DALLAS, Texas?Senior Becky Breisch was named Big 12 Conference Women’s Track and Field Athlete of the Week on Tuesday after collecting a pair of wins last weekend at the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif. The award marks the fifth time in her career she has been honored by the conference. Bobby Evers (Texas Tech) earned the men’s award.
Breisch claimed victory in both the shot put and discus events at Stanford with two NCAA regional-qualifying performances. The Edwardsburg, Mich., native began the day with a winning distance of 55-8 ? in the shot put, a mark that currently ranks second nationally behind North Carolina’s Laura Gerraughty. Breisch then proceeded to win the discus with an NCAA leading toss of 201-7 in her first outdoor competition of the season. She now owns a dominant position at the top of the national performance list with a more than 15-foot lead on Arizona’s Rachel Varner (186-3).
A nine-time NCAA All-American, Breisch has built one of the finest resumes in the history of Nebraska track and field. She won a pair of NCAA championships (2003 outdoor shot put, 2004 discus) and became only the second NU women’s athlete with three indoor shot put conference championships earlier this year, joining former Husker Paulette Mitchell (1994-96).
Briesch missed the entire 2005 collegiate season while rehabbing from career-threatening elbow and shoulder injuries. She recovered in time to compete unattached during the outdoor season and qualify for her first IAAF World Championships after winning the first USATF women’s discus title in Nebraska history in late July. Breisch also competed in the shot put at the U.S. Championships, finishing fifth.
Nebraska returns to the road this weekend when it sends athletes to a pair of out-of-state meets. A group of 25 of the top Husker athletes will travel to Austin, Texas, to compete in the Texas Relays Thursday though Saturday, while 35 others will compete in the Emporia State Relays in Emporia, Kan., on Saturday.