NU Set to Host Lone Home Outdoor Meet

The Nebraska men's and women's track and field teams return to Lincoln for their one and only home outdoor meet of the season this weekend, as they host the Nebraska Invitational on Saturday, April 15, at Ed Weir Stadium. The meet is scheduled to begin with field events at 11 a.m., while competition on the track is slated to commence at Noon.

The NU campus will be a busy place on Saturday, as several other events also are scheduled. In addition to track and field, the Husker football, baseball, softball and volleyball teams each will be in action. Admission to the Nebraska Invitational will be free, as fans attending any of the other events are encouraged to stop by.

Parking will be at a premium on campus Saturday, and those attending the meet should utilize the garage at 14th and Holdrege streets. Fans intending to use the parking garage should plan to pay a $5 fee to University Parking Services.

Nebraska Invitational Information
Nebraska will host a field comprised of both large and small schools for the second straight season Saturday during the Nebraska Invitational. Division I programs expected to be in attendance include Drake, Iowa State, Kansas State, Northern Iowa, Oral Roberts, South Dakota State and Wyoming.

While most Husker athletes have already opened the 2006 outdoor campaign, several are expected to compete in their specialty events for the first time outdoors on Saturday, including: Arturs Abolins (men's long jump), Nate Probasco (men's 100, 200 meters), Justine Roach (women's 400-meter hurdles), Daniel Roper (men's triple jump), Aaron Ross (men's 110-meter hurdles), Zarinah Suluki (women's long jump, triple jump) and LeRon Williams (men's long jump, triple jump).

Live results will be posted periodically throughout the day at www.huskers.com. A complete meet schedule and list of NU's entries is available on page 2 of this week's Husker track & field notes.

Combined Events Head to Missouri
The Husker multi-event athletes will get a jump-start on the weekend by competing at the Audrey Walton Combined Events Carnival Thursday and Friday in Columbia, Mo.

Sara Jane Baker, Ashley Selig and Kim Shubert will vie for honors in a star-studded women's heptathlon field featuring 2005 USATF bronze medalist Fiona Asigbee and 2000 Big 12 champion Michelle Moran. While Baker and Shubert will look to improve on performances recorded earlier this season at the Jim Click Combined Events, Selig will be in her first competition of the season.

A group of five NU men (Patrick Burke, Lee Martin, Skyler Reising, Ben Schutter and Corlan Vonderschmidt) is slated for the decathlon at Missouri. Also competing will be 2003 World Champion Tom Pappas and three-time NCAA All-American Hans Uldal (Missouri). Schutter and Vonderschmidt are entered in their first decathlons of the season.

Live results from the Audrey Walton Combined Events will be available at www.tickertiming.com.

Ed Weir Stadium
Nestled between Memorial Stadium and the NU Coliseum, the Huskers’ outdoor track is in the very heart of NU’s athletic complex. Ed Weir Stadium is surrounded by vine-covered columns and provides a beautiful setting for home meets. During the 31-year existence of the stadium, Nebraska has played host to eight National Junior Olympics, a USA-USSR Junior Dual Meet, six Big Eight Outdoor Championships and the 2003 NCAA Midwest Regional. The stadium celebrated its 25th anniversary with a $2 million track replacement in the spring of 2000.

Completed construction of the Tom and Nancy Osborne Complex, located on the west side of the track, and the Hawks Championship Center, situated to the northwest, will leave NU with one of the nation's finest outdoor track and field facilities next year.

The Huskers have hosted only one outdoor meet each season since 2003, when they hosted three meets. In 2006, Nebraska will travel for almost all of its outdoor meets, but will enjoy the confines of Ed Weir Stadium for the Nebraska Invitational this weekend.

Huskers at the Texas Relays
Priscilla Lopes and Becky Breisch made last weekend's trip to Austin, Texas, a success, as the pair earned Texas Relays titles for the NU women's team.

Breisch threw the discus 199-2 to break the former meet record she shared with Idaho's Katia Schriber (2003). The win marked the Husker All-American's third career Texas Relays discus title. Teammate Dace Ruskule also performed well in the event, recording a runner-up throw of 186-3. NU's No. 2 all-time performer in the discus behind Bresch, Ruskule improved on her previous best throw at Nebraska by two inches.

Lopes handily won the 100-meter hurdles in Austin for the second consecutive year with a time of 12.98 in the event finals. She defeated second-place Candice Davis (USC), by 0.12 seconds to take over the nation's No. 2 ranking in the event.

Outstanding Husker men's performances came from the hands of Ray Scotten, who broke the 18-foot barrier in the men's pole vault for the first time in 2006 with a third-place finish (18-0 1/2), and Dusty Jonas, who finished fourth in the men's high jump with a personal-best clearance of 7-4 1/2. Keith Lloyd also notched a pair of lifetime-best marks while reaching his first career regional-qualifying standards in the shot put (56-2 1/2) and hammer throw (195-9).

