Huskers Dominate adidas Classic With 10 NCAA Qualifiers

Lincoln ? The Nebraska track and field team dominated the adidas Classic on Saturday afternoon in front of 1,352 fans at the Devaney Center Indoor Track with winning scores of 204 on the women’s side and 195 on the men’s side. The team-scored meet matched the No. 19 Husker men and No. 19 Husker women against the No. 6 Florida State men and No. 4 Florida State women, Kansas men and women, Wichita State men and women, Minnesota men, Illinois men and Alabama women.

 

The Husker women bettered second-place Kansas by 65.67 points, while the Husker men were 84 points better than second-place Minnesota. On the day the Huskers totaled 14 victories, producing nine NCAA provisional qualifiers and one NCAA automatic qualifier.

 

Nebraska junior and two-time indoor All-American Epley Bullock started the adidas Classic in dramatic fashion, clearing a lifetime best and NCAA automatic-qualifying mark of 6-0 3/4, moving her into a tie for the No. 4 spot in Division I with Becky Christensen of Harvard. The Allen, Texas, native was in the ?zone’ as she was clean through the first five bars of the high jump: 5-5 1/4, 5-7 1/4, 5-9 1/4, 5-11 1/4 and 6-0 3/4 bars, before failing to clear 6-1 1/2. With a spot at the NCAA Indoor Championships in College Station, Texas, now secure, Bullock will now focus on defending her Big 12 Indoor Championship. Bullock currently sits No. 2 in the conference, trailing Division I leader Destinee Hooker of Texas (6-3 1/4).

 

“My goal this year has been to clear on my first attempt, and I did that today,” Bullock said. “It was nice (to reach the automatic-qualifying mark of 6-0 3/4). Every other year I’ve had to worry about qualifying the whole year. It’s nice to get it out of the way early.”

 

“Epley (Bullock) has really worked hard this off season,” Head Coach and Jump Coach Gary Pepin said. “Epley is starting to see that she belongs with the top jumpers in the country. We need to get her comfortable at the 6-1 bar on a consistent basis.”

 

Bullock was not the only Husker jumping well on Saturday, as she was joined by Audrey Svane and Lorena Menghia in a 1-2-3 sweep of the high jump. Svane, a sophomore from Tioga, Texas, added two inches to her personal best with a jump of 5-9 1/4. Menghia, a semester transfer from Jacksonville State, cleared 5-7 1/4 in her first high jumping action of 2009. The three high-jumping Huskers put the Big Red women out to an early lead with 23 points, far ahead of second-place Alabama (5 points) and third-place Kansas (3 points).

 

“I thought all three of our women jumped really well,” Pepin said. “Lorena (Menghia) was jumping for the first time in nearly two years, I was impressed in what I saw out of her. Audrey (Svane) may have jumped the best I have ever seen her today.”

 

The Big Red women then went 1-2-3 in the long jump. Chantae McMillan led the way with an NCAA provisional-qualifying  and personal-best leap of 20-3 1/2, notching McMillan as the No. 10 jumper in Division I. Leandra McGruder followed with a leap of 19-3 1/4, while Megan Wheatley was third with a jump of 19-1 1/2. The three co-captains added 23 points to the women’s total, giving the Husker women 62 points after three events, a 49-point lead on second-place Kansas.

 

McGruder came back later to win the triple jump with a leap of 41-4 1/2, just getting by the previously mentioned Menghia, who jumped 39-10 3/4. On the men’s side, true freshman Chris Phipps continued to shine in the triple jump, leaping a personal best 50-11 to win the event. The jump was a one-inch improvement on Phipps’ PR, while also tying him with Antillio Bastien of South Florida for No. 23 in Division I.  

 

Lisa Minnick and Jade Hodson started the Husker throws with second- and third-place finishes, respectively, in the women’s weight throw. Both Huskers set personal bests with Minnick improving her best by 13 inches with a toss of 55-5 3/4, while Hodson followed with a toss of 53-5 1/2, bettering her PR by two feet and two inches.

 

Later in the throws, Kacie Sharp contributed a win in the shot put with a toss of 51-11 1/4. The mark was a personal best for Sharp, improving her NCAA provisional-qualifying mark. Sharp’s throw moved her to No. 4 in the Big 12 Conference and into a tie for the No. 8 spot in Division I with Tiffany Howard of Indiana.

 

Just like the field events, the Husker women started with a win in the running events via Joslyn Dalton’s dominating performance in the 5,000 meters. Dalton coasted to victory with a time of 17:29.78, over a minute faster than second-place finisher Rebeka Stowe of Kansas (18:38.81).

