classic. She opened the week in Seward, Neb., at the Concordia Invitational on Wednesday, where she tossed the discus 192-6, giving her the top three spots in the NCAA this season. She then launched the shot put 57-5 to overtake Stanford’s Jillian Camarena’s previous nation-leading mark of 57-4 ?.

On Saturday, Breisch extended her winning streak, taking titles in the shot put and discus at the K.T. Woodman Classic in Wichita, Kan. Breisch won the shot put with a throw of 56-1 ? and the discus with a toss of 186-5.

NU Women Claim Team Title

The Nebraska women’s team won the K.T. Woodman Classic in Wichita, Kan., last Saturday, while the men’s team finished second to Penn State. The meet marked the Huskers’ only scored meet of the outdoor season outside of the Big 12 and NCAA Championships.

Highlights of the meet included Becky Breisch’s sixth consecutive shot put and discus titles in the last five weeks. Ann Gaffigan set a meet record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, while Tia DeSoto set a Cessna Stadium record with a toss of 183-1 in the hammer throw.

The Huskers claimed the 1-2-4-5 spots in the men’s 400 meters, led by Danny Hill’s time of 48.92. Other Huskers picking up gold last weekend included Anne Shadle (1,500-meter run), Aaron Nasers (1,500-meter run), Issar Yazhbin (hammer throw), Nenad Loncar (110-meter hurdles), Aaron Plas (high jump), Maggi Escudero (400-meter dash), Kayte Tranel (5,000-meter run), Hill (400-meter dash and hurdles), Justine Roach (400-meter hurdles), Danute Ceika (800-meter run) and the women’s 4x100-meter relay team.

Lopes, Radevica to Be Honored

Being a national champion has its perks. Priscilla Lopes won the NCAA title in the 60-meter hurdles on March 12, while Ineta Radevica claimed her second title in the triple jump the following day.

Lopes and Radevica will be honored for those achievements on Saturday before the annual spring football game. They will also be recognized before the April 20 baseball game against the Creighton Bluejays.

Lopes and Radevica will continue their quest to reach the outdoor championships at the Ed Weir Track Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Right Around the Corner

The Big 12 Outdoor Track and Field Championships will be here quickly. The conference meet is just two weeks away as the Huskers travel to Norman, Okla., for action on April 29-May 1. The championships have been moved up two weeks to accommodate final exam schedules for conference schools.

With the Big 12 meet right around the corner, the Huskers need to take full advantage of their only home meet this weekend to prepare for the conference meet. Last season the women finished second to Texas, while the men were third, coming in behind Texas and Texas A&M.

Nebraska will take the week off after the Big 12 Championships before competing at the Ward Haylett Invitational. NU will also take the next week off before competing in the NCAA Regional Championships May 28-29.

Eshbach Explodes for Nebraska School Record

Senior Eric Eshbach had a phenomenal day in the pole vault last Saturday at the Texas Relays. Eshbach set a school-record mark of 18-4 1/2 to win the prestigious meet.

The Orangefield, Texas, native tied the nation-leading mark with his leap and was honored as the Big 12 co-male athlete of the week. Eshbach is currently ranked second in the TrackWire Dandy Dozen in the pole vault behind Oregon’s Tommy Skipper, who Eshbach defeated at the Texas Relays. Eshbach’s mark also currently is tied for fifth in the world this year.

Huskers Fall One Spot in Rankings

In the second outdoor TrackWire rankings, the Nebraska women fell from third to fourth place, while the men dropped from sixth to seventh.

After sweeping the indoor national titles, Louisiana State has claimed the top spot in both polls. UCLA and Texas are tied at second right ahead of Nebraska in the women’s poll. Arkansas, Florida, Arizona State, Auburn and TCU all rank behind LSU and ahead of the Huskers in the men’s rankings.

The Husker women have a substantial lead in the Team Power Rankings, ranking first and leading by more than 37 points.The men are eighth in the most recent Team Power Rankings. Arizona State holds the lead in the men’s ranking by nearly four points.

Track Doing Its Part

The University of Nebraska is ranked 15th in the latest Director’s Cup standings released on April 1 with 380 points. The Husker track and field team is responsible for 139 of those points or 37 percent.

The Nebraska women took third place at the NCAA Indoor Championships, the highest finish for a Husker team this season, for 85 points, while the men finished tied for 19th place for 54 Director’s Cup Points.

Huskers Have Handle on National Rankings

Becky Breisch leads the Huskers in the national rankings, with the top spot in the discus throw and the second spot on the shot put chart.

Breisch’s throw of 192-6 in the discus and her toss of 57-5 in the shot put at the Concordia Invitational last Wednesday,rank first and second, respectively. Leann Boerema has the 12th-best mark in the shot with a toss of 53-3 1/2.

Eric Eshbach is also leading the NCAA, with his leap of 18-4 1/2 at the Texas Relays in the pole vault.

Jenny Green ranks fourth in the women’s pole vault with a height of 13-11 1/4 at the Texas Relays.

NCAA indoor hurdle champion Priscilla Lopes has already made her mark in the national standings, tying for 12th in the 100-meter hurdles.

Sophomore Ashley Selig is ranked fifth in the women’s heptathlon with 5,316 points, while teammate Sara Jane Baker is 11th with 5,100 points.

Artur Wszelaki is ranked sixth in the javelin with a throw of 237-6. Travis Baker and Aaron Plas are tied at ninth on the high jump list. Nenad Loncar is seventh and Courtney Jones is tied at 14th in the 110-meter hurdles. Dusty Stamer is ranked 14th in the 100-meter dash.

The Huskers also return the services of seven All-Americans, including Kyle Odvody (high jump), Na’Tassia Vice (high jump) and Arturs Wszelaki (javelin) in addition to the four national champions.