Mavericks Head To National Championship This Week
May 24, 2010 | General, Track & Field
Weekly Release
Heat Sheets
The Week Ahead:
The #17 University of Nebraska at Omaha track and field team will compete in the NCAA Division II Outdoor Championship on May 27-29. The meet is being hosted by Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, N.C. The Mavericks will send qualifiers #Maja Mihalinec# (100, 200), #Kayla Koepke# (400, 4x400 relay), #Anja Puc# (800, 4x400 relay), #Shannon Moore# (Long jump, heptathlon, 4x400 relay) and #Pinar Saka# (4x400 relay).
The Coaches:
Steve Smith is in his fourth season as the head coach of the University of Nebraska at Omaha track program after more than two decades of success as an assistant in Kansas, Nebraska and UNO. Smith was named the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Assocation Indoor Coach of the Year after guiding the Mavericks to a stunning win in the 2009 MIAA Indoor Championships in March and finished the season fifth in the nation indoors. The Mavs repeated as MIAA Indoor Champs in 2010 and finished fourth in the NCAAs. Smith is assisted by #Chris Richardson# (jumps and pentathlon/heptathlon), John Mulligan (distances) and Rich Emsick (throws).
MIAA Outdoor Championship:
UNO took fourth place in the 2010 MIAA Outdoor Championship on May 8 and 9. The Mavs finished with 112 points, putting them just 1.5 points out of third and 5.5 points out of second. Puc and Mihalinec each earned double wins, Puc in the 800 m and 1,500 m and Mihalinec in the 100 m and 200 m. Koepke took first in the 400 and Moore earned first in the long jump. The Mavs 4x400 team of Moore, Mihalinec, Puc and Koepke also earned a first-place finish.
National Rankings:
Puc vaulted to second in the national rankings in the 800 meters when she ran a time of 2:07.55 in an open event at the Drake Relays. Her time is the best in the MIAA by almost five seconds. Puc ran the 1,500 meters on May 1 at the Ward Haylett Invitational at Kansas State and posted a time of 4:29.83, good enough for eighth in the nation and first in the MIAA. Moore is ranked fourth in the nation in the heptathlon after a personal best performance at the Emporia State Multi Events. Her score of 5,261 is the second-best heptathlon score in school history. Along the way, she set personal best marks in the 100 m hurdles (14.26), 200 m (24.89) and the javelin (102-1). Her score leads the MIAA. In addition, UNO's quartet of Koepke, Puc, Moore and Pinar Saka ranks third in the nation in the 4 x 400 meter relay after posting a time of 3:41.20 at the Drake Relays. That mark is also best in the MIAA.
Conference Rankings:
Koepke has the MIAA's best 400 meter mark after running a stadium record at Doane on April 17. In addition, Mihalinec has posted the MIAA's second-best time in the 100 m this season with a time of 11.81 at the Doane College Relays on April 17. She has the third-best mark in the 200 m at 24.88. In fact, the Mavs have four runners in the top eight in the league in that event. Koepke is second in the 200 m after her performance at Doane, Moore is fourth, and Molly Belling is sixth. Belling is also seventh in the MIAA in the 100 m. Puc is second in the league in the 400 m. Moore is all over the leaderboard. Along with ranking first in the heptathlon and the 200 m mark, she ranks third in the 100 m, fourth in the 100 meter hurdles, eighth in the high jump and in the long jump. #Lianne McNaughton is fifth in the shot put while Madison Haugland# is seventh in the hammer throw.
Heat Sheets
The Week Ahead:
The #17 University of Nebraska at Omaha track and field team will compete in the NCAA Division II Outdoor Championship on May 27-29. The meet is being hosted by Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, N.C. The Mavericks will send qualifiers #Maja Mihalinec# (100, 200), #Kayla Koepke# (400, 4x400 relay), #Anja Puc# (800, 4x400 relay), #Shannon Moore# (Long jump, heptathlon, 4x400 relay) and #Pinar Saka# (4x400 relay).
The Coaches:
Steve Smith is in his fourth season as the head coach of the University of Nebraska at Omaha track program after more than two decades of success as an assistant in Kansas, Nebraska and UNO. Smith was named the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Assocation Indoor Coach of the Year after guiding the Mavericks to a stunning win in the 2009 MIAA Indoor Championships in March and finished the season fifth in the nation indoors. The Mavs repeated as MIAA Indoor Champs in 2010 and finished fourth in the NCAAs. Smith is assisted by #Chris Richardson# (jumps and pentathlon/heptathlon), John Mulligan (distances) and Rich Emsick (throws).
MIAA Outdoor Championship:
UNO took fourth place in the 2010 MIAA Outdoor Championship on May 8 and 9. The Mavs finished with 112 points, putting them just 1.5 points out of third and 5.5 points out of second. Puc and Mihalinec each earned double wins, Puc in the 800 m and 1,500 m and Mihalinec in the 100 m and 200 m. Koepke took first in the 400 and Moore earned first in the long jump. The Mavs 4x400 team of Moore, Mihalinec, Puc and Koepke also earned a first-place finish.
National Rankings:
Puc vaulted to second in the national rankings in the 800 meters when she ran a time of 2:07.55 in an open event at the Drake Relays. Her time is the best in the MIAA by almost five seconds. Puc ran the 1,500 meters on May 1 at the Ward Haylett Invitational at Kansas State and posted a time of 4:29.83, good enough for eighth in the nation and first in the MIAA. Moore is ranked fourth in the nation in the heptathlon after a personal best performance at the Emporia State Multi Events. Her score of 5,261 is the second-best heptathlon score in school history. Along the way, she set personal best marks in the 100 m hurdles (14.26), 200 m (24.89) and the javelin (102-1). Her score leads the MIAA. In addition, UNO's quartet of Koepke, Puc, Moore and Pinar Saka ranks third in the nation in the 4 x 400 meter relay after posting a time of 3:41.20 at the Drake Relays. That mark is also best in the MIAA.
Conference Rankings:
Koepke has the MIAA's best 400 meter mark after running a stadium record at Doane on April 17. In addition, Mihalinec has posted the MIAA's second-best time in the 100 m this season with a time of 11.81 at the Doane College Relays on April 17. She has the third-best mark in the 200 m at 24.88. In fact, the Mavs have four runners in the top eight in the league in that event. Koepke is second in the 200 m after her performance at Doane, Moore is fourth, and Molly Belling is sixth. Belling is also seventh in the MIAA in the 100 m. Puc is second in the league in the 400 m. Moore is all over the leaderboard. Along with ranking first in the heptathlon and the 200 m mark, she ranks third in the 100 m, fourth in the 100 meter hurdles, eighth in the high jump and in the long jump. #Lianne McNaughton is fifth in the shot put while Madison Haugland# is seventh in the hammer throw.
Players Mentioned
Sprints
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Throws
/ Track & Field
Sprints
/ Track & Field
Multi-Events
/ Track & Field
Sprints
/ Track & Field
Multi-Events
/ Track & Field
Sprints
/ Track & Field
Sprints
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Jumps/Multis
/ Track & FieldTuesday, September 01
Wednesday, August 26
Friday, August 21
Tuesday, April 21
