Huskers Qualify 18 for NCAA Championships

Eugene, Ore. - Cool temperatures that dipped into low 50's and rain failed to hold back the Nebraska track and field team on Saturday at Hayward Field as the Huskers had seven more athletes qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships. After nine athletes qualified in 10 events over the first two days of the meet, the Huskers are set to send 18 athletes to Des Moines, Iowa, in two weeks as decathlete Bjorn Barrefors and heptathlete Chantae McMillan secured bids prior to the regional meet.

Ashley Miller opened the day for the Huskers on the track in the 1,500 meters by earning her second career trip to the NCAA Championships and her first to the outdoor meet. A 2010 qualifier in the indoor mile, Miller finished fifth in her heat and posted the ninth-best time out of the three heats with a time of 4:20.68. A native of Tipton, Iowa, Miller will run in her home state where she was a 15-time Class 2A state champion for the Tigers.

After missing out on the indoor national meet earlier in the year, Audrey Svane extended her senior season in the high jump. Svane was one of seven jumpers in the field to jump clean through the first two bars of the event, 5-5 and 5-7, but was then unable to conquer 5-8 ¾. She then went to a jump-off with five other jumpers, where Svane was able to secure one of the four remaining bids with a make at 5-8.

Sophomore Morgan Wilken punched her ticket in the discus for the second straight year with her ninth-place toss of 169-4. She tossed her best mark on her third attempt in the prelims and then was unable to improve in the finals, but it was good enough to secure her a top-12 finish. A native of Crofton, Neb., Wilken placed 11th in the discus as a freshman at nationals last season.

The 4x400-meter relays ended the meet on the track, with the Huskers having an entry on both the women's and men's sides. The women's squad of Alyssa Vierregger, Mara Weekes, Ellie Grooters and Rachel Butler were just over one second shy of earning the 12th and final bid to nationals as the Huskers clocked a 3:39.85, while Arizona State took 12th with a time of 3:38.38.

The men's team then shattered its previous season best of 3:12.48 with a seventh-place time of 3:07.69 to lock up their second straight bid to nationals. Adam Dailey, Miles Ukaoma and Kurt Pauly put the men in solid position before senior Eric Lund held off Texas' Steven Willey down the stretch to secure an automatic bid with a top-three finish in the second heat. The race was extra special for Lund as the senior failed to qualify in the 400-meter hurdles yesterday by one spot with a 13th-place finish, while Dailey and Ukaoma each earned bids.

Tyler Hitcher and Chad Wright were the final athletes to compete at the meet in the men's discus. Both Huskers advanced to Des Moines, as Hitchler placed sixth with a toss of 187-1 and Wright was seventh at 183-3. Hitchler will look to earn All-America honors for the second straight year, while Wright was the only freshman out of the West Region to advance to nationals.

The Huskers will now head back to Lincoln and complete final preparations for the NCAA Outdoor Championships at Drake Stadium. The four-day national meet is scheduled to start on Wednesday, June 8 and will run through Saturday, June 11. Tickets can be purchased here.