NU Opens Pursuit of Big 12 Track Crowns

Waco, Texas?The Nebraska men’s and women’s track and field teams opened up the Big 12 Outdoor Championships with a successful first day of competition Friday at Baylor’s Hart-Patterson Track and Field Complex. The meet’s first day was comprised mainly of combined events action, but four Huskers also earned NU team points in three event finals.

Senior Sara Jane Baker is in a battle for the women’s heptathlon title following four of seven events with a third-place score of 3,222. She trails first-day leader Julianne Kennedy (Texas Tech) by 49 points with the long jump, javelin and 800-meter run still to be contested on Saturday. Iowa State’s Erica Lynn also sits just ahead of the Husker All-American by eight points.

Baker started the day off on the right foot, setting a personal-best time of 14.53 (wind aided) in the 100-meter hurdles and reaching 5-7 ? in the high jump. She also set a season-best mark of 37-4 ? in the shot put before clocking in at 25.75 in the 200-meter dash. The Kalamazoo, Mich., native appears well within reach of her first Big 12 title, as the score is her highest career first-day heptathlon total.

"Sara is putting together a good meet," said NU multi-events coach Kris Grimes. "We knew she had to come in here and be solid. We didn’t necessarily expect her to come in and compete at her highest level right from the start, but she has done that. She’s here to score points for the team, she knows that she was the favorite walking in and she’s been taking care of business so far."

Redshirt freshman Kim Shubert currently stands in sixth place in the women’s heptathlon with 2,966 points. First-day performances of 15.03 in the hurdles, 5-7 ? (personal best) in the high jump and 26.70 in the 200 meters has placed her within striking distance of fourth-place Liz Peterson (Missouri), who holds only a 40-point advantage over Shubert.

The opening day of the men’s decathlon also was extremely successful for Nebraska, as each of the four Husker entries performed at a high level. Leading the way was redshirt freshman Skyler Reising, who accumulated 3,907 points for second-place status after five events.

The Lincoln native set career bests in each of his first two events (11.19w in the 100-meter dash; 22-10 in the long jump) before registering marks of 41-10 ? in the shot put, 6-8 ? in the high jump and a personal-best time of 50.52 in the 400-meter dash. Reising’s pace puts him in line to shatter his personal-best decathlon score, earn the Husker men some well-needed team points in the event and even possibly earn him a first career NCAA qualification.

"We are ecstatic about what Skyler did today," Grimes said. "He is doing a great job, especially in his first competitive season in a Husker uniform. It is pretty exciting to see him towards the top of the leader board."

Junior Lee Martin currently sits in eighth place with a score of 3,678 after a first day that saw him set individual event bests in the 100-meter dash (11.58w) and long jump (22-9 ?). Sophomore Ben Schutter followed right behind in ninth place (3,672), while sophomore Pat Burke is in 11th (3,563).

A pair of Huskers placed in the women’s hammer throw competition, led by senior Jamie Senkbile, who finished fifth with a spin of 177-9. The performance earned Senkbile her highest career placing at the Big 12 Championships. Sophomore Tamara Solari finished seventh with a mark of 165-10. Meanwhile, sophomore Keith Lloyd notched the first point for the Husker men’s team with an eighth-place finish in the men’s hammer with a throw of 187-11.

Senior Kayte Tranel added five more team points for the Husker women in the 10,000-meter run with a fourth-place clocking of 34:50.02.The race marked the highest career finish at the Big 12 Championships for Tranel. Freshman teammate Ari Goldstein finished 13th in 38:33.56.

The Big 12 Outdoor Championships continue Saturday, as most Huskers are scheduled to be in action. Both the heptathlon and decathlon wrap up during the afternoon, while six field event finals will also be contested. Only preliminary sections of running events will be held on the track.

Current Team Scores

Women

1. Kansas State ? 22
2. Oklahoma State ? 13
3. Missouri ? 12
4. Nebraska ? 11
5. Kansas ? 8

Men

1. Missouri ? 22
2. Colorado ? 17
3. Kansas ? 12
4. Texas ? 10
5. Oklahoma State ? 5
   ---------------------------
   9.     Nebraska ? 1