• The Nebraska track and field team heads to East Lansing, Mich., this week for the Big Ten Outdoor Championships. Competition begins on Friday at 11 a.m. (CT) and runs through Sunday with the final event taking place at 2:45 p.m. (CT). Live results for all the action at Ralph Young Field will be available at Huskers.com. The meet will air tape delayed on the Big Ten Network on May 24 at 10 a.m.
• The Husker men are coming off the Big Ten Men’s Indoor Championship and have won three of the past six outdoor conference championships they’ve competed in, most recently the 2013 Big Ten Outdoor Championships. Overall, the Husker men have won 28 all-time outdoor conference titles, while the women have won 18 all-time outdoor conference titles, the last coming in 2005 in the Big 12.
• The Husker women were second at last year’s Big Ten Outdoor Championships, while the men were third. Husker individuals will be looking to crack the top 48 in the NCAA West Region in their respective events. A top-48 event standing (and top 24 for relays) qualifies for the NCAA West Preliminary Round in Austin, Texas, May 28-30.
• The Husker men expect to score well in the high jump. James White (7-2 1/4, 2.19m) is the conference leader, while Grant Anderson (7-1, 2.16m) is third and Landon Bartel (7-0 1/2, 2.15m) is fourth. White and Bartel finished first and second, respectively, at the indoor meet. Steven Cahoy leads the Big Ten in the pole vault (17-8 1/2, 5.40m), while Ricco Hall (200m), Levi Gipson (400m) and Beau Simmons (pole vault) all enter the meet third in their respective events.
• The Husker women will look to rack up points in the long jump. Jazmin McCoy is the conference leader at 20-2 1/4 (6.15m). Tierra Williams (20-0 1/4, 6.10m) is third and Reka Czuth (19-11 1/2, 6.08m) is fourth. The Huskers also have Kari Heck (19-6 1/4, 5.95m) at eighth in the Big Ten. Marusa Cernjul and Sarah Firestone both lead the Big Ten in their events. Cernjul’s 6-1 1/4 (1.86m) high jump is first the NCAA West Region, while Firestone’s javelin of 178-1 (54.29m) is third in the region.
Men’s 4×400 Repeats at 2nd at NCAA Indoors
The Nebraska men’s 4×400 relay team set another school record on its way to a runner-up finish for the second straight year at the NCAA Track and Field Indoor Championships on March 14 at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Ark. The result boosted the Husker men to a tie for 13th in the final team standings with 14 points. The finish is the best indoors for the Husker men since a tie for fifth in 2009.
The Huskers blitzed to a 3:04.83 in the final race of the night to trail only Texas A&M’s collegiate record 3:02.86 in the same heat. Jake Bender, Cody Rush, Levi Gipson and Drew Wiseman’s time of 3:04.83 topped last year’s record race of 3:05.69 by almost a full second. The Husker men’s 4×400 has now earned a top-eight finish at each of the past three NCAA Indoor Championships, joining Arkansas as the only other school to do so.
With eight All-America honors, the Huskers now have 628 all-time.
2015 Indoor First-Team All-Americans
Bender, Rush, Gipson, Wiseman (4×400, 2nd)
James White (High Jump, T-4th)
Oladapo Akinmoladun (60m hurdles, 7th)
2015 Indoor Second-Team All-Americans
Ellie Ewere (Triple Jump, 9th)
Steven Cahoy (Pole Vault, 12th)
Cody Rush (400m, 13th)
Marusa Cernjul (High Jump, 14th)
Ricco Hall (200m, 15th)
Husker Men Win B1G Indoor Title
The Husker men took home their first Big Ten Track and Field Indoor Championship on Feb. 28, running away with the trophy with 127 points at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio. The Husker men won an indoor conference championship for the first time since 2007 in the Big 12. It’s the second overall Big Ten title for the Husker men, as they won the 2013 outdoor title. Oladapo Akinmoladun (60m hurdles) and James White (high jump) won individual B1G titles. A total of 11 Huskers earned All-Big Ten Indoor honors.
2015 All-B1G Indoor First Team
Oladapo Akinmoladun (60m hurdles)
James White (High Jump)
2015 All-B1G Indoor Second Team
Landon Bartel (High Jump)
Steven Cahoy (Pole Vault)
Caleb Cowling (Long Jump)
Ricco Hall (200m)
Men’s 4×400 (Hall, Gipson, Bender, Rush)
Marusa Cernjul (High Jump)
Brittany Johnson (200m)
Pepin Adds to Legacy
The Husker men’s B1G Championship gave head coach Gary Pepin his 30th career indoor team championship and 70th career overall conference title in his 35th year at the helm. Pepin was named Big Ten Men’s Indoor Coach of the Year, his 25th conference coach of the year since 1997 (when the Huskers started competing in the Big 12). He was also the Midwest Region Men’s Indoor Coach of the Year, his ninth region coach of the year award.
B1G Athletes of the Week
The Huskers have picked up four Big Ten Track & Field Athletes of the Week in 2015:
Women’s Field Athlete of the Week
Marusa Cernjul (Jan. 26) (HJ – 6-1 1/4, 1.86m)
Sarah Firestone (April 8) (Jav – 178-1, 54.29m)
Marusa Cernjul (April 15) (HJ – 6-1 1/4, 1.86m)
Men’s Field Athlete of the Week
Will Lohman (April 8) (HT – 214-7, 65.42m)
Welk Shines in the Classroom
Senior John Welk has already won two NCAA Elite 89 awards, and added Nebraska Male Student-Athlete of the Year to his resume on April 12. Welk is the fifth consecutive Nebraska Male Student-Athlete of the Year from the Husker track and field squad. Coach Pepin’s men’s and women’s programs have combined for 13 of the 50 all-time awards at Nebraska’s annual banquet.
Home-Grown Talent
Fans of track and field in the state of Nebraska will see a lot of familiar faces this season as 54 of the Huskers’ 130 athletes are Nebraska natives. Overall, the team is represented by 25 states and 11 countries.
Husker Men Hold Nation’s Longest Dual Streak
The Husker men’s team has won 14 consecutive dual/tri/quad meets dating back to 2001, the longest streak in the NCAA per DailyRelay.com. In that span, the Huskers have defeated 35 opponents.