Daily Nebraskan

Issue date: 2/4/08 Section: Sports

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Second place has never been so impressive.

Nebraska senior Sheryl Morgan's new personal best 400-meter time of 53.79-seconds Saturday at the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational was the second-fastest time in the country this year at the Division I level, but it wasn't even the best time recorded on the track that day.

Morgan was edged out for first place by Division II national leader Pinar Saka of Nebraska-Omaha. The ironic outcome speaks to the amazing talent the 38 teams that embarked upon Lincoln this weekend brought with them to the Devaney Center Track.

"That's the way this meet has always been," NU Coach Gary Pepin said. "Some of the very best athletes in the United States are here. There are some Olympians here and national champions so we always see top-level performances."

Nebraska won eight events this weekend and showed its clout against elite competition. Along with Morgan's near miss, the Cornhusker showing was highlighted by freshmen Karyn LaCour, Arna Erega and sophomore Nikita Eades, who swept the 60-meter hurdles in that order. LaCour and Erega's times were good for fifth and eighth, respectively, in Nebraska's all-time indoor record book. Sophomore Megan Wheatley rounded out the impressive performance from the young NU women's team by earning an automatic bid into the NCAA championships in the pentathlon with 4,122 points.

Similar to Morgan's fate, Wheatley only earned second place for her outstanding efforts thanks to strong competition from the likes of Arizona's Shevell Quinley who won the event by just three points over the Husker.

Even NU athletic director Tom Osborne, who is no stranger to seeing amazing athletes and watched in on a few events, said he was impressed with the Huskers and their competition.

Pepin said he was generally pleased with the progress his team made at the meet but could not say the same about how many were there to watch it.

"I think the people that are here are supportive and most of them are pretty knowledgeable and into it, but I was a little disappointed in the crowd," Pepin said.

A crowd of 2,227 came to watch the events Saturday, according to Nebraska Sports Information, but the stands were far from full and halfway empty near the end of the day. The Nebraska men's basketball was also playing at the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Saturday, and Pepin used that sport to explain why he felt more fans should have shown up to the Invite and instead of other events like the game against the Cyclones.

"Well, it's a big deal if, say, the Oregon basketball team comes to town," Pepin said. "Well, we have the equivalent of all kinds of Oregons that come to this meet. So, there is not an event on campus that is quite like this one in terms of the number of high-caliber athletes that come here."

Pepin pointed to the decreasing amount of coverage for track and field events to try and explain the lackluster turnout for the big event.

"I guess what's disappointing is that if one goes to one of the other big meets across the country, the publicity for that will be a daily event in the newspaper and on television," Pepin said. "It's there everyday. They know the people that are coming, they know the stars and the teams, and we don't get that at all. So it's almost a slap in the face or a belittlement of how good the athletes and teams are that come in here. And, to some extent, a little bit embarrassing."

Nebraska teams were also competing in swimming and wrestling competitions to go along with the basketball game Saturday, and Osborne said the low turnout might just have been a case of NU fans being spread too thin.

"There's a lot of events going on today," Osborne said. "It looked like a pretty good crowd to me."

krisknowlton@dailynebraskan.com

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