MIAA Indoor Conference Championship

Day 1: UNO had 3 girls compete in the pentathalon. Sami finished 6th to put our team on the board for points. Ckayln and Jessica also showed huge improvements on the season- they both set personal records in 3 out of the 5 events.

Day 2: Lianne finished 6th in the weight throw with a huge personal record of over 5 feet (51'3.75")! Nkeiruka also won the triple jump (43'8"), setting the MIAA conference and stadium record. Many got through the prelims on Day 2 to qualify for the finals on Day 3: Anja (800), Maja (200), Jody-Ann (60 Hurdles), and I (400).

Day 3: Nkeiruka won the long jump with a personal best (19'5.25"), and Kathie-Lee also took 4th in that event (18'7"). Kathie-Lee also won the high jump (5'8.75"). Heather won the shot put (48'9"), which is an automatic qualifying mark for nationals. Anja got 6th in the mile and turned around an hour later and won the 800. Jody-Ann got 4th in the hurdles, Maja got 3rd in the 200, and the mile relay took 4th.

Our team took 4th place- amazing despite all that happened. The funny part of the trip was that we drove down to Warrensburg in a blizzard and drove back to Omaha in a thunderstorm- thank you Midwest weather. There is a last chance qualifier meet at Iowa State this weekend. Coach hasn't announced who is going. Nationals is next weekend in New Mexico.

Nebraska Tune-Up

Our team had some great performances at Lincoln. Nkeiruka long jumped 19'3.5", which places her 2nd in long jump in the nation, and she also holds the furthest triple jump mark in the nation. Jody-Ann ran 8.77 in the 60 hurdles, which is a Personal Record and ties her for 10th in the nation thus far. Nicole PR'd in the 1000 by 5 seconds, which is HUGE in any race. The best part was when we loaded the bus, she began to tell us her story from the previous day of how there was a sale on cookies at Bag-N'-Save the day before...she bought 1 dozen M&M cookies, and ate them all in one sitting- the day before she competed! We all laughed...I totally wish I could eat like that and run faster every week :)

I wasn't feeling the greatest for the 400. I ran 57.13. I had a couple hours of rest and was able to come back and run one of the greatest races of my career. Because of injuries and schedules, our relay has not been able to run this season yet. We (Maja, Celeste, Anja, Me) ran 3:49, which places us 6th in the nation after running it only once. I anchored a 55.75, and it felt very good. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jakptVyGa6A

We have conference next weekend in Warrensburg, Missouri. UNO is the two-time defending MIAA Indoor Conference Champions, and we hope to do it again this year.

Tyson Invitational

Alarm clocks went off at 4:00 a.m. Thursday morning to start one of the most interesting weekends we have had yet. 6 of us qualified for the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Arkansas. This is a premier Division I track meet on one of the best tracks in the world. We saw some of the top performances in the world this weekend. Arkansas got 24 inches of snow in one day, and the airport was closed the previous day we traveled.  When we boarded our first flight in Omaha, our flight from Minneapolis to Arkansas was still on as scheduled. When we landed in Minneapolis, we found out they had canceled our flight to Fayetteville. After a frantic hour of coach on the phone with the travel agent, we were headed to Detroit in hopes that the Arkansas airport would be open in a couple hours. 7 hours after our scheduled arrival, we landed in Arkansas to find out we were missing Kathie-Lee's bag. Kathie-Lee hopped in the van, and I said, "Where'd they send your bag?" She said, "China". We all laughed, thinking there was no way they sent her bag to China. Come to find out, a red UNO track bag landed in Shanghai, China. We went to dinner Thursday night. I had packed all of my food because of my food allergies, but decided to get some fish at the restaurant, thinking if I told them to not put anything on it, I would be fine. A small piece of fish altered the way the rest of my weekend would go.

Competition started on Friday. I was the first event with the 400. Because of my reaction to whatever the fish had touched, I lost a lot of fluids the morning of my race and was feeling a little weak. I ran 57.31. I felt pretty relaxed in the race, but I just didn't have the strength. I broke out in hives after my race, and I also got them Saturday morning. Coach was pleased with my performance because of the circumstances. Maja ran a 7.67 in the 60, and Anja ran 2:10 in the 800. We were all tired and exhausted from the 15 hours of traveling the day before.

Heather, Maja, and Nkeiruka performed well on Saturday. Heather had a season best throw in the shot put (47'.75"). Nkeiruka had a stellar jump in the triple jump. She went 45'1.75" to break the Division II Triple Jump Record, which also places her 19th in the world so for this season. Maja was the solo runner on the track where she ran her season best time in the 200 (24.45). Great second day for the team.

It's a short training week for the team this week. We head down to Lincoln on Friday where we will run the 4x400 relay for the first time this year, hoping to get a good qualifying time for the national meet.

Frank Sevigne Invitational

On Friday, Kathie-Lee earned the top long jump mark in Division II this season (19'1/4"). Maja qualified for the 60 and 200 finals on Saturday, and I qualified for the 400 finals and 200 consolation finals on saturday.

We returned back to the track on Saturday to have some great performances. Anja ran the 800 for the first time this season, where she posted the top time in Division II and finished as a Frank Sevigne Champion. Heather had a season best throw in the shot put (46'9"). Maja finished the 60 in 7.71 and finished 3rd in the 200 (24.80). Katarina also ran the mile, winning it at 4:51.61.

I personally had a pretty good weekend. On Friday I was heat 10 of 10 in the 400 (57.08), and I turned around and ran the 200 25 minutes after my 400- not a fan of that quick of a turnaround. I knew I qualified for the fast section of the 400, but I did not know I qualified for the consolation final of the 200 until Saturday morning. Coach had me scratch the 200 so I could focus on the 400 and run a good time. I had 2 very fast girls in my heat, so I let them take the pole and tucked in right behind them. I tried to run relaxed, and I ended up finishing well. I ran a 56.75 in the 400 finals- best time of the season.

Short week this week. 6 of us qualified for the Tyson Invitational in Arkansas, and we will be flying down Thursday morning. We'll be running on one of the best tracks in the world (the highest bank). This is a premier professional meet. We have big opportunities- Go Mavericks!

Mavericks Move Up In Weekly Track Rankings

NEW ORLEANS, La. - The UNO track and field team moved up one place to third in the latest national rankings by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association today. The Mavericks had been ranked fourth in each of the last two weeks.

UNO trails only Grand Valley State and Ashland in the rankings. Both schools were ranked 1-2 last week as well.

The Mavericks are one of six teams from the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association ranked in the top 25. The others include Lincoln (4), Central Missouri (6), Fort Hays State (8), Missouri Southern (21) and Pittsburg State (23).

UNO returns to action on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 4 and 5 at the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational in Lincoln