McMillan Sweeps Big 12 Combined Event Titles

Columbia, Mo. ? The No. 16 men’s and No. 17 women’s Nebraska track and field teams continued the 2010 Big 12 Track and Field Championships on Saturday at the Audrey J. Walton Track Complex. The Huskers earned their first conference title of the meet, as Chantae McMillan became the sixth straight Husker to with the women’s heptathlon crown.

 

In the team race, both Husker squads will enter the final day of competition tomorrow in first place. The NU men sit in the top spot with 52 points, with Texas in second (34) and both Oklahoma and Missouri tied for third (30). On the women’s side, the Huskers hold a 24-point lead over Texas, 59-35, while the three-time defending champion Texas A&M Aggies sit third with 33 points.

 

The women’s heptathlete trio of McMillan, Megan Wheatley and Lorena Menghia continued their dominance at the conference meet, adding 22 points to the women’s team total. Competing in her home state, McMillan completed the season sweep of the combined events with her first conference heptathlon title, after also winning the pentathlon crown during the indoor season.

 

Entering day two of the event in first place, McMillan kept the pedal to the floor, as she produced the top mark in the first two events of day two, the long jump (18-4 1/4) and javelin (136-6). The Rolla, Mo., native struggled in the 800 meters with a time of 2:43.13, but was able to hold off her teammate and two-time defending champion, Wheatley, in the final standing by eight points, with McMillan scoring 5,349 points and Wheatley producing 5,341 points.

 

Wheatley, who started day two in third place, did her best to win her third straight title, but fell could not pass her teammate. The Husker senior placed in the top four of all three events on day two, with marks of 17-11 3/4 in the long jump, 125-3 in the javelin and 2:21.14 in the 800 meters. Menghia rounded out the group with a personal-best score of 4,903 points. Competing in the combined events at the conference meet for the first time in her career, Menghia held strong on day two, as she started and finished the day in fifth place.

 

In the long jump, Nicholas Gordon came close to defending his title, but came up just short to Texas’ Marquise Goodwin. Goodwin cleared 26-0 3/4 on his fifth jump of the competition, and while Gordon did his best to rally on his final attempt, the Husker junior was only able to clear 25-7 1/2, which is a season best for the Kingston, Jamaica, native. Gordon was joined in the top eight by true freshman Bobby Carter, who placed eighth with a leap of 24-2 1/4.

 

On the women’s side of the long jump, Leandra McGruder earned All-Big honors in the event for the third time in her career with a leap of 19-9 1/2. McGruder will now turn her focus to tomorrow’s triple jump competition, an event she won at the 2010 indoor conference meet.

 

Moving to the vertical jumps, Audrey Svane finished third in the women’s high jump for the second straight year with a leap of 5-7. Svane and Texas freshman Alicia Peterson each cleared 5-7, with Petersen taking second on less attempts.

 

After the women’s hammer throws produced three All-Big 12 performances on Friday, the discus throwers added another three on Saturday. Redshirt freshman Morgan Wilken led the way with a personal-best toss of 166-9, breaking her previous best by one inch. Wilken was joined on the award stand by Amanda Latsch and Samantha Musil, who finished fifth and sixth, respectively, with throws of 161-3 and 160-5. Musil has now medaled in two events, as she was one of the three hammer throwers to score points on Friday.

 

Also in the throws, Trey Jordan added his second straight All-Big 12 honor in the men’s outdoor shot put with a third-place showing, after finishing runner-up last season. Jordan saved his best for the conference meet, as he produced a season-best throw of 58-5 3/4.

 

The men’s vaulters added eight points to the team score, as Seth Burney and Erik Sutterfield placed third and seventh, respectively. The defending champion in the event, Burney vaulted a season best of 17-4 1/4, while Sutterfield shattered his previous best of 16-1 3/4 by seven inches with a leap of 16-8 1/4.

 

After starting day two of the men’s decathlon in ninth place, Teran Walford made a quick jump to fifth after the first event of the day with a time of 15.33 in the 110 hurdles. The York, Neb., native stayed right in the mix the rest of the day to also finish fifth, scoring 6,731 points in his first Big 12 Championships. The redshirt freshman’s day was highlight by a personal-best throw of 159-3 in the javelin, which bettered his previous best of 149-10.

 

The Huskers will return to Audrey J. Walton Track Complex tomorrow at 2 p.m. for the final day of the 2010 Big 12 Championships. A live stream will no longer be available, as Fox Sports Net will be taping the day’s events for a broadcast to be shown later in the week. Live results will be still be available here - http://www.flashresults.com/2010_Meets/outdoor/Big12/.

 

Huskers Advancing to Sunday Finals

100 Meters

Dax Danns (10.35 prelims) ? 4:55 p.m.

 

200 Meters
Dax Danns (20.81 prelims) ? 5:50 p.m.

 

800 Meters

Blaire Dinsdale (2:09.28 prelims) ? 5:05 p.m.

Tommy Brinn (1:50.38 prelims) ? 5:15 p.m.

 

1,500 Meters

Ashley Miller (4:25.43 prelims) ? 3:50 p.m.

 

100/110 Hurdles

Arna Erega (13.63 prelims) ? 4:15 p.m.

Lehann Fourie (13.85 prelims) ? 4:25 p.m.

Tyrell Ross (14.00 prelims) ? 4:25 p.m.

 

400 Hurdles

Adam Dailey (51.64 prelims) ? 5:35 p.m.

Eric Lund (51.72 prelims) ? 5:35 p.m.

Lehann Fourie (52.13 prelims) -  5:35 p.m.