Besides the six aforementioned Huskers, other regional-qualifying performances were recorded by Mark Harrison in the men's 400-meter hurdles (51.91) and the men's 4x100- (40.06) and 4x400-meter (3:07.37) relays. Jenna Blubaugh and Jenny Green each also hit the regional standard in the women's pole vault with identical clearances of 12-11 1/2.

Others Compete at Emporia State
In addition to the Texas Relays, Nebraska also sent a small delegation of athletes to Emporia, Kan., on Saturday for the Emporia State Relays.

Leading the way with event victories for Nebraska were Patrick Southern (tie) in the men's pole vault (15-5), Amber Curtis in the women's discus (143-3) and Adam Evans in the men's hammer throw (166-9).

Men's Relays Open Season Strong
The Husker men's 4x100- and 4x400-meter relays each made successful outdoor season debuts last weekend by qualifying for the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships at the Texas Relays.

The 4x100 team of Arturs Abolins, Oliver Williams Jr., Nate Probasco and Daniel Roper prepped for its Big 12 title defense with a time of 40.06 to finish 10th in preliminary action. While the quartet did not advance to the event finals, it was a successful debut for a team looking to replace two-year anchor Dusty Stamer with the talented Roper.

Probasco teamed up with Andrew Pearson, Andy Nelson and Mark Harrison for a second-place time of 3:07.37 in the 4x400-meter prelims before mixing up its lineup in the finals with Dusty Jonas replacing Harrison. The regional-qualifying performance in the prelims was faster than that of any Husker 4x400-meter relay from last season.

Nebraska's NCAA Qualifiers
Women
NCAA Championships Provisional Qualifiers
Name Event (NCAA rank) Mark
Sara Jane Baker Heptathlon (5th) 5,485w

NCAA Midwest Regional Qualifiers
Name Event (NCAA rank) Mark
Jenna Blubaugh Pole Vault (t14th) 12-11 1/2
Becky Breisch Shot Put (3rd) 55-8 1/2; Discus (1st) 201-7
Jenny Green Pole Vault (t14th) 12-11 1/2
Priscilla Lopes 100m Hurdles (2nd) 12.98
Dace Ruskule Discus (2nd) 186-3
Kayla Wilkinson Javelin (3rd) 180-6

Men
NCAA Midwest Regional Qualifiers
Name Event (NCAA rank) Mark
Gable Baldwin Pole Vault (t27th) 16-6 3/4
Mark Harrison 400m Hurdles (22nd) 51.91
Dusty Jonas High Jump (t2nd) 7-4 1/2
Courtney Jones 110m Hurdles (14th) 13.85
Keith Lloyd Shot Put (t47th) 56-2 1/2; Hammer Throw (31st) 195-9
Nic Petersen Pole Vault (t27th) 16-6 3/4
Aaron Plas High Jump (t15th) 6-10 3/4
Ray Scotten Pole Vault (t3rd) 18-0 1/2
Gatis Spunde 400m Hurdles (30th) 52.18
Team 4x100m Relay (15th) 40.06; 4x400m Relay (15th) 3:07.37

NU Ranks 4th/14th in Trackwire 25
The Nebraska women 's team suffered a slight drop in the Trackwire 25 rankings this week, while the men's squad made a substantial gain.

The Husker women fell from their second-place tie into sole possession of fourth during the poll's second outdoor release Monday. The drop was due to a seven-point loss in the projected team score, which now stands at 40. Texas still owns a sizeable lead in the rankings with 65 points, while USC (45) and Miami (41) also rank ahead of NU.

The women's team is bidding for its highest NCAA outdoor finish this season. While it owns three indoor national titles, the squad has never finished higher than third place at the national outdoor meet. The last time the Huskers finished third, which has happened six times, was in 2004, when they fell only nine team points shy of champion UCLA.

The Husker men moved up three places this week into sole ownership of 14th after gaining five points to boost their projected point total to 19. Florida State ranks as the early NCAA favorite with 60 points, while Big 12 rivals Texas (third) and Texas A&M (ninth) also rank ahead of NU among the top 10.

The Trackwire 25 attempts to predict team scores for the NCAA Championships based on individual athlete rankings for each event?nicknamed the "Dandy Dozen"?that are updated weekly by track and field statistician Gary Verigin.

Two Huskers are picked this week as favorites to win individual national titles?Becky Breisch (women's discus) and Arturs Abolins (men's long jump).
Husker athletes among this week's "Dandy Dozen":
Women
Becky Breisch, Discus?1st
                           Shot Put?4th
Priscilla Lopes, 100m Hurdles?2nd
Dace Ruskule, Discus?2nd
Ashley Selig, Heptathlon?3rd
Kayla Wilkinson, Javelin?6th

Men
Arturs Abolins, Long Jump?1st
Dusty Jonas, High Jump?4th
Ray Scotten, Pole Vault?6th
Aaron Plas, High Jump?8th
Courtney Jones, 110m Hurdles?10th

Huskers Win Weekly Big 12 Honors
Two Husker women's athletes have been recognized for outstanding accomplishments so far this outdoor season with Big 12 Female Track and Field Athlete of the Week awards. The wins bring Nebraska's indoor-outdoor total to five.

