Lincoln -- The Nebraska men’s and women’s track and field teams head to Norman, Okla., this weekend for the Big 12 Outdoor Track and Field Championships hosted by Oklahoma at the newly renovated John Jacobs Field on April 29 to May 1.
Oklahoma, which is also playing host to the Big 12 men’s and women’s tennis tournaments this weekend, is the fifth host of the Big 12 Outdoor Championships in the league’s eighth year. Texas (2003), Missouri (2002, 2000, 1998), Texas A&M (2001) and Baylor (1999, 1997) have also played host to the event.
Nebraska is set to take 58 athletes (29 men, 29 women) to Oklahoma where it will try for its fourth outdoor Big 12 title on the men’s side (1998, 2000, 2002) and second by the women (2000). Texas is the reigning outdoor league champion on both sides.
The Huskers get underway at the conference outdoor championships on Thursday, April 29, when the multi-events begin at 1 p.m. with the decathlon 100 meters. The women’s events begin at 1:30 p.m. with the heptathlon 100-meter hurdles.
The multi-events will not be the only contests on Thursday, as five event finals will also take place. On the women’s side, champions will be decided in the hammer throw (1 p.m.), javelin (6 p.m.) and the 10,000-meter run (8:45 p.m.) along with the men’s hammer throw (4 p.m.) and the 10,000 meters (8 p.m.).
On Friday, the Huskers face a full slate as the multi-events begin at 10 a.m. and conclude with the decathlon’s 1,500-meter run at 4:25 p.m. Field events start at 2 p.m. with the women’s long jump final while the track contests start at 4:30 p.m. with the women’s 1,500-meter run. The final race of the night is scheduled for approximately 7:55 p.m., with the men’s 200-meter dash preliminaries.
Nebraska closes out the Big 12 Championships on Saturday when 29 individual and relay champions are crowned. The women start the day with the triple jump final at 1 p.m. while the men end the meet with the 1,600-meter relay at approximately 7:40 p.m.
Results from each day will be sent to local media following the final event of the day. They can also be found during the meet on www.soonersports.com.
Next Up for the Huskers
Following the Big 12 Outdoor Championships, Nebraska will head to Manhattan, Kan., on May 15 for the Ward Haylett Invitational. It will be the last chance for the Huskers to reach NCAA Regional-qualifying standards. The NCAA Regional will then take place on May 28-29, in College Station, Texas.
Huskers Look for Rare Double Sweep at Big 12 Meet
When Nebraska gets into action at John Jacobs Field for the Big 12 Outdoor Championships, the Huskers will be looking to accomplish a rare feat ? sweep the men’s and women’s titles at the indoor and outdoor meets in the same season. That has happened only twice in the first seven years of the league, when Nebraska did it in 2000 and Texas in 1999.
The last time a team claimed all four team titles in the same season (Nebraska, 2000), the Huskers put together tremendous team efforts with a total of just six individual champions between the four meets. On the women’s side, the Huskers had two individual champions (three events) during indoors and three champions (four events) in the outdoor contest. For the men, Nebraska had two individual winners (four events) during the indoor meet and one (one event) during outdoors.
Earlier this season, Nebraska swept the men’s and women’s team titles at the indoor league meet for the fourth time in Big 12 action (2003, 2001, 2000, 1997). It was similar to the Huskers’ team effort in 2000, as 51 of 52 Huskers who competed in the 2004 meet scored team points. NU had six individual women’s champions (eight events) while the NU men accounted for five league titles (five events).
Texas (2003, 1999, 1997) and Nebraska (2000) are the only teams to sweep the outdoor team titles since the formation of the Big 12 Conference.
NU’s Championship Experience
Nebraska will have the services of a number of competitors who know what it takes to win at the Big 12 level this weekend.
Nebraska returns 2003 Big 12 Outdoor individual champions Becky Breisch (shot put and discus), Carl Myerscough (discus) and Artur Wszelaki (javelin). Breisch is the two-time defending Big 12 Outdoor champion in the discus. Myerscough is also the two-time defending champion in the discus and won the 2001 Big 12 Outdoor title in the shot put.
Nebraska also has several other competitors who have that championship experience needed to push the Huskers toward their unprecedented second double sweep of the outdoor and indoor league titles during one season.
