NU Track and Field Wins Awards

Austin, Texas ? Carl Myerscough and Becky Breisch were honored as the U.S. Track Coaches Midwest District male and female outdoor athletes of the year, respectively, while Nebraska Head Coach Gary Pepin was named the men’s and women’s Midwest Regional Outdoor Coach of the Year.

Myerscough was also recognized by the USTCA during the indoor season as the Regional Athlete of the Year. The Hambleton, England, native won the NCAA Midwest Regional Championship in the shot put and claimed silver in the discus.

The defending NCAA Outdoor shot put champion enters the 2004 NCAA meet this week ranked as the top collegian in the nation with his throw of 67-10 ? at the Nebraska Quadrangular. He has also reset the Nebraska school record in the discus on two occasions this season, most recently with a throw of 213-7 at the Ward Haylett Invitational on May 15. The senior was named the Big 12 Most Valuable Performer at the outdoor conference meet after scoring 20 points with dual wins in the shot put and the discus.

Breisch was named the Midwest District Female Athlete of the Year after a phenomenal season in the discus and the shot put. Breisch started resetting the school record in the discus at the Nebraska Quadrangular with a throw of 204-7, and most recently rewrote it at the NCAA Midwest Regional with a mark of 207-1, winning by more than 26 feet.

The Edwardsburg, Mich., native has also stood out in the shot put this season, ranking fourth in the NCAA going into the national meet. She threw a season-best mark of 57-5 at the Concordia Invitational, April 7, and won the Big 12 Outdoor Championship with a launch of 56-9 ?.

The defending NCAA outdoor shot put champion has been named the Big 12 Female Track and Field Athlete of the Week on three occasions during 2004 and was recognized as the USTCA National Athlete of the Week on March 23, after winning both the shot put and discus to open the outdoor season at the College Station Relays.

Pepin was recognized as the Midwest Regional Men’s and Women’s Coach of the Year for the outdoor season after garnering the Midwest Regional Women’s Coach of the Year honors during the indoor season. Pepin was the only coach to be chosen as the men’s and women’s regional coach of the year in a single region during the outdoor campaign. The all-time winningest coach in Big 12 and the former Big Eight Conference history, Pepin guided the Husker men’s team to the NCAA Midwest Regional title two weeks after winning the Big 12 Championship. Pepin also helped lead the Nebraska women to silver at both the regional and league championships.

Pepin was also named the 2004 Big 12 Conference Outdoor Men’s Coach of the Year, and earned the Big 12 Indoor Men’s and Women’s Coach of the Year honors indoors. The Pittsburg, Kan., native is in his 24th season as the Nebraska track and field coach and has guided the Huskers to 60 indoor and outdoor titles in that span, including three of the four conference titles in 2004.

Nebraska will compete in the 2004 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, June 9-12, in Austin, Texas. Twenty-five Huskers will make the trip and represent Nebraska over the four-day meet.