Austin, Texas?Senior Becky Breisch set the Texas Relays women’s discus record for the second time in her career Friday at Mike A. Meyers Track and Field Stadium. A total of 21 Huskers competed during the meet’s third day.
Breisch threw the discus 199-2 to break the former meet record of 192-7 that she shared with Idaho’s Katia Schriber (2003). The nine-time NCAA All-American finished ahead of junior teammate Dace Ruskule, who recorded a runner-up mark of 186-3. Ruskule, who owns the No. 2 performance in NU history, improved on her previous best throw at Nebraska by two inches. Both Huskers exceeded the regional-qualifying standard for the second straight week.
In addition to Breisch and Ruskule, other Huskers combined to post five regional-qualifying marks.
Sophomore Keith Lloyd put together a lifetime-best performance in the men’s shot put for his second qualifying mark of the weekend. The Omaha native heaved the shot 56-2 ? for a sixth-place finish in Section A of the event. Lloyd also met the regional standard Thursday in the hammer throw.
Nebraska received its first qualifier in the women’s pole vault with senior Jenna Blubaugh earning second-place honors in Section B. Blubaugh cleared 12-11 ? to surpass her previous outdoor personal best of 12-8. Fellow senior Jessie Graff placed 10th in the same section (11-11 ?).
A pair of Husker men’s relays experienced successful season-openers by adding regional-qualifying times. The two-time defending Big 12 champion men’s 4x100-meter quartet of junior Arturs Abolins, senior Oliver Williams Jr., junior Nate Probasco and sophomore Daniel Roper clocked a time of 40.06 to finish 10th during qualifying rounds. While the squad did not advance to Saturday’s final heat, it still was a successful debut for a team looking to replace former anchor Dusty Stamer with the talented Roper.
The men’s 4x400-meter relay team of senior Mark Harrison, Probasco, sophomore Andrew Pearson and senior Andy Nelson did qualify for Saturday’s final after logging the prelims’ second-fastest time of 3:07.37. The performance was quicker that of any Husker relay team during the 2005 outdoor season.
In other preliminary action, junior Priscilla Lopes and senior Courtney Jones each cruised through their respective qualifying rounds of the women’s 100-meter and men’s 110-meter high hurdles. Lopes won her heat in a wind-aided time of 13.36 to reach Saturday’s final, while Jones’ clocking of 14.04 was good for second place in his heat. Both Huskers registered the sixth-best overall times for their competitions.
Other NU athletes in action Friday included: senior Sara Jane Baker, who earned ninth place (5-7) in Section A of the women’s high jump; Ashlee Dickinson, who cleared the same height to tie for 12th in the Section B women’s high jump; Roper, the 13th-place finisher (22-7 ?) in Section B of the men’s long jump; senior Ashley Selig, who also placed 13th (18-10 ?) in the Section B women’s long jump; and Williams, who ran a time of 10.82 (28th overall) during qualifying rounds of the men’s 100-meter dash.
The Texas Relays conclude Saturday, as 17 Huskers finish off the weekend in competition. Athletes scheduled to participate in running event finals include Lopes and Jones, as well as the men’s 4x400- and 4x200-meter (Williams, Roper, Abolins and Probasco) relays. NU also will have a talented group of field event athletes in action including junior Kayla Wilkinson (women’s javelin); sophomore Jenny Green (women’s pole vault); sophomore Dusty Jonas and senior Aaron Plas (men’s high jump); Breisch and junior Jeni Steiner (women’s shot put); and senior Ray Scotten and junior Gable Baldwin (men’s pole vault).