Becky Breisch claimed her fifth career conference honor on April 4 after a spectacular outing at the Stanford Invitational featuring a pair of wins in the shot put and discus events. The Husker senior took a dominant national lead in the discus with her throw of 201-7, which is more than 15 feet further than second-place Rachel Varner (186-3) of Arizona. She won the shot put with a season-best mark of 55-8 1/2, which ranks fourth nationally this week.

Sara Jane Baker was honored by the Big 12 for the first time in her career on March 28 after recording a career-best score of 5,485 for the heptathlon at the Jim Click Combined Events. Baker currently leads the Big 12 with the performance, while ranking fifth among NCAA athletes.

Breisch and Baker join Egle Uljas (twice) and Dmitrijs Milkevics, who each earned accolades during the indoor season.

Nebraska Big 12 Event Rankings
Women
Name Event (Big 12 Rank) Mark
Ari Goldstein 5,000m (8th) 18:01.11
Kayte Tranel 10,000m (3rd) 35:23.18
Priscilla Lopes 100m Hurdles (1st) 12.98
Sara Jane Baker High Jump (8th) 5-8 1/2
Jenna Blubaugh Pole Vault (t-3rd) 12-11 1/2
Jenny Green Pole Vault (t-3rd) 12-11 1/2
Jessie Graff Pole Vault (t-8th) 11-11 3/4
Becky Breisch Shot Put (2nd) 55-8 1/2
                          Discus (1st) 201-7
Dace Ruskule Discus (2nd) 186-3
Jeni Steiner Hammer Throw (4th) 174-5
Jamie Senkbile Hammer Throw (6th) 173-9
Tamara Solari Hammer Throw (7th) 172-2
Kayla Wilkinson Javelin (1st) 180-6
Sara Jane Baker Javelin (8th) 133-0
                            Heptathlon (1st) 5,485
Kim Shubert Heptathlon (5th) 4,723

Men
Name Event (Big 12 Rank) Mark
Courtney Jones 110m Hurdles (5th) 13.85
Mark Harrison 400m Hurdles (6th) 51.91
Gatis Spunde 400m Hurdles (7th) 52.18
Nebraska 4x100m Relay (3rd) 40.06
Nebraska 4x400m Relay (2nd) 3:07.37
Dusty Jonas High Jump (t-1st) 7-4 1/2
Aaron Plas High Jump (t-5th) 6-10 3/4
Ray Scotten Pole Vault (1st) 18-0 1/2
Gable Baldwin Pole Vault (t-7th) 16-6 3/4
Nic Petersen Pole Vault (t-7th) 16-6 3/4
Daniel Wasson Triple Jump (8th) 46-1 1/4w
Keith Lloyd Hammer Throw (5th) 195-9 1/4
Lee Martin Decathlon (7th) 6,528
Skyler Reising Decathlon (8th) 6,293

Eight Huskers Named All-Americans
Eight members of the Nebraska men’s and women’s track and field teams officially were named NCAA Indoor All-Americans by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association on March 22. Each athlete competed at the NCAA Indoor Championships in early March.

Arturs Abolins, who won his first NCAA title in the men’s long jump, and Sara Jane Baker, who tied for 11th place in the women’s high jump, were the only Huskers to be honored for the first time in their careers. Becky Breisch, the fourth-place finisher in the women’s shot put, claimed the ninth honor of her career, while Priscilla Lopes won her seventh award after finishing second in the women’s 60-meter hurdles.

Other Husker award winners included Ashley Selig (fifth career honor), who earned fifth place in the women’s pentathlon; Dusty Jonas (third career honor) and Aaron Plas (third career honor), the fifth- and seventh-place finishers in the men’s high jump; and Ray Scotten (fourth career honor), who finished 11th in the men’s pole vault.

In Division I track and field, the top eight finishers in each event at the NCAA Indoor Championships, including relays, earn All-America status. In the individual (non-relay) events, if one or more of the top eight finishers are of another nationality, eight American-born athletes are selected in addition to any foreign-born All-Americans.

Abolins Wins First NCAA Title
Arturs Abolins polished off one of the most successful indoor seasons in school history with his first national title in the long jump earlier this month.

The Riga, Latvia, native won the first NCAA long jump crown in Nebraska history at the NCAA Indoor Championships after breaking the school record with a leap of 26-7 1/4 on his final attempt to overtake Texas A&M's Fabrice Lapierre for first place.

Prior to the attempt, Abolins trailed Lapierre by 3 3/4 inches with his mark of 26-0 3/4, which he recorded on his final attempt of three preliminary jumps. Abolins barely reached the finals of the event after jumping only 20-0 1/4 and fouling on his first two attempts.

The Husker had never broken the 26-foot mark in his career before the meet. His previous career best of 25-9 1/2 was recorded on the same Tyson track one month earlier at the Tyson Invitational. He jumped 25-8 1/4 in late February to earn his second career Big 12 indoor title. Abolins concluded a tremendous indoor season as he went undefeated against collegiate competitors.