Huskers Host Big Ten Outdoor Championships

For the first time, Nebraska’s Ed Weir Stadium will host the Big Ten Outdoor Track & Field Championships when the event comes to Lincoln this Friday through Sunday. The Huskers hosted the Big Ten Indoor Championships at the Bob Devaney Sports Center in 2012 in their first Big Ten season. The women won the title at that meet, while the men finished third. The last time the Huskers hosted a conference outdoor meet was the Big 12 Championships in 2007.

The championships begin on Friday at Noon with the multi events. The men’s hammer throw (1:30 p.m.), women’s hammer throw, men’s pole vault (5:30 p.m.) and the 10,000-meter races (7:30 and 8:15 p.m.) will also be a part of day one. Saturday’s full day of action begins with multi events at 9:30 a.m., while the discus at 12:45 p.m. kicks off the rest of the meet. On Sunday, field events begin at Noon and running events start at 1:45 p.m.

Sunday’s action will be televised tape delayed on BTN at 6 p.m. after the meet ends. A live stream will be available at BTN2GO.com on Sunday, beginning at 1:40 p.m.

The Nebraska men have won back-to-back Big Ten indoor titles but have not won an outdoor title since 2013. The Husker men haven’t swept indoor and outdoor conference titles since 2004 in the Big 12 Conference. At last year’s Big Ten outdoor meet, Nebraska finished second with 108 points. The Huskers are in a strong position to contend for the title with 17 athletes/relays currently ranked in the top five of an event, more than any other school. However, the Big Red will have to overcome a string of injuries if they are to win the team title. Big Ten indoor high jump champion Landon Bartel will be out with a hamstring injury, as will second-team All-America hurdlers Mate Koroknai and Drew Wiseman. Triple jumper Davon Clark (fifth at Big Ten indoors) and sprinter Oliver Alexandre (fifth in the 400m and second in the 4x400 relay indoors) are also battling injuries. 

The Husker women have achieved runner-up finishes in five of the last six outdoor conference meets, but they are looking to get over the hump and win their first conference title since the 2012 indoor season. The Husker women return Big Ten javelin champion Sarah Firestone and long jump champion Reka Czuth, who leads the Big Ten in the high jump this outdoor season. Additionally, Tierra Williams is coming off an indoor double, as the long jump and triple jump champion is poised to continue her strong junior season this weekend. She ranks first in the triple jump and second in the long jump. The Husker women have 12 athletes in the top five of an event, tied with Purdue for second-most behind only Minnesota’s 13.

Husker Women Ranked 23rd in USTFCCCA Poll
The Nebraska women’s track and field team is ranked No. 23 in the USTFCCCA Top 25 rankings. The Husker women won the Kansas Relays quadrangular team title over Kansas, Colorado State and Rice on April 23. The Husker women have six athletes ranked in the top 25 nationally in individual events, led by Tierra Williams’ No. 5 ranking in the triple jump and Sarah Firestone and Reka Czuth at No. 8 in the javelin and high jump, respectively. All three lead the Big Ten in their events.

Husker Men Repeat As Big Ten Indoor Champions
In the 2016 indoor season, the Huskers totaled 116 points over the two-day Big Ten Indoor meet to win their first back-to-back conference indoor titles since 2004 and 2005 in the Big 12. NU claimed the title by a wide margin - 43 points - for the second straight year, as Wisconsin was second with 73 points, and Minnesota was third with 72 points. The Huskers scored 127 points in 2015 and won by 41. The win gave legendary head coach Gary Pepin his 31st career indoor team championship and 71st career overall conference title in his 36th year at the helm. It’s the third overall Big Ten title for the Husker men since joining the conference in 2012, and the 37th all-time conference indoor title in men’s program history.

Four Huskers Win Big Ten Indoor Titles
Four Huskers captured individual Big Ten titles at the Big Ten Indoor Championships. Landon Bartel won the high jump (7-2 1/4) for the first time after finishing as the runner-up twice as a freshman. Kaiwan Culmer won the triple jump with a personal-best mark of 51-8 1/2 for his first Big Ten title. And Tierra Williams swept the long jump and triple jump for the Husker women, leaping 20-7 3/4 and 43-2 1/2, respectively.

Pepin Earns Repeat Big Ten Men’s Indoor Coach of the Year Honor
Nebraska track and field head coach Gary Pepin was named Big Ten Men’s Indoor Coach of the Year for the second straight year. It marks the 26th conference coach-of-the-year honor for Pepin since 1997, when the Huskers started competing in the Big 12. Pepin led the Husker men to a dominating win at the Big Ten Indoor Championships over the weekend. The Huskers totaled 116 points, 43 more than the runner-up, to give Pepin his 71st overall conference team title and 31st indoors. Pepin once again assembled a talented all-around roster, as 24 of the 32 Husker men scored at least a point, and Nebraska scored in 12 of the 18 events. Coaching the jumps specifically, Pepin helped guide sophomores Landon Bartel and Kaiwan Culmer to Big Ten titles in the high jump and triple jump, respectively. In total, the men’s jumpers combined for 33 of the Huskers’ 116 team points. The honor marks Pepin’s fourth selection as Big Ten Coach of the Year since the Huskers moved to the conference in 2011-12.

Maxwell Named Region Assistant Coach of the Year
Nebraska assistant coach Billy Maxwell was honored by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) as the Midwest Region Men’s Assistant Coach of the Year. Maxwell, in his 21st year guiding the men’s sprints and hurdles, coached his athletes to 59 of the Huskers’ 116 points at the Big Ten Indoor Championships. His sprinters finished runner-up in the 60 meters, 200 meters, 60-meter hurdles and 4x400 relay as Nebraska won the Big Ten team title for the second straight season. He will have two entries compete at the NCAA Championships next week, the 4x400 relay and Oladapo Akinmoladun in the 60-meter hurdles. The award marks the fifth time Maxwell has received assistant-coach-of-the-year accolades, adding to his selections in the 2005 indoor season, 2009 indoors and 2014 indoors and outdoors.

Huskers Hold Record Dual Meet Win Streak
The Husker men’s team has won 15 consecutive dual/tri/quad meets dating back to 2001, the longest streak in the NCAA per DailyRelay.com. In that span, the Huskers have defeated 38 opponents.

Huskers Name 12 Team Captains
The Nebraska track and field program has named 12 team captains for the 2016 indoor and outdoor seasons. Five Huskers were captains on last year’s squad and will resume their leadership roles in 2016: seniors Craig Driver (pole vault), Cody Rush (sprints), Kari Heck (jumps), Tristen Sharp (throws) and junior Sarah Firestone (javelin). The Huskers will have seven new captains in the upcoming season. On the men’s side, seniors Jake Bender (sprints), Christian Sanderfer (pole vault), Ricco Hall (sprints) and sophomore Landon Bartel (high jump) will serve as captains. For the women, senior Paula Andrie (pole vault) and two juniors - Anna Peer (distance) and Dani Jones (jumps) - are the new additions.