NU track and field jumpers capture two first place finishes at Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational

It was business as usual for Nebraska's jumpers Saturday.

The Husker horizontal jumpers (long and triple jump), captured 10 first place finishes in their three meets this season. This weekend at the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational, NU added two first place finishes, two second place finishes, a third place finish and fourth place finish.

Nebraska's two first place finishers, All-Americans Chris Phipps and Mara Griva, are regarded as two of Nebraska's best athletes. Fellow triple jumper Anna Weigandt, who contributed one first-place finish and two second-place finishes to Nebraska's total, said despite Griva's success this season, she still has plenty of room for growth as she recovers from a lingering back injury.

"She's not even close, warming up to what she could do," Weigandt said.

Weigandt, a redshirt sophomore triple jumper, has emerged as one of Nebraska's top jumpers.

In last week's Mark Colligan Memorial, Weigandt broke her indoor personal record of 12.09 meters when she jumped 12.43 meters on her first attempt of the meet. During Saturday's Husker Invitational, Weigandt came within 0.02 meters of breaking her personal record once again.

"At the beginning of the season, I was getting kind of frustrated," Weigandt said. "It gets to a point where it's like, ‘Come on, when am I going to get that jump?'"

Weigandt said beating her personal record in the Mark Colligan Memorial gave her the confidence to continue to perform well. While she didn't quite match her personal record in Saturday's meet, Weigandt said she jumped more consistently, registering four jumps of 12.25 meters or greater.

She credits much of her development to NU coach Gary Pepin. Nebraska's coach of 32 years spends most of his time during practice and meets working with Nebraska's horizontal jumpers.

"He's just really great at what he's doing," Weigandt said. "He really pushes us."

Weigandt said that the arrival of assistant coach Dusty Jonas, a former Olympic high jumper at Nebraska, allowed Pepin to focus more on Nebraska's horizontal jumpers. As a result, the jumping squad has seen a boost in talent.

"Since he's the head coach, his influence on getting recruits here for jumping is better," Weigandt said.

Some viewed 2012 as a possible "down year" for Nebraska's high jumpers. Luckily for the Huskers, two freshmen stepped up and claimed three victories in their first three meets as members of Nebraska's track team.

Marusa Cernjul has two wins on the season, while Carlos Hernandez adds another win and a second place finish, though neither claimed a victory in the Husker Invitational Saturday.

"Indoor track is a little bit more physical than what kids experience in high school," said Matt Martin, Nebraska's sprints/hurdles/relays coach.

Team-wide, Weigandt says the Huskers have reached a point in the season where everyone is trying to perform their absolute best individually.

"There's no use in holding back right now," Weigandt said. "You want to do your best every time."

Right now the team is focusing on individual needs, but as the Big Ten Championship meet approaches, Weigandt says Nebraska needs to work together as a team to compile enough points to win a championship.

Martin says he has already seen signs of that beginning to take place.

"I'm just really impressed," Martin said. "We're a team and we want to win a team championship. That really goes a long way."

In Saturday's meet, Nebraska's field events claimed four first place finishes, winning the men's triple jump (Phipps), men's shot put (Luke Pinkelman), women's long jump (Griva) and women's pole vault (Cami Jiskra).

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