Carter, Sheppard, Miller Make Most of Last Chance Meets

Ames, Iowa ? With the NCAA Indoor Championships less than one week away, the Nebraska track and field team traveled to last chance qualifiers on Saturday in Ames, Iowa, and Seattle, Wash, where Bobby Carter, Brandon Sheppard and Ashley Miller each put on performances that will give them a solid shot of getting into the national championships.

 

Starting in Ames, Carter made the most of his last chance, as the true freshman posted the top long jump in Ames with a personal-best leap of 25-8 1/4, betting his previous best of 25-3 1/4. Carter, who entered the weekend on the NCAA bubble at No. 19 in the nation, leapt up the charts to a tie for 11th in the country among marks entering the weekend. A native of Lee’s Summit, Mo., Carter has thrived in his first year under Jumps Coach Gary Pepin, as the All-Big 12 performer has now bettered his personal best five times in 2010.

 

Brandon Sheppard then added two inches to his personal best in the high jump with a leap of 7-2 1/2. Entering the weekend tied for 29th in the NCAA, Sheppard is now tied with six other jumpers for the No. 12 spot in the nation among marks entering the weekend. A junior from Danville, Calif., a bid to the NCAA Championships would be the first of Sheppard’s career.

 

In Seattle, Ashley Miller put on her own impressive performance in the mile, as she knocked nearly six seconds off her previous-best time of 4:46.24 with a runner-up finish of 4:40.50 to give herself a solid shot at making her first appearance at the NCAA Championships. Entering the weekend ranked 55th in the nation, Miller looks to have secured a top-15 ranking among marks entering the weekend and results from other meets around the country on Saturday. Last season the NCAA accepted 17 runners into the women’s mile at the national meet.

 

Sophomore Chris Phipps also bettered his previous season best in the long jump of 25-0 with a leap of 25-2 1/2 in Ames, but may come up just short of an NCAA bid, as he only moved from No. 26 in the country to No. 21.

 

The Huskers will now wait until Monday, March 8 at 6 p.m., when the NCAA will release the list of accepted athletes into the NCAA Indoor Championships. The national meet is set for Friday, March 12 and Saturday, March 13 at the Randal Tyson Indoor Track in Fayetteville, Ark. Check back with Huskers.com for more information next week.