Husker Track and Field Season Around the Corner

The 2015 Nebraska track and field season will begin with the Holiday Inn Invitational on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 16-17, at the Devaney Center Indoor Track.

Head Coach Gary Pepin will lead the Husker programs for the 35th straight season, as the Huskers look to build on top-three finishes for both the men and women at both Big Ten meets last season.

Pepin heads a vastly experienced staff: Billy Maxwell (men’s sprints/hurdles/relays) returns for his 20th season and was a two-time Midwest Region Assistant Coach of the Year in 2014, giving him four such honors at NU; Matt Martin (recruiting coordinator//women’s sprints/hurdles/relays) returns for his 19th season, Dave Harris (distance) is back for his fourth season, and T.J. Pierce is in his second season coaching combined events/pole vault. New to the staff is Scott Cappos, who is not at all new to the Big Ten. Cappos will be the throws coach after 19 successful seasons as an assistant coach at Iowa, where he coached 20 All-Americans and 24 Big Ten champions.

Thanks to Miles Ukaoma’s national championship in the 400-meter hurdles at the NCAA Outdoor Championships last season, the Huskers now have 78 all-time NCAA champions. Nebraska garnered a total of nine All-America accolades in 2014 to increase their historic total to 620.

Four 2014 first-team All-Americans and three 2014 Big Ten champions will return to lead the Huskers in 2015. Ellie Ewere was an outdoor triple jump first-team All-American, while Jazmin McCoy was an outdoor long jump first-team All-American. The men’s 4x400 indoor relay team (Ricco Hall, Cody Rush, Drew Wiseman, Levi Gipson) and outdoor relay team (Jacob Bender, Rush, Wiseman, Gipson) were first-team All-Americans in 2014, placing second at the NCAA Indoor Championships and sixth at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

Additionally, the men’s 4x400 indoor relay team took the outdoor title at the Big Ten Championships, while Gipson won the 600-meter indoor conference race. Oladapo Akinmoladun returns to defend his 60-meter hurdles title at the Big Ten Indoor Championships. In the team standings, the women were third indoors and second outdoors, while the men were second indoors and third outdoors. The Husker women finished 19th at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, while the men tied for 17th at the NCAA Indoor Championships and finished 12th outdoors.  

The Huskers open the indoor season with five straight meets at the Devaney Center Indoor Track, although only four are officially home meets. After the Holiday Inn Invitational on Jan. 16-17, the Huskers are at Devaney for the Nebraska Wesleyan Invitational on Jan. 23, and for the Mark Colligan Memorial on Jan. 24. NU hosts the Adidas Classic on Jan. 31 and the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational Feb. 6-7. Following the Nebraska Tune-Up on Feb. 20, the Huskers will head to the Big Ten Indoor Championships Feb. 27-28 in Geneva, Ohio and the NCAA Indoor Championships March 13-14 in Fayetteville, Ark.

NU will be at home twice in the outdoor season at Ed Weir Stadium with the Husker Spring Invite (April 11) and the Nebraska Invitational (May 9). The Big Ten Outdoor Championships will be May 15-17 in East Lansing, Mich., while the NCAA West Preliminary Round will be May 28-30 in Austin, Texas, with the NCAA Outdoor Championships wrapping up June 10-13 in Eugene, Ore.