Willer Breaks American Junior Record at Drake Relays

Des Moines, Iowa ? After the men’s distance squad opened the 100th running of the Drake Relays on Thursday afternoon, the No. 11 men’s and No. 24 women’s Nebraska track and field team returned to the blue oval at Drake Stadium for the third day of the four-day meet. The Huskers were highlighted by sophomore Natalie Willer, who broke the American Junior, Drake Relays and NU outdoor school records in the women's pole vault with a nation-leading vault of 14-3 1/2.

 

Willer entered the meet at 12-7 1/2, clearing three consecutive bars on her first attempt. After taking two attempts at 13-9 1/4, Willer got back in her groove as she cleared 14-1 1/4 on her first jump, leaving her and 2004 U.S. Olympian Jillian Schwartz as the only vaulters left out of the 29 athlete field.

 

After Schwartz missed on all three attempts at 14-3 1/2 and only one attempt remaining for Willer, the Husker sophomore waited for just the right conditions before sprinting down the runway to her record-breaking vault. Willer finished the meet with three close attempts at 14-8, which would have been one-quarter inch short of the World Junior record of 14-8 1/4, set by Germany’s Silke Spiegelbug in 2005.

 

“This is such a prestigious event that’s been around for 100 years,” Willer said. “I am really proud to be able to call myself a Drake Relays champion. I’ve got my eyes set on reaching 4.50 meters (14-9) this season. By the way I’ve been progressing lately I think it’s definitely within sight.” 

 

Willer’s vault snapped Tori Anthony’s (Castilleja HS ? Folsom, Calif.) 2007 American Junior Record of 14-1 1/4, Jennifer Bennett’s (Missouri) 2003 Drake Relays record of 13-5 3/4 and Brysun Stately’s 2007 NU outdoor record of 14-3 1/4.

 

Joslyn Dalton, Brooke and Blaire Dinsdale and Jessica Furlan combined to record the eighth-best outdoor distance-medley relay time in NU history, finishing 10th with a time of 11:44.32. The time is the top time posted by the Husker women since 1995, when Sherri Elwood, JoDee Shufelt, Julie Mazzitelli and Theresa Stelling ran 11:41.66.

 

The Dinsdale twins, returned later with Ashley Miller and Erica Hamik to finish third in the 4x800-meter relay with the ninth-best time in school history at 8:46.93. Miller, a redshirt freshman, along with the other three true freshmen posted the seventh-best time in the nation this season.

 

Senior co-captain Kacie Sharp finished fifth in the women’s discus with a personal-best and regional-qualifying throw of 161-9, topping her previous best of 155-8 by over six feet. Sharp has now become the first Husker on the men’s or women’s side to regionally qualify in both the shot put and discus in 2009.

 

In the men’s pole vault, Pat Burke, Zach Holoch, Nate Polacek and Luke Franssen all cleared the regional-qualifying standard of 16-6 3/4. With Burke, Polacek, Franssen and Seth Burney all previously qualifying this season, the addition of Holoch gives the Husker men five regional qualifiers in the vault.

 

The Huskers will return to Drake Stadium tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. for the women’s hammer throw and long jump. The first Huskers to hit the blue oval will be the women’s 4x1,600-meter relay team at 11:27 a.m.

 

The Huskers will also be in action tomorrow at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia, Pa., and the Triton Invitational in San Diego, Calif. A full recap of all the meets will be available tomorrow night on Huskers.com.