Husker Throwers Excel at Tom Jones Memorial

Gainesville, Fla . - While the rest of the Nebraska track and field team competed at the Concordia Invitational on Saturday in Seward, Neb., the Huskers' pole vaulters, throwers and combined event athletes were on the campus of the University of Florida for the Tom Jones Memorial.

Senior Samantha Musil started the day for NU by improving once again in the hammer throw with a personal best of 190-4 to win the meet. It marked the first time in Musil's career that she had topped the 190-foot mark in the hammer. She was joined in the top three by teammate Victoria Zimmerman, who finished third with a season-best throw of 185-2.

Morgan Wilken followed with a fourth-place and personal-best toss of 172-3 in the discus, bettering her previous best of 166-11. Senior Amanda Latsch also added a new personal best as her fifth-place throw of 164-0 improved on her previous best of 162-6. Latsch then came back in the shot put to finish third with a season-best throw of 50-2 ½.

The NU men then took their turn and produced two top-three finishes in the shot put. Luke Pinkelman (61-2 ¼) and Chad Wright (55-3 ¾) finished second and third, respectively, in the overall standing, but were the top to collegiate throwers in competition.

Wright would come back later in the discus and nearly became the second Husker this season to break the 190-foot mark. A freshman from Kingston, Jamaica, Wright finished third overall and was the top collegiate thrower with a personal-best toss of 189-11, which bettered his previous best of 187-7. Tyler Hitchler, who leads the Huskers with a throw of 191-8 this season, was next in the standings with a toss of 188-2.

The men's javelin featured three of the nation's top-20 throwers, including Nebraska's Adam Wolkins. Wolkins, who entered the weekend ranked 15th nationally with a throw of 233-2, finished third with a throw of 231-5, while Sam Humphreys of Texas A&M tossed 251-8 to win and Florida's Stipe Zunic finished second with a throw of 239-0.

The Huskers also found success in the pole vault with a winning leap of 17-1 ½ on the men's side from Nate Polacek. Polacek ended the meet with tries at 17-6 ½, but was unable to clear. Erik Sutterfield also finished in the top three with a jump of 16-7 ½. Natalie Willer completed NU's sweep in the vault with a winning leap of 13-4 ¼.

Lorena Menghia capped the meet for Nebraska with a personal-best jump of 40-6 ¾ to finish third the triple jump. Her jump was against a -3.2 m/s wind and bettered her previous best of 40-3 ¼.

The Huskers will be back on the road next week for the Kansas Relays in Lawrence, Kan. The meet starts on Wednesday, April 20 and runs through Saturday, April 23. Check Huskers.com for more information.