Percy, Williams Win Big Ten Titles on Day Two

LINCOLN, Neb. -  Sophomore thrower Nick Percy and junior jumper Tierra Williams captured Big Ten titles on day two of the Big Ten Outdoor Track & Field Championships before 1,158 fans on Saturday at Ed Weir Stadium.

Percy took home his first conference title by winning the discus, adding to his third-place hammer throw finish from Friday. Williams notched her third Big Ten title this season, as the indoor long jump and triple jump champion made it a sweep of the long jump titles. She will have a chance to complete the triple jump sweep on Sunday.

With Sunday's finals on deck, both Husker teams are in good position in the team race thanks to some high-scoring events on Saturday. The NU men are in first place with 64.5 points, ahead of Michigan by 16 points. The Husker women have 43 points and are just 13 points behind Minnesota. 

Percy won the discus title with his third throw of 188-5 (57.42m). Throwing into a stiff wind, Percy's mark held up to edge Iowa's Reno Tuufuli, the top seed in the event. The sophomore totaled 16 team points for the Husker men with his third place in the hammer throw on Friday. 

"Again, the conditions weren't very good," Percy said. "It wasn't my best meet, and I don't feel 100 percent. But to come away with first after finishing third last year and coming in ranked second, I'm just on a buzz right now. My job is done. I got more points than was anticipated and I'm going to go and support the team."

The Husker men collected 18 team points in the discus, as freshman Khalil Davis finished third with a mark of 184-4 1/4 (56.19m), a personal best. Carlos Davis, his twin brother, also scored team points by finishing seventh at 177-10 (54.20m).

The women scored 20 of their 43 points in the long jump. Williams led the way with a wind-aided 21-4 (6.50m) on her fifth attempt. Williams' first jump (20-6 1/4) immediately put her in the lead, and her second jump (21-0) would have won the event if not for her fifth jump. Reka Czuth finished third at 20-8 (6.30m), while Kari Heck was fifth, jumping 20-0 1/2 (6.11m).

"Not only did I do well, but my teammates did well," Williams said. "That's the best feeling in the world, just to be able to jump next to those girls that I jump next to every single day. We just wanted to have fun today and go out on our track and do what we know how to do. I couldn't ask for more."

The men added 17.5 points in the pole vault, as all four Huskers in the event scored. Craig Driver was the runner-up, matching his outdoor best of 17-1 (5.21m). He did not have a miss until the last bar. Beau Simmons and Steven Cahoy cleared 16-9 1/4 (5.11m) and finished fourth and fifth, respectively. And Jed Fenske tied for sixth with a clearance of 16-3 1/4 (4.96m). 

Cody Walton finished third in the decathlon for the second straight season by scoring a personal-best 7,620 points - the fourth-most in NU history - and that should earn him a bid to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in June. Walton won the decathlon 110-meter hurdles to start the morning, as he matched his personal best of 14.45. He later won the pole vault by clearing 15-9 1/4 (4.81m) and added a third event title in the javelin, throwing 208-4 1/2 (63.51m). Cale Wagner added a team point by finishing eighth in the decathlon with a personal-best 7,057 points. 

The NU women scored big in the javelin to close the day, as Brittni Wolczyk, Sarah Firestone and Danielle Plank combined for 19 points. Wolczyk, a freshman, set a personal best of 171-1 (52.15m) on her first throw to place second. Firestone, the defending champion, took third with a mark of 168-8 (51.40m). And Plank, a transfer from Kansas State, tossed the javelin 167-3 (50.99m) to finish fourth. 

In other events, freshman Elijah Lucy matched his indoor long jump finish with a fourth-place effort on Saturday of 24-4 1/2 (7.43m). Toni Tupper recorded a fifth-place finish in the shot put at 51-10 1/2 (15.81m). Matt Gilbert was fifth in the 3,000-meter Steeplechase with a time of 9:01.75. Grant Anderson took fourth in the high jump, clearing 6-11 1/2 (2.12m). Mike McCann tied for sixth at 6-9 1/2 (2.07m) to score two team points. 

In preliminary action, a number of Huskers advanced to the finals tomorrow. Lakayla Harris will run in the 200-meter final after her personal-best wind-aided 23.36 in the prelims. Jasmine Barge (57.94) and Karolina Pahlitzsch (57.95) qualified for the 400-meter hurdles final with personal-best times, which rank sixth and seventh in NU history, respectively. For the men, Malcolm White qualified in both the 100 meters (10.38) and 200 meters (20.60). His 200-meter time is a personal best and ranks third in school history. Antoine Lloyd also qualified in the 200 with his time of 20.91, a wind-aided PR for the sophomore. Cody Rush clinched a 400-meter spot, running 46.86, and Andy Neal qualified in the 400-meter hurdles with the fastest prelim time - a personal-best 50.74. 

The Husker men's title chances could be bolstered significantly in the 110-meter hurdles on Sunday. NU will account for half of the field, as all four Huskers in the event qualified for the eight-man final. Lloyd was first in qualifying with a time of 13.89. Oladapo Akinmoladun (14.22), Sean Pille (14.30) and Christian Cook (14.30) will all look to rack up team points on Sunday. 

Final events begin at Noon on Sunday and go through 4:45 p.m. The meet will be live streamed on BTN2GO.com beginning at 1:40 p.m. (CT). A tape delayed TV broadcast will begin at 6 p.m. on BTN.