MANHATTAN, Kan. ? Kayla Wilkinson got the Nebraska women’s track and field team started out on the right foot at the Big 12 Outdoor Championships Friday by claiming her first-ever conference title in the women’s javelin. The Deshler, Neb., native helped the NU women score 12 team points for a sixth-place standing after day one action. The Husker men sit in fourth place with 13 points.
Wilkinson, who ranks seventh in the NCAA this season in the javelin, fell short of her personal best in the event at Kansas State’s R.V. Christian Track Complex, but she still defeated second-place Alana Redfern of Texas A&M by more than seven feet.
"(My performance) was alright," Wilkinson said. "I wouldn’t say it was wonderful. Maybe it was because of the weather conditions. I was really excited to throw 160 feet. I wish it was 170 (feet), but I have to be excited for winning. I was trying my best to get all 10 (points) for our team, so I was very excited for that."
Jamie Senkbile added points to the Husker women’s team total with a seventh-place finish in the hammer throw with a spin of 172-10.
The most dramatic event of the day for the Nebraska men’s team was the hammer throw, which saw a pair of lead changes during the competition’s final two attempts.
NU’s Issar Yazhbin, the 2004 Big 12 champ in the event, overtook Kansas’ Sheldon Battle on the next-to-last throw with a career-best heave of 206-11, only to have the Jayhawk return the favor only a minute later. Battle uncorked a throw of 210-0, nearly eight feet longer than his previous best, to win the event over Yazhbin.
"We are here for the team," Yazhbin said. "I do not mind the competition ending that way, because that is what track (and field) is all about. (Battle) was under a huge amount of pressure stepping into the ring. He responded. He’s a great athlete."
Tom Donlin also scored points in the men’s hammer throw, earning fourth place with a mark of 190-7. Yazhbin and Donlin accounted for all 13 team points for the men’s squad on Friday.
"We got 13 points in the hammer, which is more than we got last year," Yazhbin said. "We just hope that gets the team off to a fast start."
Ashley Selig appears to be well on her way to staking claim to a second Big 12 title in 2005, finishing the first day of the women’s heptathlon competition with a 134-lead over second-place Julianne Kennedy (Texas Tech).
The Lincoln, Neb., native set personal bests in three of the day’s four events to finish with a score of 3,322. She broke her previous personal records in the 100-meter hurdles (14.19), shot put (40-0 ?) and 200-meter dash (24.98). With two of her best events in the long jump and 800 meters still to come during Saturday’s heptathlon conclusion, Selig could very well shatter her previous record score of 3,322.
Two other Huskers, Sara Jane Baker and Casie Witte, also sit in good position to make runs at one of the competition’s top finishes. Baker ended Friday’s action with a third-place total of 3,149 points, while Witte’s score of 3,060 earned her sixth position. Kim Shubert finished the day in 13th place with 2,781 points.
Lee Martin turned in a good day during the men’s decathlon by setting or tying personal bests in four of five events for a fourth-place total of 3,722 points. Martin set new career standards in the 400 meters (50.24), high jump (6-7) and long jump (22-3 ?), while equaling his previous best in the 100-meter dash (11.59). With a big day on Saturday, Martin could reach his first NCAA provisional-qualifying mark.
"We have to come in here and do as good as we’ve been doing all year long, and in some cases better," Head Coach Gary Pepin said. "In some cases we’ve done that (today), and in some cases we haven’t."
The Huskers continue their Big 12 title hunt Saturday with the conclusion of both the heptathlon and decathlon. Field events begin at 2 p.m. with the women’s long jump and shot put competitions, while the men’s and women’s 1,500-meter run preliminaries kick off running events at 3 p.m. All running events contested Saturday will consist of prelim races.