Husker track and field shows improvement in Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational

Nebraska's sprinters are gaining steam.

A rough start to the season against Houston left Husker runners and coaches frustrated and hoping for improvement. Coach Gary Pepin and sprints/hurdles coach Billy Maxwell both mentioned Nebraska's youth as a reason for Nebraska's lesser performance.

The next week, elite runners Ashley Spencer and Andrew Riley of Illinois gave Nebraska a few headaches, but allowed some Husker runners to break through.

Mara Weekes set two personal records and Ricco Hall continued to improve, coming close to victories in the 200-meter dash and the 4x400-meter relay. Sophomore Miles Ukaoma gave Riley, the defending NCAA champion, a decent run.

Steadily, they kept getting better until Saturday's Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational, when they finally broke through.

"We're seeing signs of life," sprints/hurdles/relays coach Matt Martin said.

In events 600 meters or shorter, the Huskers nabbed five victories, claiming another six top-three finishes. Nebraska was just one of the 40 colleges that fielded participants in Friday and Saturday's meet, not counting the numerous unattached participants.

Hall, who Martin said is one of Nebraska's top up-and-comers, took first place in the 400-meter dash. The win came in dramatic fashion, as Hall needed a personal record time of 46.93 and a come-from-behind run to take first.

"Ricco Hall has really established himself as somebody who's got NCAA-level potential," Martin said. "For him to be patient and kind of run his own race said a lot about him. It's hard to pass in an indoor track."

Nebraska sprinters Dexter McKenzie and Tim Thompson finished first and second, respectively, in the 200-meter dash to add another Husker win, while the 4x400-meter team, anchored by Hall, took first in the special session.

Husker women Weekes and Ellie Grooters won the 200-meter dash and the 600-meter dash, respectively. Grooters' personal best 1:32.35 gave her the win, while fellow Husker Ellen Dougherty took third place behind a personal best time of 1:34.75.

"They competed hard," Martin said. "You can't run scared."

While the Husker sprinters were just starting to hit their stride, combined events athletes were performing in their first heptathlon or pentathlon of the 2012 season.

Nebraska's top heptathlon athlete Bjorn Barrefors, a former All-American in the event, said the first heptathlon of the year is preparatory. In the past, Barrefors hasn't performed in the event.

However, an injury in the past led Barrefors to decide to participate in Friday and Saturday's heptathlon, hoping to achieve an automatic qualifying score for the NCAA championships.

Barrefors fell 49 points short of an NCAA automatic qualifying score, which this year is set at 5,750. His score of 5,701 would have been enough to earn him a place at the NCAA meet last year.

One athlete at the Sevigne Husker Invitational did earn an NCAA automatic qualifying score, however. Wisconsin's Japheth Cato's score of 5,939 broke the Sevigne Husker Invitational record, last set in 2008.

On the women's side, pentathlon participants Anne Martin and Jordan Stiens took second and third place, respectively, with Wisconsin's Dorcas Akinniyi winning the event with 3,991 points, 126 points more than second-place Martin.

Both Martin and Stiens set personal records for total score in the event, with Martin also earning personal bests in the 60-meter hurdles (8.93), shot put (36-1 1/2) and 800-meter run (2:24.19). Stiens earned personal bests in the 60-meter hurdles (8.74), high jump (5-2 1/4), shot put (39-2 1/2), long jump (18-1 1/2) and 800-meter run (2:25.54).

Husker distance runner Ashley Miller was named the meet's Most Valuable Female Athlete after she set a personal record in the women's mile special with a time of 4:39.11, nearly an NCAA automatic qualifying mark. Her time in the mile ranks fourth best in Nebraska history, and 12th in the nation this season.

Wisconsin's Cato, who won the heptathlon with an NCAA automatic qualifying score earned the Most Valuable Male Athlete honors.

chrispeters@

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