NU Men Finish Second, Women Third at Big 12 Indoors

Ames, Iowa ? The 2010 men’s Big 12 indoor title came down to the final event, with Nebraska and Oklahoma battling in the 4x400-meter relay. With the Sooners up by one point, 108-107, entering the relay, the Huskers needed to finish ahead of the OU by one spot to at least win a share of the conference title. NU ran a solid time at 3:12.44 in heat two, but the Sooners responded with a 3:08.01 in heat three to take the conference team title, 114-110.

 

On the women’s side the Huskers finished third with 96 points, falling to Texas A&M (130.50) and Texas Tech (115). Individually the Huskers added three more Big 12 titles to the two they won on Friday. Leandra McGruder earned her first career title, while Paul Hamilton and Epley Bullock combined to sweep the high jump, as each captured their second career conference crowns.

 

McGruder, who entered the meet ranked sixth in the conference this season, destroyed her previous best of 42-2 by nearly one foot with a monster jump of  43-0 1/4 on her second attempt, as she was the only jumper to clear more than 43 feet. Already an NCAA provisional qualifier in the event, McGruder jumped up the national chart from 21st to 11th with the winning leap. Along with her third-place finish in the long jump on Friday, the Jefferson City, Mo., native is now a 10-time All-Big 12 performer during her career at NU and is the first Husker on the women’s side to win the indoor triple jump crown since Ineta Radevica won her second straight title in 2004.

 

Hamilton followed with a stellar performance in the men’s high jump to earn his first indoor title and second career Big 12 crown, after winning the outdoor high jump last season. Hamilton started the meet on fire with four straight first-attempt makes at 6-8 3/4, 6-10 3/4, 7-0 1/2 and 7-2 1/2. With only Hamilton and Kansas State’s Erik Kynard left in the meet, the bar went to 7-3 3/4, where Kynard took the lead with a second-attempt clearance, while it took Hamilton three tries.

 

The bar then moved to 7-5, where each jumper missed on their first two attempts. After Kynard missed on his third try, Hamilton was down to his last attempt and the Big 12 title on the line. With a large collection of NU supporters behind him, the junior from Sidney, Neb., found enough fuel in the tank to not only win the Big 12 title on the final jump of the meet, but he also posted the top mark in the NCAA this season. Hamilton was joined on the award stand by teammate Brandon Sheppard, who cleared a personal best of 7-0 1/2 on his first attempt to place third. It marked the top finish for Sheppard at the indoor meet and secured him the fourth All-Big 12 honor or his career.

 

Bullock then completed the Huskers’ sweep on the high jump with a winning leap of 6-0 3/4, finishing one bar higher than teammate Audrey Svane. The Allen, Texas, native started out by clearing 5-7 1/4, 5-9 1/4, and 5-10 1/2 all on her first attempt, before her and Svane both took three tries at 5-11 1/2. Bullock then rose to the occasion with a first attempt make at 6-0 3/4, while Svane, also a Texas native, was unable to clear. The win was the second of the Bullock’s career, after she captured her first title at the 2008 indoor meet in Lincoln. Overall, NU placed three on the award stand, as Bullock and Svane were joined by Lorena Menghia, who tied for seventh with a jump of 5-7 1/4.

 

After winning Nebraska first Big 12 title the 5K on Friday night, David Adams heroically bounced back to take second in the 3K on Saturday with a time of 8:03.11. Over the two-day meet, Adams was NU’s top scorer with 18 points.

 

Ashley Miller came close to her first career conference title with a second-place finish in the women’s 1,000 meters. Already a provisional qualifier in the mile, the Tipton, Iowa, native’s time of 2:50.49 was not enough to overcome Missouri’s Layne Moore, who ran 2:50.12.

 

Starting day two of the men’s heptathlon in fourth place with 3,182 points, Bjorn Barrefors climbed one spot to finish third for the second straight year. The sophomore moved to third after the first event of the day, clearing 8.11 in the 60 hurdles. He then jumped 15-9 in the pole vault and ran 2:53.95 in the 1,000 meters to post an overall score of 5,710 points and automatically qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships.

 

On the track, the Husker hurdlers added three All-Big 12 performances, starting with Karyn LaCour’s fourth-place time of 8.36 in the women’s race. Lehann Fourie and Tyrell Ross followed with third- and eighth-place finishes, respectively, on the men’s side. Fourie cleared a personal best of 7.68, while Ross crossed the line at 7.91.

 

After posting the seventh-best preliminary time on Friday, true freshman Tommy Brinn finished fourth in the 800-meter final with a time of 1:50.89. In the women’s race, sophomore Suzanne Higgins earned her first career All-Big 12 honor with a sixth-place finish, running 2:10.84. Adam Dailey also earned All-Big 12 honors in the middle distance with an eight-place time of 1:10.48 in the 600 yards.

 

In the shot put, the Husker throwers earned three All-Big 12 honors. First on the women’s side, Samantha Musil earned her first indoor honor with a personal-best and provisional-qualifying toss of 49-11. The throw topped her previous best of 47-9 3/4 and is the top mark by a Husker this season. Tyler Hitchler and Trey Jordan then added fourth- and sixth-place finishes, respectively, on the men’s side. Hitchler tossed 58-2 on his first attempt of the competition to earn his first All-Big 12 honors, while Jordan waited until his final attempt to produce his best throw at 56-4 1/2 and earn All-Big 12 accolades for the third straight year.

 

Moving to the sprints, Dax Danns earned All-Big 12 honors in the 60 meters for the third time in his career, while also adding honors in the 200 meters. A senior from Lemon Grove, Calif., Danns placed seventh in the 60 meters and then struggled around the track in the 200 meters with a leg injury, but finished seventh to add two points to NU’s team score. Four-time All-American Lukas Hulett also added a sixth-place finish in the 400 meters, securing him All-Big 12 honors in the event for the fourth straight season.

 

While some the team has already secured their spot at the NCAA Indoor Championships on March 12-13 in Fayetteville, Ark., the rest of the squad will take one last shot at qualifying for the national meet next weekend at last chance meets across the country. Check Huskers.com later in the week for more information on where the Huskers will be traveling.