Eshbach Leaps to New Nebraska Record at Texas Relays

Austin, Texas ? Defending national champion Eric Eshbach put on a clinic in the pole vault, setting a new Nebraska school record by clearing 18-4 ? to lead the Nebraska track and field team Saturday in the final day of the Texas Relays in Austin, Texas.

Eshbach passed through the 17-4 ? mark, before making 17-8 ? on his second attempt of the day. He easily cleared 18-0 ? on his first try before going on to claim the win with his jump of 18-4 ?.

"I never jumped that high before, and I'm really happy," Eshbach said. "There were a lot of good jumpers here and the conditions were good. I was ready physically and mentally."

Becky Breisch finished off her sweep of the discus and the shot put on Saturday, by launching the shot 57-4 ? to take her second victory in as many days. Leann Boerema threw her second career-best mark in as many weeks with her toss of 53-3 ? to take fourth place.

Travis Baker picked up his first win of the outdoor season, claiming the title in the B section of the men’s high jump, clearing 7-0 ?. Baker had a stellar day of jumping, not missing a height until he missed all three attempts at 7-1 ?.

Teammate Aaron Plas won bronze in the high jump, also clearing 7-0 ?. Plas cleared seven feet for the second week in a row after not hitting the seven-foot mark during the indoor season. Yoav Shuster did not clear a height in the men’s high jump. Kyle Odvody was the only Husker to compete in the A section of the high jump, clearing 6-8 ? for a 13th-place finish.

Priscilla Lopes had an outstanding day in the Olympic Qualifying section of the 100-meter hurdles, running a time of 13.34 among a stellar field for a fifth-place finish. In the men’s 110-meter hurdles, Courtney Jones set a new career best for the second consecutive week, clocking a time of 13.97 for a sixth-place finish. Nenad Loncar was behind him in seventh place with a time of 14.12.

Dusty Stamer ran well in the 100-meter dash, finishing sixth, edging out Florida State’s Cedric Nabe by one-thousandth of a second with his 10.459 clocking.

Jenny Green put on a great performance in the women’s pole vault, clearing 13-11 ? for a third-place finish, behind UCLA’s Chelsea Johnson and Florida State’s Lacy Janson. Christi Lehman and Jessie Graff did not do as well, as Lehman finished 12th with a height of 12-3 ? and Graff did not clear a height.

The men’s 4x200-meter relay ran a strong race, winning their heat and taking fourth place overall with a time of 1:25.48. Dusty Stamer got the relay out to a strong start, but quickly the Huskers fell towards the back of their heat. On the third leg, Shelldon Simpson made up some time and got a good handoff to Oliver Williams Jr., who took over the lead and held off Texas State to win the second heat.

The men’s 4x100-meter relay team made a vast improvement from their race on Friday, clocking a time of 40.16 on Saturday for a 10th-place finish. The 4x400-meter relay team also made great improvement, dropping nearly two seconds off their preliminary time for a fifth-place finish in 3:07.55.

At the Emporia State Relays, Kathryn Handrup and Kim Pancoast went one-two in the women’s 5,000-meter run, with times of 17:19.96 and 17:43.43, respectively.

Issar Yahzbin won the men’s hammer throw with a toss of 197-5 for a NCAA Regional-qualifying mark. Tommy Donlin threw a personal-best 189-1 to qualify for the NCAA Regional Championships.

Ashlee Dickinson tied for gold in the women’s high jump, clearing 5-6 on the day. Jennifer Steiner won the shot put with a toss of 48-8 and won bronze in the discus with a throw of 151-0.

Nate Probasco and Marcus Sedberry took second and third-place, respectively, in the 200 meters, with time of 21.49 and 21.72. Dana Carne won silver in the men’s 800-meter run in 1:56.71.

The Huskers travel to Wichita, Kan., next weekend to compete in the K.T. Woodman Classic.