Huskers Open Stanford Invite with Nine Regional Marks

Palo Alto, Calif. ? The Nebraska throws and distance squads opened the two-day Stanford Invitational Friday on the Cardinal’s Cobb Track at Angell Field with nine regional-qualifying performances and one provisional mark, including personal bests by Rachel Carrizales, Kacie Sharp and Tyler Hitchler. Carrizales led the distance crew to five regional marks, while Sharp and Hitchler contributed to the thrower’s four marks.

 

Carrizales opened the outdoor season in dominant fashion, destroying her previous best of 10:17.26 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, which she ran at the 2007 national meet, by nearly eight seconds with a time of 10:09.69 to finish fifth. Her time improves her second-place standing on the Husker all-time outdoor performance list, as she still trails Ann Gaffigan’s 2004 time of 9:39.35. Carrizales, along with teammates Joslyn Dalton and Jessica Furlan, ran in one of the most talent-filled events of the night, as 22 runners ran under the regional mark of 10:50.25. Dalton finished 19th with a time of 10:37.75, while Furlan came in 22nd in her first collegiate steeplechase with a time of 10:48.39. Sophomore David Adams followed the women’s performance with a regional-qualifying time of his own in the men’s race, running a time of 8:48.10 to finish fifth.

 

In the invitational division of the women’s shot put, Sharp started the 2009 season the same way she did a year ago, by throwing a personal best. Sharp finished runner-up Friday night with a toss of 50-6, which topped her previous best of 50-4 1/2 that she set at last season’s outdoor opener, the Jim Click Invitational. Sharp was joined in the regional-qualifying ranks by sophomore Amanda Latsch, who placed sixth with a throw of 47-5, six inches farther than the regional standard of 46-11.

 

On the men’s side of the shot put, Keith Lloyd began his bid to make a return trip to the NCAA Outdoor Championships by finishing sixth with a toss of 55-4 1/4 in the invitational division. Lloyd qualified for the 2008 national meet by finishing fourth at the regional meet with a personal-best toss of 61-5. Hitchler ended the night for the Husker throwers with a victory in the college division of the men’s discus. A native of Fremont, Neb., the redshirt freshman won the discus with a personal-best throw of 170-10, shattering his previous best of 162-7 by over eight feet.

 

Like Lloyd, Natalja Callahan took the first step in returning to the outdoor championships in 2009 by regionally qualifying in the 1,500 meters with a 15th-place time of 4:27.01. Callahan qualified for the 2008 outdoor national meet by finishing third in the 1,500 at the regional meet with a personal-best time of 4:18.63.

 

Sophomore Lara Crofford ended day one for the Big Red with an NCAA provisional-qualifying time of 34:07.55 in the women’s 10,000-meter race. Crofford, who competed in the same event at the 2008 NCAA Outdoor Championships, finished 11th overall and seventh among collegiate runners. Due to their demanding physical nature, the men’s and women’s 10,000 meters, men’s decathlon and women’s heptathlon at the NCAA Outdoor Championships are all automatically and provisionally qualified for, unlike the regional format that is used for all other events.

 

The Huskers will return to Angell Field tomorrow for day two of the Stanford Invitational at 11 a.m. (Central), while the pole vault and multi-event groups will also be in action in Tempe, Ariz., at the Arizona State Invitational, starting at Noon. The men’s distance squad will have three runners competing at the Hastings Bronco Relays, beginning at 9 a.m.