Willer Breaks Ed Weir Stadium Record

Nebraska Invitational Highlights

 

Lincoln ? Under sunny skies with temperatures in the upper 60’s Saturday afternoon, the Nebraska track and field team hosted its first home meet of the 2009 outdoor season. After being on the road for the first three weeks of the season, the Huskers returned to the friendly confines of Ed Weir Stadium. The home-field advantage paid dividends for the Big Red as sophomore Natalie Willer broke the facility record in the women’s pole vault, while the Huskers posted 24 NCAA regional-qualifying marks.

 

Willer highlighted the meet with a facility-record breaking vault of 14-0 1/2, topping the previous record of 14-0 set by Oregon’s Becky Holliday in 2004. Willer passed on the first seven bars, before entering the completion at 12-7 1/2. Ending with the 14-0 1/2 bar, Willer cleared four consecutive heights on her first attempt, including 12-7 1/2, 13-1 1/2, 13-7 1/4 and 14-0 1/2. The Elkhorn, Neb., native ended the meet with three attempts at 14-3 1/2, which would have broken Bryson Stately’s 2007 school record of 14-3 1/4, but Willer was unable to clear. Willer now vaults to the top of the Big 12 list and ranks fourth in Division I, trailing three vaulters who have cleared 14-1 1/4.

 

Next, the men’s long jumpers put on an impressive show, finishing 1-2-3-5, with each surpassing the NCAA regional-qualifying standard of 24-1. True freshman Chris Phipps led the way with a personal-best leap of 25-0 3/4, shattering his previous best of 23-6 1/4. 2009 NCAA Indoor national champion Nicholas Gordon finished runner-up with a jump of 24-9 1/4, followed by LeRon Williams in third with a jump of 24-8 1/2. Scott Jorgenson rounded out the group in fifth with a leap of 24-2 1/4. Gordon returned later to take runner-up honors in the triple jump, posting a regional-qualifying leap of 49-9 3/4. Saturday’s meet was the first completion since the NCAA Indoor Championships for both Phipps and Gordon.

 

In the men’s sprints, Scott Wims and Kirkland Thornton finished 1-2 in the 100-meter dash, with each posting regional-qualifying times. Wims led the way with a time of 10.45, followed by Thornton at 10.51. Thornton has now qualified for the regional meet in five different events, including the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash, 110-meter hurdles, 400-meter hurdles and as a member of the 4x100-meter relay, teaming with Wims, Lukas Hulett and Dax Danns.

 

Wims returned later in the day to finish runner-up in the 200-meter dash with a time of 20.77, topping his regional time of 21.22 at last weekend’s Jim Click Shootout. Thornton also bettered his previous regional-qualifying time of 21.68 with a fourth-place finish of 20.84, while true freshman Dale Ervin added his name to the regional list with a fifth-place time of 21.27.

 

2008 NCAA outdoor qualifier Adam Dailey led a 1-2-3-4 finish in the men’s 400-meter hurdles, pacing the pack with a time of 51.19. Dailey was followed by Lehann Fourie (51.73), Eric Lund (52.23) and Nick Makukutu (53.38), with first three Huskers all running below the regional standard of 52.51. Fourie, who was running in the event for the first time in his career, became the fourth Husker this season to regionally qualify in the 110- and 400-meter hurdles, joining Thornton, Lund and Tyrell Ross.

 

Junior Kyle Custer secured the first regional-qualifying time of his career on Saturday, running a personal-best time of 9:04.90 in the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase. The Cambridge, Neb., native destroyed his previous-best time of 9:34.23 by nearly 30 seconds.

 

Epley Bullock added her name to the NCAA regional-qualifying list with a jump of 5-8 3/4 in the women’s high jump. Bullock took top honors in the event, bettering teammate Audrey Svane, who finished runner-up with a leap of 5-7.

 

While most of the meet took place at Ed Weir Stadium, the hammer and javelin competitions were located at the Huskers’ new throwing facility, nicknamed “The Rock”. Located directly north of the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Antelope Valley Dr., “The Rock” gives the Husker throwers a place to call their own as they have been competing on the football practice fields east of the Hawks Championship Center. Junior Ryan Petrocchi opened the facility on a high note with a regional-qualifying throw of 209-3 in the men’s javelin. The toss marked the first time in Petrocchi’s career that he has passed 200 feet and is the first regional-qualifying mark of his career. Petrocchi finished runner-up to fellow Husker Adam Wolkins, who was competing unattached and threw 222-0.

 

In other throws action at Ed Weir Stadium, Trey Jordan won the men’s shot put with a personal-best throw of 58-9 1/4. The throw marks the second straight meet Jordan has set a personal best and improves his regional standing. Samantha Musil won the women’s discus with a regional-qualifying throw of 159-8, reaching the mark on the final throw of the competition.

 

The Huskers will now prepare to head back on the road next weekend for the John McDonnell Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark., at John McDonnell Field. Hosted by the University of Arkansas, the meet is set to start on Friday at Noon, before beginning again at 10 a.m. on Saturday. Live results are expected to be available via FlashResults.com, while a full recap will be posted at the conclusion of each day on Huskers.com. The University of Arkansas will also be the host site for the NCAA Outdoor Championships later this season, running from Wednesday, June 10 through Saturday, June 13.