Nine Newcomers Sign with Husker Track & Field

LINCOLN – Nebraska track and field head coach Gary Pepin has announced the initial 2015 Husker signing class, featuring eight new members to the women’s team and one to the men’s team. There will be more additions as the 2015-16 season draws near.

Brittany Johnson, a senior transfer from St. Francis University in Loretto, Pa., will have one season of indoor eligibility remaining to do sprints for the Huskers. She will enroll at the semester break and compete this spring indoor season.

The other seven signees are set to be newcomers next fall. Lincoln East standout Shelby Brown will follow in her parents’ footsteps and do throws for the Huskers. Her father, Dave, and mother, Amy (Fox), were Husker throwers in the late 1980s.

The other seven newcomers span the continent: Jasmine Barge (Florissant, Mo.), Kate Birchmier (Bloomfield, Iowa), Nicole Colonna (Los Altos Hills, Calif.), Miranda Kennedy (Clovis, Calif.), Tierney Lindner (Sun Prairie, Wis.), Ty Moss (Naperville, Ill.), and Brittni Wolczyk (Port Coquitlam, British Columbia). 

Enrolling Spring 2015
Brittany Johnson – St. Francis University (Loretto, Penn.) - Sprints
Transfers from St. Francis University in Loretto, Penn...will have one season of indoor eligibility remaining to do sprints for the Huskers...ran personal bests of 23.32 in the 200m and 11.58 in the 100m...competed in the 100m and 200m at the NCAA East Preliminary Round in 2014...before St. Francis, starred at George C. Marshall High School in Vienna, Va...was an all-state selection...set a school record in the 200m.

Enrolling Fall 2015
Jasmine Barge – McCluer North (Florissant, Mo.) - Hurdles
Attended McCluer North High School in Florissant, Mo...led the Stars to the team championship in 2014 by setting a state record in the 300m hurdles...recorded personal-best 300m hurdles time of 41.43...also won the 100m hurdles state title...posted a school-record and personal-best 14.17 in the 100m hurdles...also won championships with two relay teams…won every hurdle race in her junior season.

Kate Birchmier – Davis County (Bloomfield, Iowa) - Throws 
Attended Davis County in Bloomfield, Iowa...won the Iowa Class 2A shot put title as a junior with a toss of 43-4 1/4, a class record, to top the defending champion...took runner-up honors at the state meet in the discus...personal-best discus throw was 140-10...finished eighth in the shot put as a freshman and third as a sophomore...as a freshman, won her district shot put title...also won district shot put and discus titles as a sophomore.

Shelby Brown – Lincoln East (Lincoln, Neb.) - Throws
Attended Lincoln East High School...won the state discus title as a sophomore in 2013 and was the 2014 AAU National Junior Olympics runner-up in the discus...finished third in the shot put and discus at the 2014 state meet as a junior...personal bests were 41-7 in the shot put and 149-8 in the discus…won her district shot put and discus as a junior...won every regular-season discus competition as a sophomore and junior...also competed in volleyball and basketball...father, Dave, and mother, Amy (Fox) both were Husker throwers in the 1980s.

Nicole Colonna - Pinewood High School (Los Altos Hills, Calif.) - Distance
Attended Pinewood High School in Los Altos Hills, Calif...was the CIF cross country sectional champion in back-to-back years and a state finals qualifier...posted personal bests in the 1,600m of 5:11.91 and in the 3-mile cross country race of 17:50.25.

Miranda Kennedy – Buchanan High School (Clovis, Calif.) - Distance
Attended Buchanan High School in Clovis, Calif...ran a 4:57.85 in the 1,600m and 10:42.78 in the 3,200m as a junior in 2013…posted a personal cross country (5KM) run of 18:01.50...qualified for the CIF State Championship in the 3,200 meters...placed third in the 1,600 meters at the Central Section Masters Championship and second in the 3,200 meters...also ran cross country for Buchanan.

Tierney Lindner – Sun Prairie High School (Sun Prairie, Wis.) - Jumps
Attended Sun Prairie High School in Sun Prairie, Wis...was a standout high jumper, winning the WIAA Division I state high jump title and setting a Sun Prairie school record jump of 5-8...was the 2014 AAU National Junior Olympics runner-up in the high jump...also a member of Sun Prairie’s state-qualifying 2x400 and 4x400 relay teams...was also a first-team all-conference volleyball player.

Ty Moss – Neuqua Valley High School (Naperville, Ill.) - Middle Distance
Attended Neuqua Valley High School in Naperville, Ill…posted a 49.09 in the 400m at the AAU National Junior Olympics...also posted a top 800m time of 1:50.52 at the AAU National Junior Olympics to earn runner-up honors...earned all-state honors in the 800m after finishing third at the Illinois State Championships...also anchored the 4x800-meter relay team that won the state title.

Brittni Wolczyk – Archbishop Carney (Port Coquitlam, British Columbia) - Throws
Attended Archbishop Carney in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia...one of the top Canadian javelin throwers in her age group, was a Canadian National Team member...despite a sprained ankle, qualified to represent Canada at the Summer Youth Olympics in Nanjing, China in August 2014, where she placed 11th overall with a personal-best javelin throw of 48.85m (160-3)...also competed at the World Youth Track and Field Championship in Ukraine in 2013.