Wilkinson Notches Nation's Top Throw

Palo Alto, Calif.?Nebraska junior Kayla Wilkinson recorded the top NCAA mark in the women’s javelin for the 2006 outdoor track and field season Friday while winning the event at the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif. Wilkinson is one of 24 Huskers scheduled to compete at the two-day meet, which features more than 4,000 of the country’s top collegiate, post-collegiate and high school athletes.

A Deshler, Neb., native, Wilkinson launched the javelin a career-best 180-6 to out-distance 2005 NCAA champion Dana Pounds (Air Force), who finished second with a mark of 173-11. While Wilkinson shattered her previous personal best of 174-4, she also fell only six inches shy of Cassi Morelock’s 2000 school record of 181-0. She now owns a lead of 10 inches on Oregon’s Rachel Yurkovich, the previous leader on the NCAA performance list. Wilkinson also earned a qualification to the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships, which will be held May 26-27 in Austin, Texas.

In other action, senior Courtney Jones qualified for Saturday’s final in the men’s 110-meter hurdles with a fourth-place, regional-qualifying time of 14.23 during the preliminary rounds. He ran in the fastest of four heats, finishing behind Baylor’s Jerome Miller (14.06), Tim Bogdanof (unattached, 14.08) and Alabama’s Byron Gibson (14.21). Jones, who set his personal-best time of 13.83 as a junior in 2004, will compete in the event final tomorrow at 5:23 p.m. CST.

Three other Huskers competed in the men’s 400-meter hurdles final Friday, led by sophomore Gatis Spunde’s third-place time of 52.18. The clocking earned Spunde his first career regional qualification. Senior Andy Nelson placed seventh in 53.17, while sophomore Andrew Pearson added a ninth-place finish (53.31).

Senior Kayte Tranel made her first appearance of the season Friday in her specialty event, the women’s 10,000 meters. An NCAA All-American during the 2005 cross country season, Tranel recorded a lifetime-best time of 35:23.18 to finish ninth. She erased her previous fastest mark of 35:37.97, which she notched on the same track at last year’s Stanford Invitational.

All remaining Nebraska athletes in competition Friday participated in "B" section event finals.

Sophomore Keith Lloyd led a group of three Huskers in the "B " section men’s hammer throw with a fifth-place finish after registering a personal-best spin of 182-1. Junior Adam Evans (167-5) and sophomore Aaron Bozarth (personal best 167-0) earned 10th and 11th places, respectively. Junior Jeni Steiner claimed seventh place in the "B" section women’s hammer throw (157-10), while sophomore Amber Curtis (145-8) finished 12th and redshirt freshman Kacie Sharp finished 21st (133-7).

Sophomore Thorin Meyer tied for ninth in the "B" section men’s javelin with a toss of 168-11, while redshirt freshman Brett Druba recorded a career-best throw of 157-0 to finish in 12th place. Sophomore Chase Beideck placed 13th in the "B" section men’s shot put with a mark of 47-10.

Freshman Natalja Zarcenko was the lone Husker to compete in a "B" section track event, running a time of 4:40.16 for a 28th-place showing in the women’s 1,500 meters.

The Stanford Invitational concludes Saturday with events beginning at 11 a.m. CST. Huskers slated for action include senior Becky Breisch (women’s shot put and discus), junior Dace Ruskule (women’s discus), senior Aaron Plas (men’s high jump) and junior Peter van der Westhuizen (men’s 1,500 meters).