Huskers Team with KU to Win Jim Click Title

Tucson, Ariz. ? 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. Unlike last season, the meet used a combined conference scoring system, teaming NU with Kansas to form a Big 12 squad. The two 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, totaling ten first-place finishes and 23 NCAA regional-qualifying marks.

 

Four-time NCAA All-American Lukas Hulett started his 2009 outdoor season in dramatic fashion, sweeping the 200 and 400 meters, before teaming with Dax Danns, Kirkland Thornton and Scott Wims to win the 4x100-meter relay. Hulett first won the 400 with a time of 46.87, then ran a personal-best time of 21.18 in the 200, clearing regional-qualifying times in each. The Bellevue, Neb., native ended the meet with the relay, running the third-leg of the team’s regional-qualifying time of 39.80.

 

The men’s hurdle squads swept the 110- and 400-meter hurdles, posting four regional-qualifying times. Lehann Fourie and Thornton both hit personal-bests in the 110 hurdles, with Fourie’s time of 13.76 faster than Thornton’s time of 13.88. Thornton rebounded to take top honors in the 400 hurdles with a personal-best time of 50.78, one-tenth of a second faster than teammate Adam Dailey’s time of 50.88.

 

In the men’s field events, the Huskers had two regional qualifiers each in the pole vault, long jump and shot put. Seth Burney (17-0 3/4) and Pat Burke (16-6 3/4) finished third and tied for fifth, respectively, in the pole vault with Burney tying his PR and Burke setting a new personal best. LeRon Williams (24-7) and Scott Jorgenson (24-5 3/4) finished 2-3 in the long jump with Jorgenson qualifying for his first regional meet with a personal best jump. The shot put duo of Trey Jordan (58-10 3/4) and Keith Lloyd (55-2 3/4) took second and fourth, with Jordan tossing a personal best. Eric Petersen wrapped up the field events by finishing second in the hammer throw with a personal-best toss of 186-0, qualifying the Rapid City, S.D., native for his first regional meet.

 

The Husker women received strong performances out of team co-captains Leandra McGruder and Kacie Sharp. McGruder swept the long and triple jumps with leaps of 20-1 and 42-0 1/2, respectively. Both marks regionally qualified McGruder, with her triple jump mark a personal-best leap, topping her previous best of 41-8 1/2. For the second straight week Sharp topped the 50-foot mark in the shot put, finishing runner-up with a throw of 50-0 3/4.

 

The Huskers also had regional-qualifying performances out of Arna Erega (100-meter hurdles, 13.88), Jessica Furlan (3,000-meter steeplechase, 10:48.19), and Paul Hamilton (high jump, 6-10 3/4).

 

The Huskers will now head back to Lincoln in preparation of their first home meet of the season, the Nebraska Invitational. The meet is scheduled to start on Saturday, April 11, at 11 a.m. with the women’s hammer and men’s javelin, with both competing at Nebraska’s new throwing venue, “The Rock”. The venue is located on Antelope Valley Parkway, directly north of the Bob Devaney Sports Center. Action will start at Ed Weir Stadium at 11:15 a.m. with the men’s long jump and women’s pole vault, with the running events set to start at Noon with the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase. Check Huskers.com for meet information and a full schedule. Huskers.com will also have live results available.