Wolczyk, Walton Earn Silver on Day One of Big Tens

Bloomington, Ind. - Junior Brittni Wolczyk and senior Cody Walton both won silver medals in the javelin on the first day of competition at the 2018 Big Ten Championships on Friday at the Robert C. Haugh Track & Field Complex.

Through three scored events, the Husker men are fourth with 13 total points, while the Husker women are tied for fifth after four events with 13 points.

Wolczyk recorded NU's first medal finish of the meet, as she earned her silver medal in the javelin with a season-best 173-8 (52.93m). This season marks the third time she has placed in the top-two at the Big Ten Championships. Chase Wolinski also made the podium for the second-consecutive season, as she took fourth with a throw of 166-11 (50.88m).

Walton made it a sweep of the silver medals in the javelin, as he posted a personal-best 233-7 (71.21m) to improve upon his No. 5 all-time mark at NU and jump into the national top-10 this season at No. 9. The finish marked the second top-five spot in the individual javelin competition at the Big Ten Championships for Walton.

The Husker men got on the board in the hammer throw, as school record-holder Nick Percy took fifth place with a season-best 221-1 (67.40m), just 1 1/2 feet behind his NU record. Freshman Edward Jeans launched the third-best throw at NU all-time and placed eighth with a throw of 207-9 (63.32) to make the podium. Chris Daniels placed 12th with the eighth-best throw in school history of 204-9 (62.42m).

Jasmine Barge qualified for Sunday's final in the 400m hurdles with a season-best time of 57.95 in Friday's prelims, the third-fastest qualifying time. Andy Neal advanced to Sunday's final in the men's 400m hurdles, as he took fourth in qualifying with a season-best 50.81. Lakayla Harris took fifth in qualifying with a time of 23.56 in the women's 200m dash to advance to Sunday's final.

In the decathlon, Cale Wagner sits in sixth place overall with a score of 3,856, while Zach Podraza is 10th with a total of 3,504 points. Wagner took second in the long jump with a season-best 23-8 1/4 (7.22m).  Podraza took fifth and Wagner placed seventh in the decathlon high jump, as both cleared a bar of 6-4 1/4, season bests for both. Wagner led the Huskers with a time of 11.17, good for an eighth-place finish in the decathlon 100m, while Podraza led the Big Red contingent with a ninth-place finish in the 400m with a PR time of 51.70. 

Walton competed in the first four events of the decathlon, and led the Huskers with a third place finish in the shot put with a mark of 46-10 1/4.

Alice Akers placed 10th overall with a throw of 189-6 (57.77m) in the hammer throw. Maddie Holland placed 12th in the pole vault with a clearance of 12-10 1/4 (3.92m).

Elsa Forsberg set a PR and took 19th overall in the 1,500m prelims with a time of 4:29.93. Mark Freyhof led the Huskers in the 10,000m with a time of 31:21.02, good for a 16th-place finish.

The Big Ten Championships continue on Saturday, with events beginning at 9:30 a.m. (CT). A live stream will be available to subscribers at both FloTrack and BTN Plus, and live results will be available through FloTrack. Competition concludes on Sunday with events starting at 10 a.m. (CT).