Madison, Wis.- The Nebraska track and field team opened the Big Ten Outdoor Championships on Friday at the McClimon Complex on the campus of the University of Wisconsin. During the three-day meet the Husker men are in search of their first conference team title since 2010, while the Husker women are looking to sweep the 2012 team titles after winning Big Ten Indoor Championships in February.
With two events scored on the women's side and three events scored on the men's side, NU's women are tied for second with Ohio State with 13 points, while Penn State leads with 18 points. The Husker men sit in 10th place with 2.50 points, as Wisconsin leads the men with 26 points.
Jade Siegel led the Huskers in the women's hammer throw with a fourth-place finish behind a personal-best mark of 199-6 (60.81). Victoria Zimmerman, the 2011 Big 12 hammer throw champion, followed close behind with a personal-best throw of 199-2 (60.72) for fifth. On the men's side, Carter Wasem finished with a throw of 186-3 (56.77).
Katie White ended the first day of competition with a monstrous effort in the women's 10,000 meters. The senior from Broken Bow, Neb., surged ahead in the race to finish in fifth and record a time of 35:02.75.
Erik Sutterfield finished sixth in the men's pole vault, recording a mark of 16-7 1/4 (5.06), while Craig Driver posted a vault of 16-3 1/4 (4.96).
Bjorn Barrefors started the day for the Huskers in the decathlon with a personal-best-tying time of 11.04 in the 100 meters. He followed that performance with a personal-best leap of 24-10 (7.57) in the long jump, improving upon his first-place standing. He finished with a throw of 44-3 1/4 (13.49) in the men's shot put giving him a 112 point lead over Derek Steinbach from Wisconsin. He then moved to the high jump where he notched a season-best leap of 6-7 1/2 (2.02). Barrefors closed the day with a time of 50.22 in the 400 meters, finishing the first day of the decathlon with a 4,127-4,014 first-place lead over Dave Grzesiak of Wisconsin.
Teran Walford also represented the Huskers in the decathlon, producing numerous personal-best marks on the day. He started the competition with a personal-best wind-aided time of 11.18 in the 100 meters. He recorded a personal-best jump of 21-9 1/2 (6.64) in the long jump and notched a throw of 38-10 1/4 (11.84) in the shot put. He went on to finished with a personal-best jump of 6-5 (1.96) in the high jump and notched a personal-best time of 49.20 in the 400 meters. He closed the first day of competition in 11th place with 3,766 points. Competition in the decathlon resumes tomorrow with the 110 meter hurdles at 9:30 a.m.
In the women's heptathlon, Jordan Stiens led the Huskers on the day finishing ninth after the first day of competition. She recorded a season-best time of 14.15 in the 100 meter hurdles and a personal-best-tying mark of 5-3 1/4 (1.61) in the high jump. She closed the day with a season-best time of 25.91 in the 200 meters. Anne Martin finished the day in 16th. The competition continues tomorrow with the long jump at 10:15 a.m.
The 2012 Big Ten Outdoor Championships continue tomorrow with combined events action getting underway at 9:30 a.m. with the decathlon 110 meter hurdles and the heptathlon long jump at 10:15 a.m. The men's long jump begins at 1:20 p.m., while the women's 4x100 meter relay trials begin at 2:10 p.m.
