Huskers Set for Day Two of John McDonnell Invitational

 

Nebraska Track and Field Meet Day Information

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 John McDonnell Invitational
 Fayetteville, Ark. (John McDonnell Field)
 Friday, April 17 (Noon) - Saturday, April 18 (10 a.m.)
 ArkansasRazorbacks.com | SECsports.com
 Meet Information | Schedule
 Heat Sheets | Invitational Heats
 Live Results | Live Video | Day One Results
 Visiting Fayetteville | Fayetteville Weather

 - all times Central

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After staying at home for the Nebraska Invitational on Saturday, April 11, the Nebraska track and field team will head back on the road for the John McDonnell Invitational on Friday, April 17 and Saturday, April 18 in Fayetteville, Ark. While trying to add to its 47 NCAA regional-qualifying marks this weekend, the team will also have the opportunity to get acquainted with the host site of the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Championships. The University of Arkansas will host the national meet at John McDonnell Field on Wednesday, July 10 through Saturday, July 13.

 

The meet is set to start at Noon on Friday with the women’s hammer throw, directly followed by the men’s competition. Under the light at 9 p.m., the women will run the 5,000 meter run, again followed by the men. The women’s discus will get day two started at 10 a.m. Running events are set to begin at Noon on Saturday with the preliminaries of the women’s 100-meter hurdles, while the last event of the day is scheduled for 9:20 p.m. with the running of the men’s 4x400-meter relay.

 

A full recap of each day will be provided on Huskers.com. Live results are expected to be available at Huskers.com, via FlashResults.com, while a free video stream will also be available on ArkansasRazorbacks.com.

 

NU Out of the Blocks

(USTFCCCA Ranking: Men - No. 12 / Women - No. 23)

2009 NCAA Midwest Regional Qualifying Marks: 47

  (34-Men / 13-Women)

2009 NCAA Championship Automatic/Provisional Qualifiers: 4 Provisional

  (2-Men / 2-Women)

2009 Division I Outdoor Leaders: 0

  (0-Men / 0-Women)

2009 Division I Outdoor Top 10: 12

  (9-Men / 3-Women)

2009 Big 12 Conference Outdoor Leaders: 9

  (5-Men / 4-Women)

2009 Big 12 Conference Outdoor Top 8: 74

  (46-Men / 28-Women)

2009 Big 12 Athlete of the Week: 3

  (2-Men / 1-Women)

 

Thornton All Over the Charts

Some may think the Nebraska track and field team has two athletes with the name Kirkland Thornton. This is because Thornton has become one of the most diverse track athletes in the nation this season, as he has qualified for the NCAA Midwest Regional meet in an unheard of five events. Thornton has not only qualified in the events, but had put up impressive times, ranking in the top-15 in three individual events, while also running the third leg of the No. 10 nationally ranked 4x100-meter relay. After this weekend’s meet in Fayetteville, Ark., Thornton may add a sixth qualifying mark to his resume, as he is a possible choice to run on the 4x400-meter relay that has a realistic shot of posting a regional-qualifying time.

 

Thornton’s 2009 Regional Times and National Rank

100-Meter Dash (10.51 | t-37th)

200-Meter Dash (20.84 | t-12th)

110-Meter Hurdles (13.88 | t-10th)

400-Meter Hurdles (50.78 | t-10th)

4x400-Meter Relay (39.80 | 10th)

 

Willer Continues to Vault to the Top of the Record Books

After breaking the indoor school record during the 2009 indoor season, Nebraska sophomore Natalie Willer broke the Ed Weir Stadium record on Saturday, April 11, with a vault of 14-0 1/2. The Elkhorn, Neb., native topped the previous record of 14-0, set by Oregon’s Becky Holliday in 2004.

 

Willer passed on the first seven bars of the competition, before entering 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. She 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 was unable to clear.

 

Willer opened the 2009 indoor season with a school-record vault of 13-9 3/4 at the Holiday Inn Invitational, breaking Jenny Green’s 2004 record of 13-9 1/4. Willer then improved the mark to 14-0 one week later at the Big 12 vs. Mountain West Conference Challenge.

 

Wims Getting Back on Track

Junior sprinter Scott Wims is looking to regain his 2007 form that saw him earn NCAA All-America honors outdoors in the 200 meters. Wims, who was plagued by injuries throughout the 2008 indoor and outdoor seasons, has already posted regional-qualifying times in the 100- and 200-meter dashes this season. Recently at the Nebraska Invitational, Wims finished runner-up in the 200 with a time of 20.77, tying him for eight in Division I this season. Wims also ran the anchor leg of the regional-qualifying 4x100-meter relay team at the Jim Click Shootout that posted a time of 39.80, the 10th-best time nationally.

