Milkevics Named Big 12 Athlete of the Week

DALLAS, Texas?Nebraska junior Dmitrijs Milkevics was named Big 12 Conference Men’s Track and Field Athlete of the Week Tuesday for his performance during last weekend’s Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark. He broke his own Husker men’s indoor 800-meter run school record with a personal-best time of 1:47.54.

Milkevics, the reigning NCAA men’s outdoor 800-meter champion, became the third NCAA automatic qualifier this season for the NU men’s team while recording the nation’s fastest time for the 800 meters with his win during the men’s Invitational section on Friday. He broke his former school record of 1:47.82, which he set as a freshman during preliminary sections of the 2004 NCAA Indoor Championships. The Riga, Latvia, native currently ranks 10th in the world this season with the time.

The 2004 Olympian in the 800 meters for Latvia became only the second Husker to win an NCAA title in the 800 meters (Peter Scott, 1966) when he recorded his current personal best and Nebraska outdoor record-time of 1:44.74 last season. A three-time NCAA All-American in the 800, he also owns several other school records, including the 600-yard and 600-meter run marks. His 600-meter mark of 1:15.60 is the collegiate record.

Milkevics is the second Nebraska track and field athlete to earn Big 12 weekly honors this season, joining his 800-meter counterpart, sophomore Egle Uljas, who won the women’s award last week.