Earlier this year, Nebraska had 11 individuals win 13 events at the Big 12 Indoor Championships. All six women (Ann Gaffigan, mile run; Anne Shadle, 1,000 meters; Na’Tassia Vice, high jump; Jenny Green, pole vault; Ineta Radevica, long jump and triple jump; and Becky Breisch, shot put and weight throw) and five men (Arturs Abolins, long jump; Jason Thompson, triple jump; Carl Myerscough, shot put; Chris Richardson, heptathlon; Dmitrijs Milkevics, 800 meters) are available for action during the outdoor competition.
Nebraska Strikes Big 12 Gold in Even Years
Nebraska has been as dominant as any team in the Big 12 when it comes to winning titles at the outdoor conference meet. In the seven seasons since the formation of the league, Nebraska has won three men’s titles, taking the top spot only in even years 2002, 2000 and 1998, and added one women’s crown in 2000.
Texas has also won three team titles on the men’s side in that span and added four women’s titles. Texas A&M is the only other team to win a men’s title since 1997, while KSU has won the women’s title twice.
In the past 15 years, Nebraska has won seven league men’s titles, more than any other conference team. Iowa State is second in that span with four titles, followed by Texas (3) and Texas A&M (1). For the women, the Huskers have won eight outdoor titles in that span while Texas has four, Kansas State two and Colorado one. NU won 16 consecutive outdoor women’s titles between 1980 and 1995, including 15 straight under Coach Gary Pepin.
Huskers Rank Among Top Performers
Nebraska has 54 individual performances (27 men and 27 women) ranked in the top 10 of the Big 12 Conference performance list, including 25 ranked among the top three (13 men, 12 women) in an event. Seven Huskers lead the conference performance list with two NU athletes ? Becky Breisch (discus and shot put) and Carl Myerscough (shot put and discus) ? leading the Big 12 in more than one category.
Breisch has been amazing with her consistency this spring, as she won the indoor shot put and weight throw titles and came back to shatter the Nebraska and Big 12 Conference records in the discus. Breisch owns the best discus throw in the country with a mark of 205-5 at the Drake Relays last weekend. Her mark would also rank fourth on the men’s national performance list. She also tops the field in the shot put with a toss of 57-4 3/4, more than two feet better than the next mark.
Myerscough has also been dominating but in less time. Returning to outdoor action on April 17, Myerscough tossed the longest mark in the country at his first meet with a 67-10 1/4 in the shot put, the only person in the conference to top 65-0 outdoors this season. His mark of 203-4 in the discus leads the Big 12 field by seven feet.
Also in the field events, Eric Eshbach leads the country after going 18-8 1/4 in the pole vault on April 17. The mark was a school and track record and ties for the third-highest jump in the world during this outdoor season. By reaching the mark, Eshbach automatically qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials this summer.
Issar Yahzbin leads the league in the hammer throw after tossing it 200-8 at the Nebraska Quadrangular. His mark is more than 11 feet better than the next closest competitor and nearly 20 feet better than fifth place on the performance list.
Danny Hill is the other conference leader for the Nebraska men’s team, as he paces the 400-meter hurdlers with his time of 52.16 on April 10. Hill leads an outstanding cast of Nebraska hurdlers with Andy Nelson ranking third in the 400-meter hurdles. In the 110-meter high hurdles, Nenad Loncar (2nd), Courtney Jones (3rd), Richard Davidson Jr. (6th) and Aaron Ross (8th) all rank in the top eight entering the league championships.
The women’s field events are strong again behind NU’s jumpers, especially in the pole vault pit. The Nebraska trio of Jenny Green, Jessie Graff and Christi Lehman rank 1-2-3, respectively, on the performance list. All three have topped 13-3 3/4 while only two others in the league have topped 13-0.
Another jumper, Na’Tassia Vice, will look to add some team points as she ranks second on the performance list in the high jump.
Ann Gaffigan is the only other Husker to top the performance list for the Huskers. The senior distance runner has the leading mark in the 3,000-meter steeplechase this season when she went 10:24.30 on April 17.
Nebraska Finds Success at Drake Relays
Nebraska continued its recent tradition of outstanding performances at the prestigious Drake Relays. The Huskers had six first-place finishes on the weekend, three of which were school records.
Leading the way for the Huskers was Becky Breisch, who unleashed a nation-leading throw of 205-5 in the discus, shattering her own NU and Big 12 Conference records from the previous week. The mark also set the Drake Relays meet record as she won the event by more than 30 feet. The only double event winner for the Huskers, Breisch also took the title in the shot put with a throw of 56-11 1/4.
Freshman Jenny Green continued Nebraska’s dominance in the field events as she won the women’s pole vault. Green edged teammate Christi Lehman for the top spot by clearing 12-11 1/2 with fewer misses.