 

NCAA First Timers

Of the 47 regional-qualifying marks set by Husker athletes so far in 2009, eleven have come from first-time qualifiers. Five of the marks have come from true freshmen, one from a redshirt freshman, two each from sophomores and junior and one from a senior.

 

Women

Arna Erega (So. - 100-Meter Hurdles: 18.52)

Jessica Furlan (Fr. - 3,000m SC: 10:48.19)

Men

Pat Burke (Sr. - Pole Vault: 16-7)

Kyle Custer (Jr. - 3,000m SC: 9:04.90)

Dale Ervin (Fr. - 200-Meter Dash: 21.27)

Luke Franssen (Fr. - Pole Vault: 16-7)

Tyler Hitchler (Fr. - Discus: 170-10)

Scott Jorgenson (RFr. - Long Jump: 24-5 3/4)

Nick Makukutu (So. - 400-Meter Hurdles: 52.35)

Ryan Petrocchi (Jr. - Javelin: 209-3)

Chris Phipps (Fr. - Long Jump: 25-0 3/4)

 

Gordon and Phipps Return to the Runway

2009 NCAA indoor long jump national champion Nicholas Gordon and 2009 NCAA All-American Chris Phipps competed in the long jump for the first time since the indoor championships on Saturday, April 11, at the Nebraska Invitational. After taking the first three weeks of the outdoor season off, both posted NCAA regional-qualifying jumps. Phipps finished first with a leap of 25-0 3/4, with Gordon right behind him in second with a jump of 24-9 1/4. Phipps’ mark is tied for seventh in the nation, while Gordon’s jump is tied for 16th.

 

Tops in the Big 12

Nine Nebraska track and field athletes currently hold the top mark in their event on the Big 12 outdoor performance list. Four Husker women hold No. 1 spots, while the men have five conference leaders.

 

Women

Rachel Carrizales (Jr. - 3,000-Meter Run: 9:52.93)

Lara Crofford (So. - 10,000-Meter Run: 34:07.55)

Megan Wheatley (So. - Heptathlon: 5,360)

Natalie Willer (So. - Pole Vault: 14-0 1/2)

Men

David Adams (So. - 3,000m SC: 8:48.10)

Bjorn Barrefors (Fr. - Decathlon: 7.448)

Kyle Custer (Jr. - 3,000-Meter Run: 8:21.62)

Chris Phipps (Fr. - Long Jump: 25-0 3/4)

Kirkland Thornton (Sr. 400-Meter Hurdles: 50.78)

 

Big 10 and Pac-10 Prove No Match for Big 12

For the second straight year the Nebraska track and field team won the Jim Click Shootout on the campus of the University of Arizona in Tucson, Ariz., on Saturday, April 4. Unlike 2008, the meet used a combined conference scoring system, teaming NU with Kansas to form a Big 12 squad. The two Big 12 North Division schools scored 531.5 points, topping the Big 10 squad of Penn State and Wisconsin, who scored 474 points, and the Pac-10 team of Arizona and Washington, who scored 464.5 points. The Big Red scored a meet-high 365 points.

 

Hulett Pours in the Points

Nebraska sprinter Lukas Hulett scored 34.5 of the Huskers’ meet-high 365 points at the Jim Click Shootout on Saturday, April 4, taking top honors individually in the 200- and 400- meter dashes. The Husker junior regionally qualified in both events, running a personal-best time of 21.18 in the 200 and a time of 46.87 in the 400. The Bellevue, Neb., native also teamed with Dax Danns, Kirkland Thornton and Scott Wims to take home the 4x100-meter relay, posting an NCAA regional-qualifying time of 39.80. For his accomplishments, Hulett was named Big 12 Male Track and Field Athlete of the Week for the week of March 30-April 5.

 

Decathletes Hit Stride in Tucson

True freshman Bj?rn Barrefors and senior Skyler Reising pulled off a 1-2 finish in the decathlon at the Jim Click Shootout on April 2-3. Both Huskers hit personal best scores on their way to surpassing the NCAA provisional-qualifying standard of 6,900 points. Barrefors’ score of 7,448 led the way, while Reising finished runner-up with a score of 7,325.

