Huskers Finish KU Relays with 12 Titles

Lawrence, Kan. ? The 83rd running of the Kansas Relays came to a close on Saturday, with the Nebraska track and field team coming away with two wins in the relay events. Overall, the Huskers will head back to Lincoln with 12 Kansas Relays titles.<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

 

The Nebraska 4x100-meter relays opened Saturday with a sweep of the event, as the women ran a season best of 46.73 and the men ran 40.58. The win by Leandra McGruder, Karyn LaCour, Sammy Hansen and Arna Erega was the first Kansas Relays title for the NU women in the event since 1984 when the Huskers won their fourth straight crown. For the squad of Scott Wims, Lukas Hulett, Dan Christensen and Dax Danns, it marked the fourth win all-time at the meet for the Husker men and their first since 2006.

 

LaCour and Erega then bounced back to finish 1-2 in the 100-meter hurdles, with LaCour leading the pack at 13.70 and Erega right behind at 13.78. LaCour has now won the 100 hurdles in her two appearances at the meet in a Husker uniform, with her first win coming as a true freshman in 2008, but she was then unable to defend her title last season as the Huskers were not in attendance at the meet.

 

Lehann Fourie followed LaCour’s victory with a win of his own in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 13.68, marking the third time in NU history that the Huskers have swept the event at the Kansas Relays. Emily Waibel and David Davis were the first to pull the sweep in 2001, while LaCour and Tyrell Ross were the next pair in 2008.

 

Nebraska women’s pole vaulters then showed their dominance, as Natalie Willer (13-1 1/2), Cami Jiskra (12-9 1/2), Rachel Birtles (12-5 1/2) and Lindsey Maher (12-5 1/2) finished 1-2-3-4, respectively, with Birtles finishing ahead of Maher on less misses in the 21-athlete field. NU’s foursome were the only vaulters in the event to clear 12 feet or more.

 

Willer then came back to win the invitational division of the vault with a leap of 14-1 1/2, clearing the bar on her first attempt, while Lacy Jansen of Total Sports and April Bennett of Asics tied for second with second-attempt clearances. Already the NU record holder in the vault at 14-4 1/2, Willer tried to better the record with tries at 14-5 1/4, but was unable to clear.

 

After winning the shot put title yesterday, Amanda Latsch became the first Husker woman in school history to win the both shot put and discus at the Kansas Relays. The Lincoln, Neb., native carried the Huskers to a 1-2-3 finish with a personal-best throw of 158-11, which topped her previous best of 156-6. Latsch was directly followed by teammates Samantha Musil and Morgan Wilken, with Musil throwing 158-01 and Wilken tossing 154-11.

 

Eric Lund added another hurdle victory for the Huskers later in the afternoon with a personal-best time of 51.24 in the 400-meter hurdles. After placing fifth in the prelims on Friday, Lund responded in the finals by holding off Dickinson State’s Allan Ayala down the stretch, with Ayala crossed the line at 51.43.

 

The NU men concluded the meet with a fifth-place showing in the invitational division of the 4x400-meter relay with a time of 3:10.88. The women’s team of Hansen, Kayla Ubel, Allison Jorgensen and Alyssa Vierregger placed fourth in the college division with a season-best of 3:54.06

 

The Huskers will be back on the road next week when they compete at both the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa, and the Penn Relays in Philadelphia, Pa. Check out Huskers.com for more information.