NU Welcomes 34 Signees to Campus

The Nebraska track and field team announced Wednesday that 34 newcomers joined the program this fall. NU’s 2005 signing class is broken down into 15 new athletes for the women’s squad and 19 for the men’s team. Twenty-three of the 34 athletes are homegrown, hailing from local Nebraska high schools. This year’s class brings an exceptionally talented and deep pool of young athletes to NU, especially in the distance and jumps areas.

"Last year’s men’s and women’s teams were very young, and we tried to fill in some holes that we saw with this recruiting class," said Assistant Coach Matt Martin, who also serves as the program’s recruiting coordinator. "We feel that we’ve really upgraded our distance area through the addition of more depth, and those developments are already beginning to showing. We are excited about developing the talents of both our in-state and out-of-state athletes, and I think we have several who will be able to compete at the Big 12 and NCAA levels."

Ten athletes currently being coached by Assistant Head Coach Jay Dirksen in cross country will be slated for either the distance or middle distance areas on the track this winter. Headlining the women’s distance recruits are: Ari Goldstein, who was a two-time Alaska state cross country and six-time Alaska state track champion in high school; Natalja Zarcenko, the 2005 Latvian junior national champion for the 1,500-meter run; and Rachel Carrizales, a six-time Nebraska Class C state track champion from Morrill High School. Chris Clymer, the 2005 All-Class gold-medal winner for the 800- and 1,600-meter events from Lincoln North Star High School; Brian Parr, last year’s Class A cross country champ from Fremont; and Kyle Custer, a three time-Class D state track champ, each join the men’s distance crew after distinguished Nebraska prep careers.

Kris Grimes, the Huskers’ new pole vault and multi-events coach, will have several exceptional newcomers to mentor in his first season at Nebraska. Two-time Nebraska Class B pole vault titlist Sam Ogden will join the men’s team this winter following a brilliant career at Grand Island Northwest High School, while Kate Colvin, who set the Colorado girl’s state high school record at Lewis-Palmer High School in Monument, Colo., will join an already deep Husker women’s pole vault group. Another Colorado standout, Dustin Sommerville, was signed to the men’s team after winning a 2004 state title at Liberty High School in Colorado Springs.

Two additional athletes who plan to join the jumps corps include Zarinah Suluki, a two-time Florida Class 4A state girl’s long jump champion, and Jordan Bates, a two-time boy’s Nebraska Class C state triple jump winner at Neligh-Oakdale High School.

Other new Huskers signed for the 2006 season include a pair of sprinters in Pinar Saka, a highly-touted athlete from Turkey who owns her nation’s junior girl’s 400-meter record, and Garrison Overstake, who recorded times of 10.6 in the boy’s 100-meter dash and 21.9 in the 200 at Fort Scott High School in Fort Scott, Kan. Throws coach Mark Colligan also will have a deep pool of seven athletes to draw from during the upcoming campaign, including 2004 Nebraska All-Class boy’s shot put and discus champion Keith Lloyd (Millard North High School), who transferred to NU after one year at Boise State.

Women’s 2005 Track and Field Signees
Name Hometown (High School, Previous College) High School Events
Channing Anseth Lincoln, Neb. (Southeast, St. Cloud State) 1,600m, 3,200m
Rachel Carrizales Morrill, Neb. (Morrill) 800m, 1,600m
Kate Colvin Colorado Springs, Colo. (Lewis-Palmer) Pole Vault
Frannie Fields Tilden, Neb. (Elkhorn Valley) Throws
Stephanie Frietag Superior, Neb. (Superior) Throws
Jennifer Fritz Lincoln, Neb. (Southwest, Nebraska-Kearney) 800m, 1,600m, 3,200m
Ari Goldstein Soldotna, Alaska (Soldotna) 800m, 1,600m, 3,200m
Lisa Minnick Cambridge, Neb. (Cambridge) Throws
Janae Mueller Columbus, Neb. (Lakeview) 400m, 800m
Jennifer Pancoast Cape Girardeau, Mo. (Cape Central) 800m, 1,600m
Sara Prince Omaha, Neb. (Marian) 800m, 1,600m, 3,200m
Pinar Saka Istanbul, Turkey 400m, 200m, 100m
Zarinah Suluki Orlando, Fla. (Colonial) Long Jump, Triple Jump
Molly Zajicek Wilber, Neb. (Wilber-Clatonia) Throws
Natalja Zarcenko Valmeira, Latvia (Pargauja Gimnasium) 800m, 1,600m, 3,200m

Men’s 2005 Track and Field Signees
Name   Hometown (High School, Previous College) High School Events
Jordan Bates Neligh, Neb. (Neligh-Oakdale) Triple Jump
Dan Christensen Omaha, Neb. (Millard West) 200m, 400m
Chris Clymer Lincoln, Neb. (North Star) 800m, 1,600m
Kyle Custer Cambridge, Neb. (Cambridge) 800m, 1,600m, 3,200m
Keith Lloyd Omaha, Neb. (Millard North, Boise State) Shot Put, Hammer Throw
Nick McLaughlin Omaha, Neb. (Northwest) Sprints
Chris Nuttleman Kearney, Neb. (Kearney) Triple Jump
Sam Ogden Grand Island, Neb. (Northwest) Pole Vault
Garrison Overstake Fort Scott, Kan. (Fort Scott) 100m, 200m
Brian Parr Fremont, Neb. (Fremont) 1,600m, 3,200m
Ryan Petrocchi Ralston, Neb. (Ralston) Discus, Javelin
Tyrell Ross Mullica Hill, N.J. (Clearview) 110m Hurdles, High Jump
Ben Schutter Larned, Kan. (Great Bend, Doane) Multi-Events
Nate Sell Omaha, Neb. (Millard North) 400m
Kyle Sempek Omaha, Neb. (Millard West) Shot Put, Discus, Hammer Throw
Dustin Sommerville Colorado Springs, Colo. (Liberty) Pole Vault
Tony Terp Omaha, Neb. (Creighton Prep) 300m Hurdles
Matt Trostel Fort Collins, Colo. (Poudre) Multi-Events
Chase Weaver Omaha, Neb. (Millard North) 100m