Fouie Named Big 12 Athlete of the Week

Lincoln ? On Tuesday, May 11, the Big 12 Conference tabbed Nebraska senior Lehann Fourie as the Big 12 Outdoor Track & Field Male Athlete of the Week. A native of Pretoria, South Africa, Fourie was selected for the honor after breaking the Ed Weir Stadium record in the 110-meter hurdlers with a time of 13.58 last Saturday during his final appearance on his home track in a Husker uniform.

Tuesday marked the first time in Fourie’s Husker career that he has been named a Big 12 athlete of the week. He is also the first Husker to earn track and field athlete of the week honors indoors or outdoors in 2010.

Fourie and his teammates are now turning their attention towards the Big 12 Outdoor Track and Field Championships, which are set to start on Friday, May 14 in Columbia, Mo., at the Audrey J. Walton Track Complex. Fourie enters the meet ranked No. 1 in the NCAA in the 110-meter hurdles, while the NU men are the defending outdoor team champions.

The senior hurdler ran his wind-aided nation-leading time of 13.41 at the Texas Tech/Nebraska Dual on Saturday, May 1, which secured him the second-fastest performance in school history, trailing Kirkland Thornton’s wind-aided time of 13.36 in 2009. While Fourie looks to become the first Husker to win the 110 hurdles in the Big 12 era, he will have to hold off Oklahoma’s Ronnie Ash, who is the defending NCAA champion and is tied for second on the 2010 NCAA charts with a time of 13.50. Other Big 12 hurdlers who rank among the NCAA top 10 include Texas’ Keiron Stewart (No. 7, 13.60) and Kansas States’ Jeffrey Julmis (t-No. 10, 13.76).