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Randy York’s N-Sider

Official Blog of the Huskers

With all due respect to Nebraska’s great track & field performers that Gary Pepin has recruited and coached through the years, the Huskers’ longtime head coach knows who can pull a rabbit out of a hat. And that’s especially true when the challenge was organizing and maximizing Nebraska track and field’s first official Lincoln reunion in more than three decades last Saturday night.

Despite a narrow six-week window from concept to completion, an estimated 100 Nebraska track letterwinners attended last Saturday night’s Husker track & field reunion, sponsored by the N Club. Nebraska Life Skills Coordinator Ashley Stone accepted the late challenge to supervise the long overdue Husker track & field reunion.

Stone helped enable the opportunity and threw out the welcome mat for Husker letterwinners representing seven decades. The combination of their heroic efforts unified male and female letterwinners, coaches and staff who congregated inside Memorial Stadium’s third-floor plaza level, thanks in large part to two Husker leaders who volunteered to be pivitol ringleaders.

When more than 100 people showed up to celebrate their favorite programs, attendees listened, learned and laughed while hearing former Huskers share their thoughts from the 1950s to the modern era. The camaraderie was real and stockpiling another conference championship a day later only enhanced their ongoing resume.

Green, Simon Combine to Make Track & Field Reunion a Reality, Huge Success

Pepin had a strategic plan that almost guaranteed success, enlisting the help of two female student-athletes who have carved successful niches in the business world just like they did when they competed as Huskers. “Jenny Green and Nicole (Ali) Simoncan get anything you need done,” Pepin told me. “They’re both highly professional people who were also highly professional students and athletes when they competed here. They’re marvelous people and the type who will do anything you ask.”

A Grand Island native, Green won four Big 12 Conference individual championships and earned All-America honors in the process. She was named a first-team Academic All-American while rewriting Nebraska’s pole vault records from 2004 to 2007. She won titles on the field, became a team captain and served as vice president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Green continues to be a successful business woman who lives in Lincoln.

Anative of Scarboro, Ontario, Simon was a member of NU's 1983 and ’84 indoor women’s national championship teams. Her name is tied to eight Big Eight Conference championship teams that swept indoor and outdoor titles for four consecutive seasons. A middle-distance runner, Simon – mother of Nebraska women’s basketball student-athlete Maddie Simon – also became Nebraska track & field’s first CoSIDA Academic All-American.

"Crazy things happen to crazy people," Simon said. "One moment I was in Maryland watching Madeleine play for the Huskers with two of my Husker teammates who live in the Baltimore area. The next thing I knew, I was agreeing to plan and host a Husker track reunion. We could not have pulled this off without a lot of help from the N Club team and the immense talents of Jenny Green. We appreciate all the help that came our way."

Eichorst Enjoyed Different Generations Uniting for the First Time in Decades

Last Saturday night’s reunion “was an exceptional event,” Nebraska Director of Athletics Shawn Eichorst said. “You could see different generations coming together for the first time in decades. While they were reminiscing, you could tell that it was very special for Gary. It really took him back, and it was great for everyone to see all that history and tradition together. I saw a lot of pride in that room, and I see track & field getting together a lot more in the future. It’s fun when you see guys who competed in the 1950s coming back home. The N Club will do whatever it can to help that group grow organically and systematically.”

Even though the event was sanctioned less than two months ago, it came off like it had been planned for half a year. Credit Pepin for having the insight and wisdom to recruit two Husker female letterwinners who became catalysts in building the program and accepting the responsibility to bring fellow letterwinners home. 

When Green received an e-mail from Simon regarding the reunion, she immediately embraced the opportunity. In light of the three-plus decade drought of bringing teams back into track & field’s version of a family reunion, Green could not envision an overwhelming response to an opportunity almost a month away.

“When Nicole and I met for coffee, I initially thought it was going to be a small get-together the night before the finals,” Green said, “but it quickly turned into a go big or go home event. After all, we are athletes who competed for Coach Pepin, so we go all out.”

Green, Simon Split Logistics, Did Everything Possible to Promote Reunion

Green and Simon split the logistics up and went to work in hopes to reach as many alumni as each could find in a short time frame. Simon made phone calls and sent e-mails while Green created the online registration, set up a Facebook event and collected photos for the slide show.

“I’m old-school and Jenny’s new-school, so our collaboration worked well and paid off,” Simon said, acknowledging that last weekend was a perfect opportunity to start a new tradition.

Attendees included Vince Brown, the Huskers’ 60-meter record-holder (6.66 seconds) in 1998; NCAA pole vault champion Eric Eshbach; Ann Gaffigan, former American record-holder in the women's 3,000 steeple chase; Anne Shadle, a 1,500-meter and mile run national champion; and other All-Americans and conference champions.

Nebraska’s two track & field teams are highly decorated programs with large numbers of alumni. Green and Simon are proud of what their alma mater accomplished and want to contribute whatever they can to ensure that future generations of Huskers can enjoy the same experience.

Husker Organizers Wanted to Solidify Unique Bond for the ‘Rest of Our Lives’

“We're Huskers for life and the opportunity we had as student-athletes is indescribable,” Green said. “Regardless of when we competed for the Big Red, it's a unique bond that we will all share for the rest of our lives.” 

Simon said she was excited that alumni from across the country returned to Lincoln to support the men's team to another conference title, not to mention a fine women's team performance and the additional opportunity to relive their own memorable moments on the same weekend.

The reunion “was a long time coming, but I can see it becoming bigger," Pepin said, adding that "it sure helps when you get to see another championship team. That makes everybody happy.”

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