Three Huskers HIt NCAA Auto Marks

LINCOLN?Nebraska kicked off the 31st annual Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational in grand style Friday, as seniors Ashley Selig and Sara Jane Baker each posted impressive scores to sweep the 1-2 positions in the women’s pentathlon competition.

 

Selig won her second consecutive Husker Invite title with a score of 4,107, while Baker broke her previous personal-best total by more than 100 points with a score of 4,088. Both Huskers reached the NCAA automatic-qualifying standard for the pentathlon, while their scores are the Nos. 2- and 3-ranked totals recorded by NCAA athletes in 2006.

 

The returning NCAA indoor pentathlon champion, Selig provided a workmanlike effort after sitting out NU’s previous two meets. She notched marks of 8.79 in the 60-meter hurdles, 5-6 1/2 in the high jump, 37-5 3/4 in the shot put, 19-00 in the long jump and 2:14.38 in the 800-meter run. While each of the individual marks were solid efforts, none counted as personal bests for the Lincoln, Neb., native.

 

Baker turned in the best day of her Husker career Friday to earn her first-ever NCAA automatic qualification. The four-time NCAA meet qualifier benefited greatly from a career-long heave of 39-0 1/2 in the shot put, which was more than three feet further than her previous best. She also notched marks of 9.03 in the 60-meter hurdles, 5-8 3/4 in the high jump, 18-1 3/4 in the long jump and 2:14.17 in the 800 meters on her way to winning three (high jump, shot put and 800) of the five individual events.

 

Sophomore Kim Shubert also competed for Nebraska in the pentathlon, finishing fourth with a personal-best score of her own of 3,560.

 

The Husker men also competed for the first time in the heptathlon Friday, with newcomer Ben Schutter staking a first-day lead with 2,896 points after four of the seven events. Schutter, who transferred to Nebraska from Doane College before the season, recorded personal bests of 22-7 1/4 in the long jump and 40-8 1/4 in the shot put to help build a 46-point lead over the unattached Chris Richardson (2,850) after day one. The heptathlon concludes Saturday with the 60-meter hurdles, pole vault and 1,000-meter run events.

 

Junior Priscilla Lopes began her weekend on the fast track by blowing through the prelims of the women’s 60-meter hurdles and 60-meter dash events. She notched the day’s top time of 8.06 in the hurdles for her first automatic-qualifying mark of the season, while the clocking also broke the Husker Invite record and tied for the nation’s top mark in 2006. Lopes breezed to a time of 7.40 to win her 60-meter heat and qualify for Saturday’s semifinals.

 

Junior Arturs Abolins won the men’s long jump for the third consecutive meet Friday by tying his season best with a leap of 25-3 1/4, despite only recording one valid jump in six attempts. Sophomore teammate LeRon Williams claimed second place with a career-long jump of 24-4 1/4. Abolins also recorded the top time of 6.82 in the men’s 60-meter preliminaries to reach Saturday’s semifinals. Senior teammate Oliver Williams Jr. won his heat in 6.86, the day’s fourth-fastest time, to qualify for the semis.

 

Seniors Courtney Jones and Aaron Ross were among the 16 semifinals qualifiers in the men’s 60-meter hurdles with respective times of 7.92 and 8.01. Jones won the first of four heats, while Ross finished runner-up to top qualifier Derek Johnson (Drake) in the third section.

 

Junior Sheryl Morgan, who finished fourth during women’s 400-meter prelims with a season-best time of 55.91, also qualified for Saturday’s event finals.

 

The Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational continues Saturday at the Devaney Center Indoor Track. The day begins with the conclusion of the men’s heptathlon at 10 a.m. Field events will begin directly following the heptathlon men’s pole vault, while running events commence at 1:15 p.m.