Huskers to Send 20 to NCAA Outdoors

Lincoln ? The Nebraska track and field team will have 20 athletes competing in 23 events at the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Championships next week on June 10-13 in Fayetteville, Ark. After the 13 Huskers earned automatic bids to the championships via a top-five finish at the NCAA Midwest Regional in Norman, Okla., last weekend, the Huskers’ had six more athletes earn at-large bids on Tuesday afternoon. Prior to the regional meet, sophomore Megan Wheatley had already automatically-qualified for the outdoor championships with a personal-best score of 5,800 points at the Big 12 Outdoor Championships, where she won her second straight conference title.

 

Six Huskers will enter the meet ranked in the top eight in their event, including Kirkland Thornton who ranks third in the 110 hurdles and fifth in the 400 hurdles. Thornton is joined on the men’s side by Seth Burney, who ranks eighth in the pole vault, and Nicholas Gordon, who owns the fourth-best long jump in Division I. The women will be represented by three top-five ranked athletes. Sophomore Natalie Willer ranks second in the pole vault, while Epley Bullock is tied for third in the high jump and Wheatley ranks fourth in the heptathlon.

 

Along with Thornton on the men’s side, true freshman Chris Phipps will also pull double duty as he will compete in both the long jump and triple jump. Like Phipps, Leandra McGruder will compete in both horizontal jumps on the women’s side.

 

The NCAA Outdoor Championships are scheduled to start on Wednesday, June 10, and run through Saturday, June 13. CBS College Sports will broadcast live from 6-9 p.m. on Friday night and CBS will have live coverage from 12-2 p.m. on Saturday. Check Huskers.com later this week more information. Check back next week for a full schedule, live results and daily recaps.