Breisch, Abolins Post Impressive Wins

DES MOINES, Iowa.?Senior Becky Breisch and junior Dace Ruskule finished 1-2 in the women’s discus to lead the Nebraska track and field team at the 97th annual Drake Relays on Friday. In addition to 17 Huskers competing at Drake, NU also had nine participants at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia, Pa., including men's long jump champion Arturs Abolins. The Nebraska Wesleyan Twilight, which was supposed to feature several more Huskers, was cancelled due to inclement weather.

Breisch earned her third consecutive Drake Relays title with a throw of 202-5 on her final attempt to out-distance Ruskule by more than 11 feet. A nine-time All-American, Breisch set the current Drake Relays record of 205-5 as a junior before throwing 202-9 last year while competing unattached as a redshirt. While her fifth of six attempts of the day was her longest, she also notched a spin over 201 feet on her second qualifying throw.

Despite finishing runner-up to her teammate, Ruskule also performed well by notching a throw of 190-9 on her first attempt of the competition. The reigning Big 12 outdoor champion surpassed the 190-foot mark for the second time in the past three weeks. Both Breisch and Ruskule defeated the 2005 NCAA outdoor champion, Alabama’s Beth Mallory, who finished third (179-2).

Breisch and Ruskule currently rank Nos. 1 and 3, respectively, in the NCAA discus performance ratings this season, with Mallory ranked second. Following Friday’s competition, Breisch, who owns the top two marks among all U.S. athletes this year, attributed some of her success this season to her talented teammate.

"Any day (Dace) is going to be right there with me," Breisch said. "That’s the good thing about having her as a teammate, because we push each other not only in the meets, but also in practice."

Following her win in the discus, Breisch added third-place honors in the shot put with a heave of 53-2 ?. Sophomore Keith Lloyd also reached the final in the men’s shot put, as he grabbed eighth place (55-4 ?).

Junior Kayla Wilkinson added a runner-up finish for the Husker women in the javelin with a throw of 165-11 under less than ideal conditions. Wilkinson delivered during the preliminary round on her third and final throw to make the final group, then moved up again in the standings from seventh to second on her final attempt with her top mark on the rain-soaked runway. Returning NCAA champ Dana Pounds (Air Force) claimed the event crown with a distance of 178-10.

In preliminary action, junior Priscilla Lopes kicked off her weekend with successful races of the women’s 100-meter dash and hurdles events. Lopes posted a dash time of 11.88 and a hurdles clocking of 13.74 to advance to Saturday’s final heats for both competitions. Her hurdles time led the field, while the dash mark ranked as the sixth-fastest.

"I got out quickly and had a good opening run in the hurdles," Lopes said. "Then over the final part of the race, I just maintained my lead. I guess now I will see how it goes tomorrow. I am really looking forward to it.

Other Huskers in competition Friday included: senior Jenna Blubaugh and junior Jessie Graff, who earned respective placings of sixth and seventh after clearing 12-5 ? in the women’s pole vault; senior Patrick Southern (tied for sixth) and junior Nic Petersen (tied for 12th), who each reached 16-0 ? in the men’s pole vault; junior Justine Roach (16th), who ran a season-best time of 1:01.20 in the women’s 400-meter hurdles; and LeRon Williams, who leaped 24-3 ? for his first NCAA regional-qualifying effort of the season in the men’s long jump.

Abolins Wins Penn Relays Long Jump Title
Junior Arturs Abolins made the trek to Philadelphia a success for NU Friday, as he claimed his first career Penn Relays title in the Championship section of the men’s long jump. The 2006 NCAA indoor champion recorded a leap of 25-11 to defeat second-place Herbert McGregor (unattached) by more than eight inches. Abolins also kept his season-long unbeaten streak (against collegiate athletes) alive, extending it to eight consecutive competitions.

Another Husker, junior Courtney Jones, sneaked his way into the final slot of the Championship heat for the men’s 110-meter hurdles with a ninth-place preliminary time of 14.08. This year’s Big 12 indoor 60-meter hurdles champ, Jones finished third in his qualifying heat and will compete in the final at 1:35 p.m. CDT on Saturday.

Among other NU competitors at Penn, the 4x400-meter relay team of sophomore Andrew Pearson, junior Nate Probasco and seniors Andy Nelson and Mark Harrison clocked a time of 3:09.15 to finish third in their preliminary heat and qualify for Saturday’s college final. Meanwhile, the Huskers’ 4x100-meter relay comprised of Abolins, senior Oliver Williams Jr., Probasco and junior Daniel Roper was unable to advance out the prelims with a time of 41.29.

Individually, Harrison placed seventh overall in the men’s 400-meter hurdles with a season-best and team-leading time of 51.29. The mark ranks fifth among Big 12 Conference athletes this season. Nelson (52.49) added an 18th-place finish, while sophomore Gatis Spunde followed right behind in 19th place (52.51).

The Drake Relays and Penn Relays conclude Saturday, as several more Huskers are scheduled to wrap up their weekend of competition in event finals.