Svane Soars at Tyson Invitational

Ames, Iowa ? With the Big 12 Indoor Championship just two weeks away, the No. 6 men’s and No. 15 women’s Nebraska track and field teams returned to the ISU Classic and Tyson Invitational on Saturday for the final day of each meet. Audrey Svane was the Huskers’ top performer on the day, as the junior cleared a personal best of 6-0 1/2 in the high jump to win the invitational division Tyson Invitational.<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

 

Svane started the day with a first-attempt clearance at 5-7, before having to take all three attempts at 5-8 3/4. The Tioga, Texas, native then got back in her groove with a first attempt make at 5-10, but was then forced to take all three tries at 5-11 1/4, which matched her previous best. With the bar moving to 6-0 1/2, Svane soared to new heights with a first attempt clearance to win the meet.

 

The jump moved Svane from 12th on the NU all-time indoor performance list to a tie for seventh with Heather Smith (1984). She also moved from a tie for 13th on the 2010 NCAA performance list to a tie for seventh with Ashley Rhoades of Indiana. Svane was not the only Husker in the top three in Fayetteville, as fellow Texan Epley Bullock, who has already automatically qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships, also cleared 6-0 1/2, but placed third on more attempts.

 

The Huskers also found success in the triple jump at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, as Tara Korshoj and Leandra McGruder started the day by finishing second and third, respectively, in the women’s college division. Both NU jumpers hit the provisional-qualifying standard of 41-6, as Korshoj jumped 41-8 1/2 and McGruder followed with a season best of 41-6. Chris Phipps then added a third-place finish in the men’s invitational division with a leap of 51-7 3/4.

 

In Ames, Iowa, at the ISU Classic, Ashley Miller made the most of the Lied Center’s 300-meter oversized track, as she added her name to the NCAA provisional list with a time of 4:46.24. The time was an oversized best for Miller, topping her previous best of 4:48.14, which she ran two weeks ago on the same track at the Bill Bergan Invitational.

 

The meet was capped by a fine performance from the men’s 4x400-meter relay, as the team of Dan Christensen, Dax Danns, Eric Lund and Lukas Hulett ran a provisional time of 3:09.92. It was a season-best time for the men, topping their previous best of 3:12.44 at the Bill Bergan Invitational.

 

Karyn LaCour also improved her NCAA standing in the 60-meter hurdles with a winning time of 8.35, after also running the top time in the prelims at 8.46. On the men’s side of the hurdles, Eric Lund finished second overall and produced the top collegiate time with a personal best of 8.00.

 

In the unseeded 800 meters, twin sisters Brooke and Blaire Dinsdale batted each other for the win, with Brooke getting the upper hand. Brooke paced the 73-athlete field with a time of 2:10.88, while Blair finished second at 2:12.35. In the men’s seeded race, freshman Tommy Brinn finished 14th at 1:51.56, while Ethan Luebbe placed third out of 69 runners in the unseeded division with a time of 1:52.77.

 

True freshman Veronica Grizzle and sophomore Tyler Hitchler each added a top-10 finish in the shot put for the NU throwers. Grizzle tossed 47-6 1/2 to place 10th out of 61 athletes on the women’s side, while Hitchler finished eighth out of 50 throwers on the men’s side with a throw of 56-5 1/2.

 

The Huskers will now return back to Lincoln to prepare for the Nebraska Tune-Up, set to start on Friday, Feb. 19 at 2 p.m. at the Devaney Center Indoor Track. Tickets for the one-day meet can still be purchased at the Nebraska Athletic Ticket Office, by calling 1-800-8BIGRED or by logging on to Huskers.com.