Lloyd Posts Regional Mark at Stanford

Palo Alto, Calif. / Tempe, Ariz. ? The Nebraska track and field team competed Saturday in two of the more high profile meets of the weekend, the Stanford Invitational and Arizona State Invitational. After securing nine regional-qualifying marks on Friday in Palo Alto, the Huskers returned to Cobb Track to snag one more regional mark, while the Husker pole vautlers and multi-eventers took to the Joe Selleh Track in Tempe, Ariz.

 

After regionally qualifying in the men’s shot put on Friday, senior co-captain Keith Lloyd returned to Stanford’s campus on Saturday to surpass the regional standard of 186-4 in the hammer throw. A 2008 national qualifier in the event, Lloyd recorded a mark of 187-11 to finish 11th overall and eighth among collegiate throwers in the invitational division. Lloyd was one of 12 throws in the invite only division to break the regional mark and one of 15 overall, with the top three throwers in the college division also achieving the mark. On the women’s side, Lisa Minnick came up eight inches short of the regional standard of 177-8. A native of Cambridge, Neb., she finished fifth in the invitational division with a fifth-place personal-best throw of 177-0, shattering her previous best of 172-11 by over four feet.

 

In Tempe, senior multi-eventer Skyler Reising started his 2009 outdoor campaign in a big way with a personal-best discus throw of 161-2. The throw obliterated Reising’s previous best of 139-6 by just under 22 feet. A native of Lincoln, Reising competed in the discus, javelin and shot put on Saturday to prepare for his first decathlon of the year next weekend. In the pole vault, redshirt freshman Luke Franssen topped his previous best of 15-7 by four inches with a vault of 15-11, placing him eighth in the competition.

 

With only a few groups competing the first two weeks of the outdoor season, the entire Husker team will make the trip to Tucson, Ariz., next week to defend its 2008 Jim Click Shootout team title. A team-scored meet, the Huskers will do battle with some of the top programs from across the nation, including Washington, Nebraska, Kansas, Penn State, Wisconsin and Arizona . The meet will begin with the multi-events on Thursday, April 2, and Friday, April 3, starting at 1 p.m. (Central) both days. The rest of the meet will begin on Saturday, April 4, starting at Noon with the women’s hammer throw and ending at roughly 6 p.m. with the men’s 4x400-meter relay. Check Huskers.com later this week for more information.