LINCOLN?Huskers claimed 17 Nebraska Invitational titles Saturday, as NU hosted its only home track and field meet of the outdoor season at Ed Weir Stadium. All scheduled events were completed despite a nearly two-hour delay caused by a line of mid-afternoon thunderstorms that rolled through eastern Nebraska.
Two athletes, Kayla Wilkinson and Patrick Southern, notched a pair of big-time records to lead the way for Nebraska.
Wilkinson broke the six-year old school record in the women’s javelin with a winning throw of 181-2. The Deshler, Neb., native erased the previous mark of 181-0 set by Cassi Morelock in 2000. Wilkinson, who is the reigning Big 12 champion in the event, also set a new Ed Weir Stadium standard on her first attempt of the day.
"It was a relief to finally break the record," Wilkinson said. "Now I need to continue to focus on my form. I still have a lot to improve on. I was expecting to break the record sometime, just not today."
Patrick Southern, a fifth-year senior, punched his ticket to his first-ever NCAA Midwest Regional Championships after clearing a personal-best height of 16-7 ? in the men’s pole vault. More importantly, Southern set what is believed to be a new World Record in the pole vault by a deaf athlete. The previous mark of 15-8 1/4, which belonged to Norway’s Ole Sponberg, has stood since 1993. Teammate Ray Scotten won the event Saturday with a clearance of 17-0 ?, while Nic Petersen and Gable Baldwin finished fourth and fifth, respectively. Southern’s performance gave the Husker men their fourth regional qualifier in the event this season.
Becky Breisch capped off an amazing day in the throwing events by breaking the 60-foot barrier in the women’s shot put for the first time in her distinguished career. The nine-time NCAA All-American destroyed her previous outdoor personal best of 58-7 ? by nearly two feet with her winning mark of 60-6 ?. She won the event by more than 12 feet over teammate Jeni Steiner, who added her first regional qualifying performance of the season (48-0 ?). Breisch moved up one place on the national performance list to second behind North Carolina’s Laura Gerraughty (61-6 ?).
Breisch also added a workmanlike victory in the women’s discus with a season-long, nation-leading throw of 205-2. Dace Ruskule, who won the Big 12 title last season while Breisch sat out the year as a redshirt, notched the No. 2 NCAA throw of 191-11 to finish runner-up Saturday. Ruskule now owns a more than five-foot cushion on the remaining field, with the exception of the defending USATF champion Breisch. Amber Curtis became NU’s third regional qualifier in the event with a fifth-place spin of 159-0.
Three-time All-American Dusty Jonas flirted with matching the Ed Weir Stadium men’s high jump record of 6-6 Saturday, but instead settled for a personal-best clearance of 7-5 to win top honors over teammate Aaron Plas (7-1 ?). Jonas’ performance tied USC’s Jesse Williams for the nation’s best leap this season.
"I didn’t really know if I wanted to take my jump at 7-3 ? and waste a jump, so I had them put it up to 7-5 instead," Jonas said. "I told Coach (Gary) Pepin that I was going to clear it today. I was really surprised I cleared it on my first attempt. I think with the way Coach Pepin is training us, I should be able to go a lot higher."
Arturs Abolins, Nebraska’s first-ever men’s NCAA long jump champion, opened his outdoor season in the event Saturday and claimed an easy win with a leap of 25-5 ? to qualify for regionals in his first opportunity. The Riga, Latvia, native also ran the lead-off leg for the Huskers’ winning 4x100-meter relay team that also featured Oliver Williams Jr., Nate Probasco and Daniel Roper. The squad clocked a blazing time of 39.70 in only their second race this season to qualify for the NCAA regional meet.
In addition to Abolins, each of the three other legs also notched qualifying marks to claim wins for their respective specialty events?Williams in the 100-meter dash (10.49w), Nate Probasco in the 200-meter dash (20.88) and Roper in the triple jump (50-5 ?). Roper’s leap counted as a new outdoor personal best.
Nebraska’s final new regional-qualifying mark came from Jessie Graff, who boosted herself to a third-place finish in the women’s pole vault (12-5 ?). Graff became NU’s third women’s qualifier in the vault, joining Jenny Green, who won the event Saturday with a height of 13-3 ?, and Jenna Blubaugh, who placed second (12-5 ?).
Other individual Husker winners at the Nebraska Invitational included: Courtney Jones in the men’s 110-meter hurdles (13.96w); Justine Roach in the women’s 400-meter hurdles (1:01.81); Gatis Spunde in the men’s 400-meter hurdles (51.55); and Kayte Tranel in the women’s 5,000-meter run (17:29.90). The NU women’s 4x100-meter relay team of Priscilla Lopes, Pinar Saka, Sheryl Morgan and Chi Kalu (46.03) and men’s 4x400-meter relay team of Nathan Kumm, Andy Nelson, Spunde and Probasco (3:13.41) also added victories.
Nebraska returns to the road next week as it travels to Lawrence, Kan., for the Kansas Relays.