 

Barrefors, the indoor heptathlon school-record holder, now ranks fourth all-time on the NU outdoor performance list, while Reising is slotted in the No. 6 spot, with the duo trailing Rick Schwieger’s 1992 school-record score of 7,707. Barrefors ranks No. 2 in Division I this season, with Reising close behind in fifth. Miami-Ohio’s Kevin Dwyer holds the top spot in Division I with a score of 7,452.

 

Carrizales Washes Away Personal Best in Steeplechase

Senior Rachel Carrizales opened the outdoor season in dominant fashion, destroying her previous best of 10:17.26 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Carrizales, who ran her previous best at the 2007 national meet, cut nearly eight seconds off her best time to post a time of 10:09.69 at the Stanford Invitational on Friday, March 27. The Morrill, Neb., native finished fifth overall and third among collegiate runners, with the three collegiates posting the top three times in Division I this season.

 

Her time improved 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.

 

Lloyd Doubles up at Stanford

Senior co-captain Keith Lloyd returned to Lincoln from the Stanford Invitational with two regional-qualifying marks, hitting the standard in the men’s shot put and hammer throw.

 

A 2008 national qualifier in both events, Lloyd started on Friday, March 27, with a sixth-place a toss of 55-4 1/4 in the shot put invitational division. Lloyd qualified for the 2008 national meet by finishing fourth at the regional meet with a personal-best toss of 61-5.

 

Lloyd returned the following day to post a throw of 187-11 to finish 11th overall and eighth among collegiate throwers in the invitational division of the hammer throw. 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.

 

Huskers Look to Youth in ?09

With only two outdoor All-Americans returning on the men’s side and none returning for the women, some may think the Huskers are in trouble during the 2009 outdoor season. However, the Big Red has high expectations as the team returns 16 of the 20 athletes that qualified for the 2008 outdoor championships, as 13 of the 20 were making their first outdoor championship appearance in 2008.

 

The Huskers were young in 2008 as 13 of the championship qualifiers were sophomores or younger, including seven true freshman. With the first-year jitters gone, the Big Red will look to those youngsters for major contributions in 2009. Three of the 2008 outdoor qualifiers that didn’t earn All-America honors in 2008 returned to the 2009 indoor championships to earn their first honor, including sophomore Nicholas Gordon, who won the national title in the long jump.

 

Tops Since ?96

At the NCAA Indoor Championships, the Nebraska men’s track and field team scored 25 points to finish tied for fifth with Arizona State and Baylor. The men’s finish was their best since 1996, when they finished runner-up to George Mason, 39-31.5. For the Husker women, they placed 29th with 8.5 points, marking their top finish since 2005, when they came in fourth.

 

All-America Honors Continue to Rise

The Nebraska men’s and women’s track and field teams had eight athletes combine to earn nine All-America honors at the NCAA Indoor Championships, the most since 2005 when the two combined to earn 10 honors. Overall, the two squads have now combined to earn 253 indoor All-America honors since the men’s indoor championships began in 1965 and women’s championships began in 1980.

 

For the men’s team, its five honors were the most at the indoor championships since 2005, when it earned seven. On the women’s side, the team’s four honors tied the 2006 squad. 

 

The Wizard of Jumps

Nebraska Head Coach Gary Pepin returned in 2009 for his 29th season as the head coach of the women’s team and his 26th season as the head coach of both the men’s and women’s programs. In 2008, Pepin tied Frank Sevigne as the longest tenured head coach in the history of the Nebraska program, and Pepin is still at the top of his game for coaching athletes to the highest levels of competition.

 

Of the 13 athletes that competed at the NCAA Indoor Championships, Pepin personally coached five of them in the jumps area, including 2009 indoor long jump champion, Nicholas Gordon. Along with Gordon, Pepin also coaches fellow 2009 All-Americans Epley Bullock (high jump) and Chris Phipps (long jump).

 

Huskers Bring Four Big 12 Titles Back to Lincoln

The Nebraska track and field team came up short of winning the conference team titles with the men finishing second and the women finishing third, but the teams were able to bring four individual titles back to Lincoln.

 

Megan Wheatley (pentathlon), Natalie Willer (pole vault), Nicholas Gordon (long jump) and Keith Lloyd (shot put) all won the first Big 12 indoor championship of their careers in College Station, with Wheatley earning her second conference title of her career after a win in the heptathlon as last season’s outdoor championships.

