Wetovick, Turke Win B1G Gold at Indoor Championships

GENEVA, Ohio – Brent Wetovick (600 meters) and Ieva Turke (triple jump) won gold medals in their respective events on the final day of the Big Ten Indoor Championships at the SPIRE Institute on Saturday. The Huskers also earned a pair of silver medals and two bronze medals, to bring Nebraska's final medal count to 11 medals over the two-day event.

Nebraska finished fourth on the men's side with 76 points, while Indiana won the team crown with 120.5 points. The Big Red women finished 10th with 35.5 points and Ohio State took the women's team title with 104 points.

Wetovick won the Big Ten title in the 600 meters with a personal-best time of 1:16.81. His time is currently the fourth-fastest time in school history on any size of track. Wetovick has now ran in the 600 meters three times this season and has won them all.

"It is a blessing to even get here as a freshman," said Wetovick. "Everybody here is top-notch athletes and I am blessed to be able to travel so far and be able to compete at my best. This feels great and it is for my hometown and my home state, my family and my friends back home and my track family here. That is who it is for."

Turke finished with the first gold medal of her career in the women's triple jump, winning with a leap of 42-11 (13.08m). She was previously the bronze medalist in the event in 2019 and finished with the silver in the women's long jump on Friday night.

"It feels awesome because my first year I was fourth, last year I was third and now I am finally first," Turke said. "Yesterday I had the long jump competition and am a little sore today but kept thinking I can't give up and have to get gold."

Luke Siedhoff earned the silver medal in the 60-meter hurdles in a time of 7.79 to finish with runner-up honors. Darius Luff was also in the finals and scored points, placing sixth with a time of 7.87 to add three more points for the Huskers.

Burger Lambrechts Jr. also finished second in the shot put to earn the silver in 63-9 (19.43m).

George Kusche and Terrol Wilson earned the bronze medal in their respective events. Kusche took third in the mile, running a time of 4:09.68. Wilson was third in the men's triple jump with a personal-best jump of 50-1 1/4 (15.27m).

Mayson Conner and Madison Yerigan both finished fourth in their respective high jump sections. Conner was fourth in the men's section with a clearance of 7-1 3/4 (2.18m). Yerigan tied for fourth in the women's high jump during her first appearance at the conference championships with a personal-best jump of 5-9 1/4 (1.76m).

Erika Freyhof added three points for the women's team with a sixth-place finish in the 5,000 meters. Her time was 16:24.10.

Zach Podraza also added a sixth-place finish for the men in the heptathlon with a two-day total of 5,379 points. His day was highlighted by a win in the heptathlon pole vault with a PR clearance of 15-9 (4.80m).

The final points for Nebraska came during the men's 4x400-meter relay when the team of Tony Nou, Bryce Barrett, Cody Mroczek and Isaiah Hutchinson finished sixth with a season-best 3:10.74.

Matthew Brown finished seventh in the men's 60-meters with a time of 6.79, while Chris Ramsey was just outside scoring contention, placing ninth in the finals with a time of 6.88.

A handful of Huskers were just outside the top-eight in their respective events during finals. Jamesha Hardig led the Huskers in the women's shot put, finishing ninth with a toss of 51-4 (15.66m). Jordan De Spong was ninth in the men's mile with a time of 4:11.68. Zionn Pearson was ninth in the women's triple jump with a mark of 39-1 3/4 (11.93m). Elsa Forsberg took 10th in the women's mile with a time of 4:49.98. The women's 4x400-meter relay team was 10th in 3:45.16.

The Huskers will now await the official NCAA Indoor Championships selections next week. The NCAA Indoor Championships will take place in Albuquerque, N.M. on March 13-14.

Nebraska's 2020 Big Ten Indoor Champions
Alencar Pereira, Weight Throw, 72-6 1/4 (22.10m)
Brent Wetovick, 600 meters, 1:16.81
Ieva Turke, Triple Jump, 42-11 (13.08m)