Also on the women’s side, the Huskers opened the Drake Relays in solid fashion in the 4x1,600-meter run. The squad of Kathryn Handrup, Ann Gaffigan, Kim Pancoast and Anne Shadle smashed the previous school record by more than 17 seconds to place third overall in 19:49.42.
The Huskers’ shuttle hurdle relay team came up golden in its first event of the year. The NU men ? Aaron Ross, Courtney Jones, Richard Davidson Jr. and Nenad Loncar ? won the finals in a school-record time of 56:14 over Air Force, Georgia and Texas-Arlington.
NU’s Aaron Nasers also won for the Huskers by topping the field in the 800-meter run. Nasers set a team season best by crossing the line first in 1:50.46.
Nebraska Claims 10 Titles at NWU Twilight
While a limited number of Huskers went to Des Moines, Iowa, for the Drake Relays, the remainder of the Nebraska squad stayed in Lincoln where it dominated the Nebraska Wesleyan Twilight by winning 10 titles. Nebraska athletes posted 25 season-bests at the meet, including 18 on the men’s side.
On the men’s side, the Huskers won three field events, three individual race events and one relay, while the women took one field event title and two individual race championships.
Carl Myerscough led the way for Nebraska by earning the title in the shot put with a toss of 65-11 1/2. Also in the field events, Kyle Odvody won the high jump with a leap of 6-11 while Danny Tylka won the men’s pole vault with an NCAA Regional-qualifying and career-best jump of 16-4 3/4.
For the women, Na’Tassia Vice won the high jump by clearing 5-11, while Tia DeSoto earned gold in the women’s hammer throw with a toss of 177-0.
On the track, Nate Probasco won gold in the 200-meters in a time of 21.56, while Dana Carne led the charge in the men’s 1,500 with a winning time of 3:51.3. Eric Rasmussen paced the field in the men’s 5,000-meter run by taking the title in 15:17.4.
Dijana Kojic was the only women’s race winner for the Huskers as she edged teammate Kim Pancoast in the 800-meter run. Kojic finished in 2:13.62, while Pancoast came across the finish line in 2:13.99.
Husker Women Hold Spot in Rankings
The Husker women remained ranked fourth in the most recent TrackWire Rankings released Tuesday, April 27. It was the fourth straight week the Huskers have been fourth in the outdoor rankings.
After claiming the 2003 outdoor and the 2004 indoor national titles, Louisiana State has claimed the top spot in the women’s poll. UCLA and Texas are second and third, respectively, ahead of Nebraska.
On the men’s side, Nebraska dropped two spots into a tie for eighth place with Southern Methodist. Arkansas again held the lead in the men’s rankings for the second straight poll. Louisiana State is second while Florida and Auburn are tied for third.
The Husker women fell one spot in the Team Power Rankings, ranking second behind UCLA. They are followed by Brigham Young and Florida State. The men improved leaped from sixth to second place in the most recent Team Power Rankings. Wisconsin leads the men’s rankings and Nebraska is followed by Tennessee and Arizona State.
Gaffigan Named Student-Athlete of the Year
Ann Gaffigan was honored at the 2004 Student-Athlete Banquet on April 19 by being named the NU Female Student-Athlete of the Year.
Gaffigan competes for both the cross country and track teams, and carries a 3.88 GPA in computer science as a member of the J.D. Edwards Honors Program. A three-time academic All-Big 12 selection, she has claimed a spot on the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll five times as well as being named to the NCAA Division I Track Coaches Association All-Academic Team in 2003. She has been recognized as a WICCCA Academic All-American in 2001, 2002 and 2003.
During the 2004 indoor season, Gaffigan earned her first trip to the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. She ran the 1,600-meter leg on the Husker distance medley relay squad that broke the Nebraska school record with a time of 11:34.38, and scored in three events for NU at the 2004 Big 12 Indoor Championships.
During the cross country season, Gaffigan led the Huskers to an NCAA Midwest Region championship with her second-place finish to garner All-Midwest Region honors. A four-time All-Midwest Region selection, she led Nebraska to a 30th-place finish at the NCAA Cross Country Championships in 2003 - the Huskers’ first trip to nationals since 1999. Gaffigan is the fifth track athlete to earn the honor, but only the second in the last eight years. Janet Dutton won the award in 2000.
Gaffigan, Shadle Look Strong at Mt. SAC
Ann Gaffigan and Anne Shadle were the only Huskers to travel to the Mt. SAC Relays April 17 in Walnut, Calif., but they made the most out of the trip as they finished second and third in the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase.