 

The two titles on the women’s side mark the second straight year that the women have won two individual titles at the indoor championships. On the men’s side, Lloyd and Gordon became the first individual winners at the indoor meet since 2006, when the men won five indoor titles.

 

Grimes Honored by USTFCCCA

During the recent NCAA Indoor Championships, the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) released its regional coach, assistant coach and athlete of the year awards. In the Midwest Region, Multi-Event and Pole Vault Coach Kris Grimes was selected as Women’s Assistant Coach of the Year.

 

The fourth such honor of his career and third at Nebraska, Grimes coached two women and two men to five All-America honors at the recent indoor championships, including one school record.

 

In his fourth season at Nebraska, Grimes has coached athletes that have earned a total of 13 All-America honors, while also coaching 10 Big 12 Champions.

 

Dalton Earns Scholarship

Joslyn Dalton was recently selected as one of 13 winners of the NCAA’s Women’s Enhancement Postgraduate Scholarship, joining fellow Husker Amanda Gates (volleyball). Nebraska was the only school on the list to be represented twice, while the Big 12 Conference had four student-athletes honored.

 

A 2009 team co-captain that excels both on the track and in the classroom, Dalton has been a four-time All-Big 12 performer on the track, while ranking in the top-25 in four different events on the NU all-time performance list.

 

A communication studies major, Dalton has been named to the First-Team Academic All-Big 12 team the past three seasons, the USTFCCCA All-Academic team the past two seasons and the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor roll the last eight semesters, carrying a GPA of 3.771.

 

McGruder Honored as Community Champion

On Thursday, Feb. 5, the Big 12 Conference named Nebraska track and field junior Leandra McGruder to its Winter Chick-fil-A Community of Champions team. The honor is the second of McGruder’s career, as she was also named to the 2008 spring team.

 

A native of Jefferson City, Mo., McGruder was selected for the team based on her combination of academic success, community service and leadership/sportsmanship. One student-athlete from each of the 12 conference schools were selected, and the winter team is the second of three seasonal teams during the year, with Husker volleyball player Amanda Gates named to the fall team.

 

Huskers Ink Four for 2010

Tommy Brinn ? Middle Distance: Otsego High School (Otsego, Michigan)

Otsego High School product Tommy Brinn joins the Huskers as an accomplished 800-meter runner, posting a personal best of 1:51.07 at the 2008 Midwest Distance Gala in Lisle, Ill. As a junior in 2008, Brinn’s time was the top prep time in Michigan, while ranking No. 22 among prep runners nationally and ranking him No. 7 in the country among returning 2009 preps.

 

Jordan Oddo ? Pole Vault: Grace Preparatory Academy (Arlington, Texas)

Pole vaulter Jordan Oddo joins the Nebraska pole vault squad as a three-time 5A TAPPS state champion from Grace Preparatory Academy in Arlington, Texas. Oddo holds a lifetime-best vault of 12-1, ranking her No. 1 among TAPPS vaulters and No. 23 nationally in 2008. She set the all-class state meet record with a vault of 11-10 in 2008, propelling the Lions’ to their first 5A state title on the women’s side.

 

Anne Martin ? Multi-Events: Waverly High School (Waverly, Nebraska)

Waverly, Neb., native Anne Martin joins the Huskers as one of the most versatile track and field athlete in the state, qualifying for the Class B state meet in four events each of the first three years she’s been in the prep ranks.

 

Martin won her first state title in the high jump as a freshman with a leap of 5-4, also finishing fifth in the triple jump (35-1 3/4) and competing in the long jump and 400 meters. She returned as a sophomore in 2007 to win the long jump (17-10 1/2), finish second in the high jump (5-4), take third in the triple jump (36-2 1/12) and finish fifth in the 400 (1:01.27). Martin then won the All-Class gold medal and took back her state title in the high jump with the top mark during the 2008 Nebraska high school season, clearing 5-8. She also finished runner-up in the 200 meters (25.94) and triple jump (36-10 1/4), along with earning a bronze in the long jump (17-9 1/2).

 

Annie Jackson ? Throws: Tekamah, Neb. (Tekamah-Herman HS)

Annie Jackson enters her 2009 senior season at Tekamah-Herman High School as the defending Nebraska Class C  state shot put champion, posting a school-record throw of 43-7 1/2 at the 2008 state meet. Jackson also holds the school record in the discus with a toss of 134-3 and is the most decorated women’s track and field athlete in school history with four state medals.