Miller Named Meet’s Most Valuable Female Performer 

Lincoln, Neb. - The 37th running of the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational came to a close on Saturday afternoon at the Devaney Center Indoor Track with one meet record broken and nine event titles earned by the Huskers. Nebraska senior Ashley Miller was named the Most Valuable Female Performer as Wisconsin’s Japheth Cato was named the Most Valuable Male Performer.

 

Miller has provided highlight after highlight for the Huskers in 2012 and did not let up, taking top honors in the women’s mile special with a personal-best time of 4:39.11. Miller’s performance puts her at fourth among top-10 performers at Nebraska in the mile. The school record is 4:38.23 and was set by Anne Shadle in 2005 and the NCAA-automatic qualifying mark is 4:37.00. Her mark on Saturday ranks as the 12th-best indoor mile time in the NCAA this season.

 

Bjorn Barrefors finished a solid outing the heptathlon with a total of 5,701 points to finish second behind Japheth Cato of Wisconsin (5,939). Cato’s mark clipped the heptathlon meet record for the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational, last set in 2008. Teran Walford finished fifth in the heptathlon with 5,130 points. Walford posted personal bests in the high jump (6-2) and 1,000 meters (2:42.42) over the two days of competition.  

 

Luke Pinkelman claimed another shot put title on Saturday, taking first with a throw of 62-5 3/4 (19.04). Tyler Hitchler finished fifth with a throw of 59-1 1/2 (18.02), while Taylor Shapland recorded a throw of 54-0 (16.36) and Chad Wright notched a throw of 53-11 3/4 (16.45). Carlie Pinkelman posted the top finish for the Huskers in the women’s shot put, coming in fourth-place with a personal-best throw of 49-3 1/2 (15.02). Annie Jackson finished fifth with a throw of 48-11 3/4 (14.93).

 

Chris Phipps added another triple jump title to his list of accomplishments this season. Phipps recorded a leap of 51-0 3/4 (15.56) to take the event crown.  Patrick Raedler finished second with a personal-best jump of 50-11 (15.52). Anna Weigandt finished second in the women’s triple jump on a leap of 40-8 3/4 (12.41), and Ellie Ewere finished sixth with a jump of 38-7 (11.76). Travis Englund finished fourth in the men’s high jump with a mark of 6-8 1/4 (2.04), tying his best performance of the season.

 

Tim Thompson finished seventh in the men’s 60 meters with a time of 6.92, as Mara Weekes represented the women in the 60 meter dash with a second-place finish and a time of 7.51.Weekes captured top honors in the women’s 200 meters with a time of 24.16. Dexter McKenzie also finished first in the men’s 200 meters, recording a time of 21.59, while Thompson came in second after finishing with a time of 21.63.

 

Ricco Hall used an impressive performance in the men’s 400 meter dash to take the event title. Hall’s performance was one of the highlights of the afternoon as he came from behind and took first-place with a personal-best mark of 46.93. His time ranks fourth in school history for the indoor 400 meters and puts him seventh nationally in the 400 meters this season. Miles Ukaoma came in third in the event, posting a personal-best time of 47.14, as Jodi-Rae Blackwood also came in sixth place with a time of 48.26. Mila Andric finished fourth in the women’s 400 meters behind a time of 56.61.

 

Ellie Grooters captured top honors in the women’s 600 meters, finishing with a personal-best mark of 1:32.35. Ellen Dougherty took third, notching a personal-best mark of her own of 1:34.75. London Hawk finished second in the men’s 600 meters with a time of 1:20.47, as Mark Hilderbrand took third on a personal-best time of 1:21.22. In the women’s 800 meter special, Jessica Furlan finished third with a personal-best time of 2:09.18, as Brooke Dinsdale followed close behind with a fourth-place finish and a personal-best mark of 2:10.38.

 

Mila Andric finished third in the women’s 60-meter hurdles, recording a personal-best time of 8.64. Greta Kerekes took sixth after finishing with a time of 8.84. Miles Ukaoma finished second in the men’s 60-meter hurdles, tying his personal-best mark of 7.91.

 

In the women’s 3,000 meter special, Martina Barinova finished third with a season-best time of 9:41.00. Katie White came in at fifth-place after running a personal-best time of 9:53.37. Jarren Heng led the Husker men in the 3,000 meter special with a sixth-place finish on a personal-best performance of 8:14.78, a mark that puts him eighth in the 3,000 meter record books at Nebraska.

 

In the women’s 4x400 meter relay special, the Huskers finished fourth with a time of 3:47.74 behind the efforts of Grooters, Blaire Dinsdale, Brooke Dinsdale and Andric. The men’s 4x400 meter relay team took top honors behind a 3:11.61 time from Blackwood, Ukaoma, McKenzie and Hall.

 

The Huskers will now hit the road next weekend for two-day meets at the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark, and the Iowa State Classic in Ames, Iowa. Both are slated for Friday, Feb. 10 and Saturday, Feb. 11.