Baker, Breisch Propel NU Women to NCAA Team Honor

SACRAMENTO, Calif.?A pair of clutch final-day performances by Husker seniors Sara Jane Baker and Becky Breisch helped boost the Nebraska women’s track and field team into a tie for fourth place (37 points) and share of the final NCAA team trophy with Arizona State Saturday during the final day of the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The NU men, who had no final-day competitors, finished 14th with 19 points

The Husker women entered Saturday in a tie for first place with Texas, but had to fend off several other squads stacked with finals competitors, including first-place Auburn (57), USC (38.5) and South Carolina (38). Texas finished behind NU in sixth with 36 points, while Florida State (67) earned top honors in the men’s team race.

Nebraska sat in fifth place entering the final section of the women’s heptathlon, which featured the squad’s last scoring hope in Baker. Baker, who needed to finish sixth in the heptathlon competition to push NU’s team score high enough to capture a team trophy, ranked 10th overall entering the 800-meter run, 240 points behind Oregon’s Lauryn Jordan for sixth place.

While the deficit appeared insurmountable, Baker delivered with a winning time of 2:13.28 to edge Jordan by only eight points. The Husker All-American’s total score of 5,507 was a personal best and erased the memories of five straight NCAA combined events challenges without an All-America finish.

"I just knew that I had to do the best that I could, but I also knew who I had to beat and by how much time entering the 800," Baker said. "I just ran my best and it all worked out in the end."

Entering the day trailing sixth place by 162 points, Baker started the competition on the right foot in the long jump. She posted a distance of 18-9 ? to close the gap, while adding a solid throw of 124-3 in the javelin. But the Huskers’ team hopes came down to the heptathlon 800, which rates as one of Bakers’ strongest events.

"This means a lot to me, because this is the first time where I actually contributed to the team score," Baker said. "For us to finish fourth and me contributing to that in my last meet is special."

Baker finished her career as a Husker by moving into sixth place on NU’s all-time heptathlon chart and adding her first true All-America finish to the one she earned earlier this year at the NCAA indoor meet. She claimed 11th place during the women’s high jump at that meet, but claimed the All-America award as the eighth American finisher.

"That was one of the fantastic final-day performances by a woman who was working only for the team and not for herself," NU multi-events coach Kris Grimes said. "She scrapped and fought her way during the entire competition to give her team a chance, and I couldn’t be more proud of her."

Equally important to the performance of Baker was that of Breisch, who ended her distinguished Nebraska career with a runner-up finish in the women’s shot put after recording a mark of 59-2 ?. Breisch stood in third place prior to her final attempt, but uncorked her best throw to overtake Texas’ Michelle Carter for second place. North Carolina’s Laura Gerraughty won the competition with a mark of 60-1 ? , but the final attempt by the Husker senior gained NU a very important two-point jump to help clinch a share of the meet’s final trophy.

"I had nothing to lose going into my last throw," Breisch said. "I figured just throw it as hard as I could. These were extremely talented throwers I was competing against, so I’m happy with the finish."

"We discussed before throwing today that there was a possibility of the team getting a trophy," NU throws coach Mark Colligan said. "We’ve prepared two years to win this, but a lot of injuries and misfortune have put us in a position where we weren’t able to win. That being said, it’s very satisfying to get a trophy. Becky knew what was on the line and she went into her last throw consumed more by that chance than just to move up in the event standing. I’m extraordinarily proud of her."

Breisch concluded her career as a 10-time NCAA All-American, tying her with former Husker great Paulette Mitchell for the program record among NU throwers and placing her among the elite athletes in the long history of all of Nebraska’s athletics programs.

"Nebraska was just a great place to be these past five years," Breisch said. "I couldn’t ask to be anywhere better. All of the experiences I’ve had, the friends and coaches that I’ve met have really made it the best experience of my life."

"Both Becky and Sara Jane have had terrific careers," NU Head Coach Gary Pepin said. "Both have been very strong team leaders here, and we expected them to be able to do things like this. The high team finish was a pleasant surprise, but not unexpected. Taking into account all of our (men’s and women’s) athletes’ performances, we seemed to have a tremendous meet."

Nebraska concluded its 2006 season on a very high note, as the women’s team finished among the top five for the third time in four years, while the Husker men earned a top-20 placing for the fifth consecutive season. In all, NU crowned a pair of national champions in junior Arturs Abolins (men’s long jump) and Dace Ruskule (women’s discus) and recorded three NCAA runners-up in Breisch and juniors Priscilla Lopes (women’s 100-meter hurdles) and Kayla Wilkinson (women’s javelin). A total of eight Huskers finished as NCAA All-Americans.

Final Team Scores
Women
1. Auburn?57
2. USC?38.5
3. South Carolina?38
4. Nebraska?37
-   Arizona State?37

Men
1. Florida State?67
2. LSU?51
3. Texas?36
4. Arizona?34
5. Arkansas?33
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14. Nebraska?19