Huskers Head to Two Road Meets

The Nebraska track and field team will hit the road for the first time this season and will split up for two separate meets. Most of the team will compete at the Gorilla Classic in Pittsburg, Kan., while the distance squad will run at the Iowa State Classic in Ames, Iowa.

Friday's events at the Gorilla Classic will start with field events at 2 p.m. and running competition beginning at 4 p.m. On Saturday, the Gorilla Classic will commence with track events at 10:30 a.m. and field events at Noon. Both days of the Iowa State Classic will start with competition on the track at Noon. The Iowa State Classic will have a live video feed available at FloTrack.org with the purchase of a subscription. 

The Huskers are approaching the final two weekends before the Big Ten Indoor Championships on Feb. 28-29, 2020 in Geneva, Ohio. The Big Red will host the Nebraska Tune-Up next Friday at the Devaney Center.

Setting the Bar
• Sophomore George Kusche ran a time of 7:50.93 in the 3,000 meters at the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational last weekend to win the event with a school record, a meet record and a new Bob Devaney Sports Center record. His time leads the Big Ten and is No. 7 in the NCAA this season.
• Kusche broke his own mile record at the Washington Invitational two weeks ago with a time of 3:57.93 on an oversized track to own the mile record at Nebraska outright.
• Freshman Brent Wetovick continued his unbeaten season last weekend with a win in the 600m in a time of 1:18.18, the eighth-fastest time in program history. He has won all seven collegiate races he has competed in this season, including two in the 800 meters, two 600 meters, two 4x400-meter relays and a distance medley relay.
•  Kristina Insingo picked up her third shot put title of the indoor season, setting a new personal-best with a throw of 55-0 (16.76m) at the FSHI. Her mark improved her to No. 4 in school history.
• Nebraska swept both team titles at both the Mark Colligan Memorial and adidas Classic scored quadrangular meets at the Devaney Center earlier this season.
• Nebraska won 20 individual titles as a team at the Graduate Classic to open the season, bettering last season's individual title count of 14.

New Nebraska Top-10 Marks
The Huskers have achieved seven all-time top-10 indoor marks in school history so far in 2020:
• George Kusche - Mile (No. 1 oversized - 3:57.93)
• George Kusche - 3,000m (No. 1 - 7:50.93)
• Alencar Pereira - Weight Throw (No. 3 - 68-0 1/2, 20.74m)
• Burger Lambrechts Jr. - Shot Put (No. 4 - 64-8, 19.71m)
• James Joycey - Weight Throw (No. 4 - 67-10 3/4, 20.69m)
• Kristina Insingo - Shot Put (No. 4 - 55-0, 16.76m)
• Burger Lambrechts Jr. - Weight Throw (No. 7 - 65-7 1/2, 20.00m)
• Isaiah Hutchinson - 200m (No. 7 - 21.17)
• Brent Wetovick - 600m (No. 8 - 1:18.18)
• Elsa Forsberg - Mile (No. 9 - 4:46.06)
• Judi Jones - 3,000m (No. 9 - 9:36.19)

Nebraska Ranked in USTFCCCA #EventSquad Rankings
The Husker track and field team has several event groups ranked highly in the USTFCCCA #EventSquad Rankings this season. The ranking system uses the best qualifying marks from a team's top-four ranked athletes in the event.
• #4 - Women's Triple Jump
• #4 - Women's Shot Put
• #5 - Men's Weight Throw
• #6 - Men's Shot Put
• #7 - Men's 60m Hurdles
• #9 - Women's Long Jump
• #10 - Men's Triple Jump
• #10 - Women's High Jump

Pepin Named B1G and USTFCCCA Men's Midwest Region Coach of the Year
Nebraska track and field head coach Gary Pepin was named the Big Ten Men's Indoor Coach of the Year and the USTFCCCA Midwest Region Coach of the Year in 2019. 

The Big Ten honor marked Pepin's sixth selection as Big Ten Coach of the Year since the Huskers joined the conference in 2011-12, and it was his 28th all-time conference coaching accolade. The 2019 Big Ten men's indoor title was Pepin's 73rd career conference title and 43rd indoors. He has guided the Husker men to three Big Ten indoor titles in the last five seasons.

Pepin, in his 40th year as head coach at Nebraska, has also been honored as region coach of the year 11 times in the past 15 years. Of his 11 region coaching honors, three are men's indoor coach of the year (2005, 2015, 2019). 

Husker Men Out to Defend Big Ten Indoor Title
The Nebraska men won the 2019 Big Ten Indoor Championship in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Angela Mercurio, Lakayla Harris, Mayson Conner and Elijah Lucy all won individual Big Ten indoor titles for the Big Red. 

The Husker men entered the final day of the Big Ten Championships with an 11-point lead and led the entire day until Indiana took a 90-89 lead with only the 4x400-meter relay remaining. However, the Huskers' relay team of Givon Washington, Tony Nou, Lucy and Isaiah Hutchinson ran a season-best of 3:09.12 to finish fifth, while Indiana finished eighth in 3:11.71. The Huskers finished with 93 points, and Indiana had 91, giving NU its first team crown since 2016.

The Husker men won their 67th all-time conference title and 38th indoors with the victory. It was the fifth Big Ten title for the Husker men since joining the conference in 2012. For legendary head coach Gary Pepin, it marked his 73rd career conference title and 43rd indoors.

Conner was crowned the high jump champion after clearing a personal-best 7-3 3/4 (2.23m), which put him in a tie for ninth in school history. Conner had the competition locked up as the only jumper to clear 7-2 1/4 (2.19m), and he was perfect through that height. The McCool Junction native went on to achieve a new personal best and give the Husker men the Big Ten indoor high jump title for the fifth time in the last six years. Conner was the Big Ten Indoor and Outdoor Freshman of the Year. 

Husker Men Tabbed 2019 Indoor Dual Meet Champions
The Nebraska men's track and field team was named the indoor dual meet champions by Track & Field News Magazine for the first time in the program's history in 2019. 

Following a strong performance at the Mark Colligan Memorial, where the Huskers scored 172 points to sweep the meet, the Huskers surged from No. 4 to No. 1 in the final rankings of the indoor season. The Huskers posted a 3-0 record in dual meets to top Indiana (1-0) and Texas A&M (2-0) for the top spot. The NU women came in at No. 4 in the final women's rankings.

To be ranked, a team must compete in one or more dual meets (defined as a scored meet between four or fewer teams) during the indoor season. Teams are ranked on wins and losses, marks, and strength and depth of dual meet schedule. Teams are rewarded for taking dual meet competition seriously. The Nebraska men won the absolute - indoor and outdoor combined - dual meet championship in 2017.