Gaffigan set a Nebraska school record with her second-place time of 10:24.68 while Shadle won bronze in 10:34.52. Gaffigan also led the way in the 1,500-meter run, clocking an NCAA Regional-qualifying time of 4:28.92 to finish 30th overall. Shadle crossed the line in 4:32.80 to finish 48th.
Stamer Blazing in 100 Meters
After an extremely successful indoor season, Dusty Stamer wasted no time getting comfortable on the outdoor track as well. In the first meet of the outdoor season, Stamer clocked a time of 10.37 in the 100-meter dash at the Jim Click Shoot-Out in Tucson, Ariz.
The Grand Island, Neb., native shaved nearly one-tenth of a second off of that time at the Nebraska Quadrangular April 17, when he ran a team season-best time of 10.28 to move up to the fourth spot on the all-time NU charts. Stamer also ran the anchor of the men’s 4x100-meter relay team at that meet, helping NU set a season-best time of 39.93.
Shuttle-Hurdle Relay Team Breaks Record
One of the strengths of the 2004 Nebraska track and field team has been its depth in the hurdles. NU proved that the quality of its depth is outstanding with a record-breaking finish at the Drake Relays.
Competing for the first time this season, the team of Aaron Ross, Courtney Jones, Richard Davidson Jr. and Nenad Loncar came away in second place after the preliminaries of the 4x110-meter shuttle hurdle relay but shined in the finals. NU won the title in a school-record time of 56.14. It was the second straight season NU set a school record in the event at the Drake Relays. Jones and Loncar were members of both squads.
Back for More
NCAA Indoor champion Ineta Radevica will be back in the jumping pit for the first time during the outdoor season when she competes at the Big 12 Championships. Radevica, who won the long and triple jump at the 2003 NCAA Outdoor Championships, has missed most of the outdoor season after winning the national title at the 2004 NCAA Indoor Championships. Radevica is coming back just in time to try to add to her title collection as she has already won five individual conference championships in the past two seasons.
Also returning to action recently was defending national champion Carl Myerscough, who competed for the first time during the 2004 outdoor season when he won a pair of events at the Nebraska Quadrangular on April 17.
It took no time for Myerscough to reclaim the NCAA lead in the shot put, winning the title in Nebraska’s only home meet of the outdoor season with a toss of 67-10 3/4. He also threw 203-4 in the discus to win that event title.
Myerscough has won the last two Big 12 Outdoor discus titles and was the 2002 Big 12 Outdoor shot put champion. During the indoor season, he won the league shot put title before placing second at NCAA indoors and seventh at the IAAF Indoor World Championships.
Huskers Claim Big 12 Athlete of the Week Honors
Eric Eshbach and Becky Breisch earned Big 12 Athlete of the Week honors for the second time during the outdoor track and field season for their outstanding performances April 17 at the Nebraska Quadrangular.
Eshbach had the third-best mark in the world this year in the men’s pole vault in his final home meet as a Husker. Eshbach cleared 18-8 1/4 on his second attempt at that height after being perfect at every other height he attempted. The final mark broke the NU and stadium records and met the automatic qualifying standard for the U.S. Olympic Trials.
The defending NCAA outdoor champion now leads the NCAA field by three and 3/4 inches. He was also honored as the athlete of the week on April 5 after winning the Texas Relays with a then-school record leap of 18-4 1/2.
Breisch continued her unbelievable streak in the discus ring again on April 17. Breisch set the Ed Weir Track Stadium records in the discus with her throw of 204-7. The mark was also a school and conference record until she topped it the following week at the Drake Relays. Breisch also won gold in the shot put with her throw of 56-10 1/4.
Olympic Hopefuls Flourish at Nebraska
Nebraska has had 13 women and 20 men qualify for the Olympic Games since 1912, including four in the most recent Summer Games in Sydney in 2000.
Becky Breisch hopes to become the first female Husker to compete for the U.S. since Linetta Wilson in 1996 at the Atlanta Games. Breisch, who ranks fourth in the world in the discus, has continued to reset the Nebraska and Big 12 Conference records throughout the outdoor season and has automatically qualified for the Olympic Trials. If she makes the U.S. team, Breisch would be just the third field event athlete from Nebraska to compete in the Olympics and only the second thrower behind Denise Thiemard (Switzerland, javelin, 1988).
