Polacek Takes Big 12 Pole Vault Lead

Lincoln - The Nebraska track and field team wrapped up its final home indoor meet of the 2011 season on Friday with the Nebraska Tune-Up. The Huskers captured 14 wins on the day, including a conference-leading vault of 17-7 ¼ from Nate Polacek.

Polacek entered the meet tied for the top spot with Missouri's Brian Hancock, as each had cleared 17-2 ¾. The Kearney, Neb., native shattered his previous best and took over the Big 12 lead with a first-attempt clearance at 17-7 ¼. He then took the bar up to 17-9 ¼, but was unable to clear.

Cami Jiskra competed the sweep of the pole vault for the Huskers with a winning leap of 13-0 ¼. Jiskra led a 1-2-3-4 finish for the Huskers, as she was followed by Breanna Bussel (12-8 ¼), Rachel Birtles (12-4 ½) and Jordan Oddo (11-10 ½).

Luke Pinkelman easily stayed undefeated on the year in the men's shot put with a toss of 63-9. Pinkelman was directly followed by three teammates, including Tyler Hitchler, who tossed a personal best of 60-5 ¼. Chad Wright took third (57-9) and Taylor Shapland finished fourth (53-7). Amanda Latsch then led a 1-2-3 finish on the women's side with a throw of 51-0 ¼. She was followed by Annie Jackson (48-6 ¾) and Samantha Musil (48-6).

In other throws action, Carter Wasem continued to improve his standing in the weight throw with a personal-best throw of 62-2 ½, which bettered his previous best of 60-2. The mark moved Wasem from No. 5 on the Big 12 performance list to the No. 2 spot, as he trails defending conference champion KP Singh of Oklahoma (69-2 ¾). Musil then shattered her previous best of 57-7 ½ in the women's weight throw with a personal-best toss of 60-3 ¼ to win the event. Musil produced her winning throw on her final attempt of the competition.

Nicholas Gordon showed he is good shape for next weekend's conference meet with a winning leap of 25-5 ¼ in the men's long jump. The senior cleared the mark on his first jump of the competition and also passed on his final three jumps.

On the track, Arna Erega opened Nebraska's sweep of the 60-meter hurdles with a winning time of 8.44. Freshman Miles Ukaoma followed with a personal-best time of 7.92, the top time by a Husker this season.

Nebraska then swept the 600 yards with a pair of wins from Brooke Dinsdale and Tommy Brinn. Dinsdale, who was running the race for the first time in 2011, clocked a 1:23:49, while Brinn won with a 1:10.20. Erica Hamik added another middle distance win when she improved on her previous best of 2:14.24 in the 800 meters with a time of 2:11.90.

Jesse Adams picked up NU's lone long distance win with a personal-best time of 14:47.85 in the 5,000 meters, which topped his previous best of 14:53.68. Junior Anthony Oberle improved on his previous best of 14:56.32 with a second-place time of 14:50.30.

The Huskers now turn their attention to next weekend's Big 12 Indoor Championships. Hosted in Lincoln at the Devaney Center Indoor Track, the meet starts on Friday at 10:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. on Saturday. Tickets can be purchased at Huskers.com, by calling 1-800-8BIGRED or by stopping by the Nebraska Athletic Ticket Office. Check Huskers.com or Big12Sports.com for more information.