Six Huskers Battle Weather, Advance to Finals

Fayetteville, Ark. ? After rain and strong winds hit hard on Tuesday night, cloudy skies welcomed the No. 9 men’s and No. 19 women’s track and field teams to John McDonnell Field for the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Championships on Wednesday morning. As the day went on, the cloudy skies brought rain and lightning, leading to a delay that lasted from 7-10:15 p.m.

 

During the first day of the four-day meet, the Huskers had 16 athletes in competition. While Bj?rn Barrefors and Skyler Reising started the first half of the two-day decathlon, 14 other Huskers were competing in qualifying rounds, where six moved on to semifinals or finals.

 

The decathlon duo of Barrefors and Reising started day one for the Huskers at 11:30 a.m., with Barrefors posting back-to-back wind-aided personal bests, running 10.95 (+3.4) in the 100 meters, followed by a monster leap of 24-3 1/2 (+4.8) in the long jump. Reising also posted a wind-aided best in the 100 meters with a time of 11.00 (+2.7), but then struggled in the long jump as he fouled on all three attempts, scoring no points. Reising bounced back in the shot put with a personal-best toss of 48-11 3/4, while Barrefors tossed 44-11 1/2. Following the high jump, Barrefors came through with a personal-best time of 49.96 in the 400 meters, leaving him in sixth after day one with 4,075 points, while Reising sits in 22nd with 3,138 points.

 

Next, sophomore Nicholas Gordon moved one step closer to a sweep of the 2009 long jump national titles as he posted the fourth-best jump in the prelims with a wind-aided leap of 25-10 3/4 (+2.3). Gordon will now jump in the finals tomorrow at 4:45 p.m. LeRon Williams and Chris Phipps also jumped in the prelims, where Williams finished 19th and Phipps 23rd. Phipps will be back on the runway on Friday, when he jumps in the prelims of the triple jump at 4:30 p.m.

 

After earning his first All-America honor during the 2009 indoor season, Seth Burney put himself in great position to add an outdoor honor as he was one of five vaulters to clear 17-6 1/2. After a very rocky start, where he took three attempts to clear 16-8 3/4 and 17-2 3/4, Burney came through with a first attempt clearance at 17-6 1/2, locking up his spot in the finals.

 

With a spot in the women’s 4 p.m. high jump final on Friday now secured, Epley Bullock has a shot to earn her first NCAA outdoor All-America honor after winning three indoor honors. Bullock cleared 5-7 on her first attempt, then 5-8 1/2 on her second attempt, before flying over 5-9 3/4 on her first attempt to secure a spot in the finals.

 

Right before the meet was halted due to lightning, Kirkland Thornton and Adam Dailey each moved on with 18 other hurlders to the semifinals of the 400-meter hurdles. Thornton posted the 11th-best time at 50.57, while Dailey came in 17th in the prelims at 50.71.

 

Following the over three-hour delay, Paul Hamilton came through with a clearance at 6-10 3/4 in the men’s high jump. Hamilton advanced to the 7 p.m. final on Friday along with 14 other jumpers.

 

Team co-captain Leandra McGruder finished 21st in the long jump with a leap of 19-2 1/2, but is still alive at the meet as she will return for the triple jump on Friday at 3 p.m.

 

Senior Rachel Carrizales, junior Trey Jordan and sophomore Natalie Willer wrapped up their 2009 outdoor seasons on Wednesday. Competing in his first NCAA Championships meet, Jordan finished 20th in the men’s shot put with a throw of 58-9 1/2. A slippery runway, following the rain delay, seemed to affect Willer, as she unable to clear the 12-9 1/2 bar. Carrizales, Adams and Parr were all unable to advance to the 3,000-meter steeplechase final.

 

With one day down, the Huskers will return to John McDonnell Field tomorrow for the day two of the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Sophomore Megan Wheatley will be the first Husker on the track, as the two-time Big 12 heptathlon champion will run in the heptathlon 100-meter hurdles at 11:15 a.m. For more information regarding the championships, check the track and field page at Huskers.com.

 

Huskers Advancing to Semifinals or Finals

Nicholas Gordon (Long Jump): Finals - Thursday at 4:45 p.m.
Seth Burney (Pole Vault): Finals ? Friday at 3:45 p.m.
Kirkland Thornton (400 Hurdles): Semis ? Thursday at 7 p.m.

Adam Dailey (400 Hurdles): Semis ? Thursday at 7 p.m.

Epley Bullock (High Jump): Finals ? Friday at 4 p.m.

Paul Hamilton (High Jump): Finals ? Friday at 7 p.m.