Bullock, Morgan and Hulett Earn All-America Honors at 2008 NCAA Indoors

Fayetteville, Ark. - Sophomore Epley Bullock earned All-America honors in the high jump for the second-straight year as the Allen, Texas, native finished tied for seventh with a jump of 5-10 3/4 (1.80).  Bullock earned All-America honors last year as she finished ninth overall and fifth among American competitors. Bullock cleared the first three bars with ease before tweaking her knee which kept her from being able to clear the 6-0 (1.83) bar.

Bullock was happy to earn the All-America honor outright this year and saw quite a difference in herself this year compared to last.

"My goal coming in was to earn finish in the top eight and have no question about the All-America honor. Last year I was so nervous coming in and couldn't keep myself still. This year I could just focus on having fun and doing my best," said Bullock.

Head Coach and jumps coach Gary Pepin was very pleased with his young high jumper's performance.

"I was very pleased to see Epley (Bullock) score and earn All-America. I am sure she was disappointed about not clearing 6-0, but she did better then she did last year and that is a plus. Epley has really come on strong at the end of the year and I am excited to see what she can do outdoors," said Pepin.

Three other Huskers competing on day one all ran fast enough to compete in the finals on day two.

Both Lukas Hulett and Sheryl Morgan moved on in the 400-meter dash with new personal-best times and secured All-America honors.

Hulett didn’t get out of the blocks as fast as he wanted, but finished very strong as his time of 46.77 was the fifth-fastest preliminary time and secured him All-America honors in the 400 meters for the second-straight year.

"I didn't get out as hard as I wanted to today. I didn't let that hold me back though. I know I can PR again tomorrow and as long as I get out good I know I can do that. It was definitely a weight off of my shoulders to know I've earned All-America honors again," said Hulett.

Coach Matt Martin was very proud of Hulett and knew his experience from last year would help him today.

"Lukas (Hulett) has really matured on indoor tracks and for some people that can take quite awhile. At the Big 12 Conference meet and last week at IowaState (Iowa State Last Chance) he gave up ground and didn't hold his position like he should. Today he stayed strong and on the backstretch he stayed tight to the rail. You have to do that if you want to be successful indoors," said Martin.

Coming into the meet Morgan was predicted not to make the finals on Saturday. The Kingston, Jamaica, native competing in her final meet as a Husker used that as motivation as her personal-best time of 53.54 was the seventh-fastest time in the women's 400-meter preliminaries. The time secures Morgan her first All-America honor as a Husker.

"I am very happy that today was not my last day in a Husker uniform. It is really nice to earn my first All-American honor and have a chance tomorrow in the finals," said Morgan.

Coach Mark Devenney had no doubts that Morgan could make the finals.

"I had no doubts about Sheryl (Morgan) coming into to today's race. She is a very confident runner right now. Her goals this year were to win the Big 12 Conference meet and to become an All-American. There's no doubt in my mind she'll run fast tomorrow," said Devenney.

Peter van der Westhuizen extended his senior indoor season one day longer as his tenth-place finish of 4:06.17 in the men's mile preliminaries just barely advanced him into the finals.  Both van der Westhuizen and distance coach Jay Dirksen we not happy with how he ran in the preliminaries. However, both stated that getting to the finals is all that counts.

"My race today was a mess, but I got to tomorrow and that's all that matters. Tomorrow I am just going to run as hard as I can and my goal is to finish first," said van der Westhuizen.

"The only purpose of qualifying is to get to the finals so I am not too worried about his (Peter van der Westhuizen) time. He didn't run very well tactically today and he'll do better tomorrow so I know he'll have a good chance at running a very good race," said Dirksen.

Overall Pepin was very pleased with how his team has preformed at the national meet and is looking forward to tomorrow.

"It is terrific that all our kids are going to be competing tomorrow and it is even more special for Sheryl (Morgan) given that it is her last meet. The expectations are high for Dusty (Jonas) but people can't forget about Paul (Hamilton) either. Paul is the only freshman in the high jump and that speaks for itself. Dusty is really hoping to win and we will just have to see how it comes down between him and Scott (Sellers)," said Pepin.

The Huskers will be back in action tomorrow as Jonas and Hamilton will start things up for the Big Red with the men's high jump at 4:45 p.m. van der Westhuizen will then run in the finals of the men's mile at 6:15 p.m. Hulett and Morgan will end the day with Hulett running at 6:55 p.m. and Morgan at 7:05 p.m. Live video will be made available again tomorrow and Huskers.com will have a full recap.