On the men’s side, Eric Eshbach has also automatically qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials with his monumental leap of 18-8 1/4 on April 17. Eshbach leads the collegiate performers list and is tied for third in the world during the outdoor season. If he makes the U.S. team, he would be the first Husker jumper to compete at the Olympics since Lennox Burgher (Jamaica, triple jump) in the 1968 Mexico City Games.
Hurdler Courtney Jones still has a slight chance to make the men’s trials as he posted a time of 13.98 at the season-opening meet in the 110-meter high hurldes. His time is just under the ?B’ provisional standard.
Huskers Have Handle on National Rankings
Nebraska has put up solid times and marks this spring not only on the conference level but on the national scene. Nine Huskers (five women, four men) rank among the top 10 in 11 events entering this weekend’s conference championships.
Becky Breisch leads the Huskers in the national rankings with the top spot in the discus throw and the fourth spot on the shot put chart.
Breisch’s throw of 205-5 in the discus at the Drake Relays leads the country with the second spot on the list more than 15 feet (190-2). The toss rewrote the school and Big 12 record for the third straight meet. Breisch also ranks fourth nationally in the shot put with a toss of 57-5 on April 7.
Carl Myerscough also ranks among the nation’s best throwers again this year. He currently leads the NCAA in the shot put with a throw of 67-10 3/4 on April 17 and leads the field by nearly two feet. He is also third nationally in the discus with a toss of 203-4 at the same meet.
Eric Eshbach leads the collegiate ranks with a leap of 18-4 1/2 at the Texas Relays in the pole vault. His jump ranks second in the world this season. Another vaulter, Jenny Green, ranks third in the NCAA in the women’s pole vault with a height of 13-11 1/4 on April 3.
Also ranking in the national top 10 heading into the weekend are: Dusty Stamer (7th, 100-meters), Artur Wszelaki (7th, javelin); Na’Tassia Vice (9th, high jump), Jessie Graff (8th, pole vault) and Ashley Selig (9th, heptathlon).
Lopes, Radevica Claim NCAA Indoor Titles
Sophomore Priscilla Lopes and senior Ineta Radevica brought home the gold at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Lopes won her first career title in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 7.96 to dominate the field. The Whitby, Ontario, native took the top spot after the preliminaries with a time of 8.03, and dropped that time significantly to win the national title. Lopes also placed eighth in the 60-meter dash in 7.45 for her second All-America honor in as many days.
Radevica claimed her first indoor title in the triple jump with a leap of 44-10 3/4 on the second day of competition. Radevica was disappointed in her third-place showing in the long jump in day one of the national meet, but came back with a vengeance, leaping to her winning mark on the first attempt of the day in the triple jump.
Husker Women Earn Best Finish in 20 Years
Behind the efforts of national champions Priscilla Lopes and Ineta Radevica, the Nebraska women earned third place in the 2004 NCAA Indoor Championships, marking the team’s best finish since the Huskers won the title in 1984.
The women came within 6.5 points of winning their first national championship since the 1984 season. En route to the third-place finish, the Huskers claimed two individual titles, one silver and two bronzes.
Of the 15 NU women who went to the NCAA Indoor Championships, 10 claimed All-America honors and seven scored in the meet.
The men tied for 19th place with 13 points in the national meet. Carl Myerscough led the way with a second-place finish in the shot put with a toss of 66-3, while four other Huskers claimed All-America status.
All-America Honors Galore
The Huskers claimed 14 All-America honors between the men’s and women’s teams at the 2004 NCAA Indoor Championships. The NU women claimed 10 honors, which was the most since 1996 when the 4x400-meter relay team finished eighth and claimed four honors alone.
The NU men earned four All-America honors, which is the most in an indoor season since taking six during the 2000 campaign.
The women’s All-Americans included Becky Breisch (Shot Put-2nd), Angela Dies (Long Jump-7th), Jenny Green (Pole Vault-3rd), Christi Lehman (Pole Vault-t9th/8th American), Priscilla Lopes (60m Dash-8th; 60m Hurdles-1st), Ineta Radevica (Long Jump-3rd; Triple Jump-1st); Ashley Selig (Pentathlon-7th) and Na’Tassia Vice (High Jump-8th).
The NU men earning All-America status included Dmitrijs Milkevics (800m Run-6th), Carl Myerscough (Shot Put-2nd), Aaron Nasers (800m Run-9th/5th American) and Brad Teeple (Pole Vault-8th).
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 returning Huskers include 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 Arturs Wszelaki (javelin) in addition to the four national champions.