Men?s 4x400 Closes NCAA Championships with Sixth-Place Finish

Eugene, Ore.- The 2014 NCAA Outdoor Championships came to a close in front of 11,344 fans at Hayward Field on Saturday as the Huskers ended a week of competition with the women’s shot put and the men’s 4x400-meter relay. The relay team of Levi Gipson, Drew Wiseman, Jake Bender and Cody Rush led NU on the final day, finishing sixth with a time of 3:04.14.

The NU men completed the team race in 12th-place with 19 total points. The Husker women closed the team competition with 12 points, coming in tied for 19th overall. The finish is the best team finish for the women since NU came in 19th (14 points) in 2010. Texas A&M won the women’s title with 75 points, while Oregon won on the men’s side with 88 points. The 2014 season marked the first time since 2010 that both the men and women have finished within the top-20 at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

The men’s 4x400-meter relay team of Gipson, Wiseman, Bender and Rush earned the podium finish with a time of 3:04.14. The Big Ten champion squad showcased the Huskers depth in the 400 meters all season and did not disappoint at the NCAA Championships, as Cody Rush closed strong on the anchor leg and led NU to the finish. The sixth-place standing capped successful indoor and outdoor campaigns for the Huskers’ relay squad as NU finish second in the 4x400-meter relay at the NCAA Indoor Championships in March.

Each competing in their first NCAA Championships, Annie Jackson closed her Husker career with a 13th-place finish in the women’s shot put and Carlie Pinkelman finished 19th overall. Jackson posted a throw of 53-7 (16.33) on her first attempt of the competition and did not improve with her second (52-2 ½) and third attempts (53-3 ¾), but tallied a top-15 finish. Pinkelman notched a throw of 50-8 3/4 on her first attempt, before a second-attempt throw of 48-8 3/4 and closed the competition with her best throw of the day of 51-3 1/2 (15.63) which would be enough for a top-20 finish.   

Overall, the Huskers closed the championships with an impressive sevenFirst-Team All-Americans, the most since NU tallied nine First-Team All-Americans in 2010. The Huskers also came away from the Championships with their 78th National Champion as Miles Ukaoma won the men’s 400-meter hurdles on Friday with a lifetime-best time of 49.23, cementing his spot at second in the Husker record books.

2014 NCAA Championships Finals Finishes
Men’s 4x400-Meter Relay- 6th (3:04.14)
Annie Jackson- Shot Put- 13th (53-7)
Carlie Pinkelman- Shot Put-19th (51-3 1/2)
Miles Ukaoma- 400h- 1st (49.23)
Chad Wright- Discus- 4th (203-2)
Ellie Ewere- Triple Jump- 5th (43-7 1/4)
Anne Martin- Heptathlon- 13th (4,565)
Will Lohman- Hammer Throw- 18th (202-9)
Patrick Raedler- Long Jump­-8th (24-4 ¼)
Maggie Malone- Javelin- 4th (181-3)
Jazmin McCoy- Long Jump- 6th (20-8 ½)
Mollie Gribbin- Long Jump- 17th (20-1 ½)
Tierra Williams- Long Jump- 21st (19-9)
Veronica Grizzle- Hammer Throw- 11th (203-10)
Chad Wright- Shot Put- 13th (62-10)
Men’s 4x100-Meter Relay- 11th (39.52)
Sean Pille- 110-Meter Hurdles- 22nd (14.37)
Cody Rush- 400 Meters- 13th (46.30)
Mate Koroknai- 400-Meter Hurdles- 9th (50.75)
Tibor Koroknai-400-Meter Hurdles- 15th (51.15)
Jodi-Rae Blackwood- 400-Meter Hurdles- 18th (51.64)
bold = First-Team All-American