 

The Husker men broke into the scoring in a big way in the men’s high jump with a 1-3-4 finish, led by the No. 3 jumper in the Big 12, sophomore Paul Hamilton. Hamilton was the only jumper in the field to clear seven feet with a leap of 7-0 1/4. The Sidney, Neb., native was joined by third-place finisher John Ottun, who cleared a personal best of 6-10 3/4, and fourth-place finisher Sam Haase, who jump 6-8 3/4. The three Huskers added 20 points to the men’s total, inching the Huskers to the top of men’s scoring after four events  had been scored, 44-40 over Minnesota.

 

Later in the jumps, senior LeRon Williams won the men’s long jump with a leap of 24-4 1/4, just two inches off his personal best and three inches off the NCAA provisional standard of 27-4 1/4. Williams was joined in the top three by teammate Scott Jorgenson, who finished third with a personal-best jump of 23-8.

 

The Huskers widened the gap on both the men’s and women’s side following the hurdles, taking the top three spots in each race.

 

Lehann Fourie, who ran a personal best 7.78 in the prelims, won the men’s hurdles with a time of 7.79. Fourie’s time of 7.78 ranks No. 1 in the Big 12 and No. 4 in Division I. Kirkland Thornton (7.80) and Tyrell Ross (8.00) joined Fourie in the top three, with Eric Lund contributing two points with a fifth-place finish. Thornton’s time of 7.80 was a personal-best and NCAA provisional-qualifying time, ranking the South Holland, Ill., native No. 5 on the Division I chart. The Husker women were led in the hurdles by sophomores Arna Erega and Karyn LaCour, who ran 8.44 and 8.46, respectively, with Nikita Eades taking third place with a time of 8.53.

 

Following the hurdles, the Husker women led the meet with 116 points, besting Kansas (36.33), Wichita State (29), Alabama (18) and Florida State (14.66). The Husker men led with 70 points, leading Minnesota (40), Illinois (22), Florida State (12) and Kansas (11).

 

Lukas Hulett and Dan Christensen added 16 points to the men’s total with first- and third-place showing in the men’s 400 meters. Hulett blazed to a personal-best time and NCAA provisional-qualifying time of 46.75 (oversized best - 46.71), moving to No. 3 on the Division I chart. A four-time All-American, Hulett trailed second-place sprinter Gakologelwang Masheto of Illinois until the final curve, where Hulett turned it on and sprinted to a seventh-tenths of a second victory.

 

Nick Makukutu and Adam Dailey followed with a 1-2 finish in the 600 yards, with Makukutu winning with a personal-best time of 1:10.59. Following the 600 yards, the Husker men led the meet with 131 points, a whopping 72 points ahead of second-place Minnesota (59).

 

Later, Scott Wims put his name on the NCAA provisional-qualifying list in the 200 meters with a personal-best matching time of 21.20 (oversized best ? 21.06). Wims’ time ties him with Whitney Prevost of Baylor for No. 4 in Division I and No. 2 in the Big 12.

 

The Husker women followed with a sweep of the 1,000 and 3,000 meters, as Ashley Miller took the 1K title and Lara Crofford won the 3K. First, Miller posted a personal-best of 2:55.31, then Crofford came through with a personal best of her own at 9:42.80. Crofford was joined in the top five of the 3,000 meters by Jen Pancoast (third ? 9:46.93) and Rachel Carrizales (9:50.12).

 

Seth Burney ended the meet for the Big Red with a runner-up finish in the men’s pole vault, trying his personal best with a NCAA provisional-qualifying leap of 17-4 1/2. The mark ties Burney with Ben Peterson of Minnesota for the No. 4 spot on the Division I list.

 

“Overall I thought we had some real good performances today,” Pepin said. “I was really encouraged with us across the board.”

 

The Huskers will now prepare for next weekend’s 34th Annual Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational. The meet, which is named after former 28-year Husker track and field coach Frank Sevigne, is a two-day meet that is annually one of the top meets of the indoor season.  The meet will include some of the top collegiate and professional athletes, with Division I programs Michigan, UTEP, Rice, Arizona, UCLA, Oklahoma State, Colorado, Saint Louis set to compete. The meet is scheduled to start at Noon on Friday, Feb. 6, with action restarting at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday. Check Huskers.com for more details.

 

Final Team Scores
Women
Nebraska ? 204

Kansas ? 138.22

Alabama ? 79

Wichita State ? 78

Florida State ? 19.67

 

Men
Nebraska ? 195

Minnesota - 109

Illinois - 79

Kansas - 60

Florida State ? 52

Wichita State - 31