Huskers Conclude Action at Stanford Invite

Palo Alto, Calif.?The Nebraska men’s and women’s track and field team concluded a solid opening weekend to the outdoor season Saturday, as the Stanford Invitational wrapped up at Stanford’s Cobb Track and Angell Field. Five Huskers met the NCAA regional qualifying standard for the respective events on the final day of competition.

Defending NCAA women’s discus champion Dace Ruskule earned fourth place in her specialty event among a daunting field featuring several post-collegiate athletes. Ruskule was the top collegian finisher with her throw of 180-5, which qualified her for the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships, which will held in late May in Des Moines, Iowa.

Joining Ruskule on the NU women’s regional qualifier list was Jeni Steiner (49-9 ?), who opened her senior season with a sixth-place effort in the top section of the women’s shot put. Steiner and Ruskule matched earlier regional qualifying efforts posted by senior Sheryl Morgan and freshman Chaunte McMillan, who became the first Huskers to qualify for the meet on Friday at Stanford.

For the Nebraska men, senior Issar Yazhbin earned fourth place in his first appearance as a Husker in the hammer throw in more than a year with a spin of 201-1. Yazhbin, who redshirted the entire 2006 season while recovering from a groin injury, easily surpassed the regional standard of 182-5.

Similar to Yazhbin, senior Aaron Ross showed no ill effects of a long layoff during the weekend by placing third in the finals of the men’s 110-meter hurdles while tying his personal-best time of 14.10, also a regional qualifying mark. Ross, who was ineligible to compete indoors this season due to exhausted eligibility, improved on his season-opening time of 14.33 that he ran during the preliminary rounds on Friday to advance on to the finals.

Nebraska received an outstanding effort late Friday night from freshman Brian Parr in the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase. Parr, a native of Fremont, Neb., won the third of six sections of the event with a personal-best mark of 9:05.95 to become the second Husker freshman to add his name to NU’s 2007 regional meet roster.

“I thought Brian handled his race very well,” said assistant coach Jay Dirksen, who coaches the Husker distance runners. “He ran a very disciplined race, and he topped it off with a tremendous finish. The thing is that he still has room to improve, so we are excited about where he is at right now.”

Other Huskers who performed well during the weekend included sophomores Natalja Zarcenko and Jennifer Pancoast in the women’s 1,500 meters. While the two athletes doubled up on the weekend by also running the 800 meters on Friday, both posted personal bests on Saturday. Zarcenko (4:28.33) earned sixth place in the women’s “B” section of the 1,500, and Pancoast (4:29.52) followed close behind in ninth.

Still to compete this weekend for the Huskers is sophomore Ari Goldstein, who is scheduled to run in the women’s 10,000-meter run late Saturday evening.

Nebraska next travels to the Texas Relays in Austin, Texas, next week, as several more Huskers will open the outdoor campaign. Among the Huskers expected to compete include many of NU’s sprint, hurdles and relay athletes, as well as those from the jumps and pole vault groups.

Stanford Invitational ? Results
Cobb Track and Angell Field
Palo Alto, Calif.

Women’s 1,500-Meter Run ? “B” Sections
6. Natalja Zarcenko (4:28.33) PR
9. Jennifer Pancoast (4:29.52) PR
29. Kim Pancoast (4:35.30)

Women’s Shot Put ? Top Section
6. Jeni Steiner (49-9 ?) RQ

Women’s Hammer Throw ? Top Section
8. Tamara Solari (175-8)

Women’s Discus ? Top Section
4. Dace Ruskule (180-5) RQ; Top Collegian

Women’s Discus ? “B” Section
3. Jeni Steiner (152-5)
14. Kacie Sharp (140-8)

Men’s 1,500-Meter Run ? “B” Section
62. Vince Sickler (3:57.66) PR
70. Ethan Luebbe (3:59.12) PR

Men’s 110-Meter Hurdles ? Finals
3. Aaron Ross (14.10) PR; RQ

Men’s 3,000-Meter Steeplechase ? Section 3
1. Brian Parr (9:05.95) PR; RQ

Men’s 3,000-Meter Steeplechase ? Section 4
18. Kyle Custer (9:43.56)

Men’s Discus ? “B” Section
16. Bryan Bell (145-11)

Men’s Hammer Throw ? Top Section
4. Issar Yazhbin (201-1) RQ

RQ ? NCAA regional qualifier
Q ? finals qualifier (Saturday)
PR ? personal record mark