Mavs Visit Wichita State This Weekend
Jan 30, 2013 | General, Track & Field
Weekly Release
This Week
The Omaha track & field team heads south to Kansas this weekend to take part in the Varsity Apartments Invitational at Wichita State on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 1-2.
The Coaches
Steve Smith is in his seventh season as the head coach of the Omaha track & field program. Smith was named the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association Indoor Coach of the Year in 2009 after guiding the Mavericks to the MIAA Indoor Championships and repeated the feat the following year. Overall, Smith has guided the Mavericks to three conference championships and three top-five finishes at the NCAA Division II Championship including a fourth-place finish indoors in 2010.
Smith is assisted by Chris Richardson (jumps and multi-events), who was named the USTFCCCA South Central Regional Assistant Coach of the Year in 2011. Marc Bierbaum is in his third season coaching the distance events in addition to coaching the cross country team.
Another School Record...and Award
Sami Spenner is making a habit of winning awards. She picked up her third straight and fourth overall Summit League Woman Athlete of the Week honor this week for a record-setting performance in the pentathlon. Spenner set the school mark with a score of 4,103 at Northern Iowa on Jan. 25, breaking Anastasia Kyvelidou's record of 4,013 that had stood since 2005. Spenner set personal bests in two of the events (high jump, 800 m) and tied a third (60 meter hurdles) in winning the pentathlon. Her mark is the best in the Summit League this year.
Last Week's Action
The win in the pentathlon was one of two for Spenner last week. She also took first in the triple jump (41-00 1/4) at South Dakota the following day. It was one of two first-place finishes for the Mavericks in the meet. Maja Mihalinec won the 60 meter dash (7.60).
The meet featured plenty of notable performances and personal bests. Terri Armstrong ran second in the 60 meter dash in a time of 7.96, a new personal best. Denneil Shaw was fourth in the triple jump with a personal best jump of 38-01 ¼, her second PR in as many weeks. UNO placed three in the top eight of the 800 meters led by Katarina Zarudnaya who came in second with a personal best time of 2:19.49. Ashley Kildow also ran a PR, coming in sixth in a time of 2:22.11. Lydia Martin was eighth, narrowly missing a new personal best with a time of 2:24.75. Kathie-Lee Laidley exceled both on the track and in the field events. She was second in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 9.19. She also came in third in the high jump with a mark of 5-05 ¾. Kristin Rogers ran a PR of 10:44.16 in the 3,000 meters, good for seventh place, and Lauren Psota took eight in the 400 meter dash with a time of 59.14. Full results of the meet can be found at OMavs.com.
High Marks
Because the Mavericks do not qualify for NCAA championships during their four-year reclassification to Division I, their marks do not appear on the national performance list. However if included, Spenner would rank fifth in the country in the pentathlon. She also is first in the Summit League and would be ninth in the NCAA with her long jump mark of 20-02 1/2 at Nebraska Wesleyan on Jan. 18. Her league-leading triple jump mark of 41-01 3/4 earned at Iowa State on Dec. 7 ranks 21st nationally. In addition, Amanda Vorthmann's school record 5,000 meter time of 17:38.19 run at Nebraska Wesleyan is second in the Summit. Mihalinec leads the Summit League with her 60 meter dash time of 7.52 set in the prelims on Jan. 18 at NWU. The full Summit League performance list is available at OMavs.com.
Up Next For the Mavericks
Next weekend, the Mavericks will take part in the Iowa State Classic on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Feb. 7-9.
This Week
The Omaha track & field team heads south to Kansas this weekend to take part in the Varsity Apartments Invitational at Wichita State on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 1-2.
The Coaches
Steve Smith is in his seventh season as the head coach of the Omaha track & field program. Smith was named the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association Indoor Coach of the Year in 2009 after guiding the Mavericks to the MIAA Indoor Championships and repeated the feat the following year. Overall, Smith has guided the Mavericks to three conference championships and three top-five finishes at the NCAA Division II Championship including a fourth-place finish indoors in 2010.
Smith is assisted by Chris Richardson (jumps and multi-events), who was named the USTFCCCA South Central Regional Assistant Coach of the Year in 2011. Marc Bierbaum is in his third season coaching the distance events in addition to coaching the cross country team.
Another School Record...and Award
Sami Spenner is making a habit of winning awards. She picked up her third straight and fourth overall Summit League Woman Athlete of the Week honor this week for a record-setting performance in the pentathlon. Spenner set the school mark with a score of 4,103 at Northern Iowa on Jan. 25, breaking Anastasia Kyvelidou's record of 4,013 that had stood since 2005. Spenner set personal bests in two of the events (high jump, 800 m) and tied a third (60 meter hurdles) in winning the pentathlon. Her mark is the best in the Summit League this year.
Last Week's Action
The win in the pentathlon was one of two for Spenner last week. She also took first in the triple jump (41-00 1/4) at South Dakota the following day. It was one of two first-place finishes for the Mavericks in the meet. Maja Mihalinec won the 60 meter dash (7.60).
The meet featured plenty of notable performances and personal bests. Terri Armstrong ran second in the 60 meter dash in a time of 7.96, a new personal best. Denneil Shaw was fourth in the triple jump with a personal best jump of 38-01 ¼, her second PR in as many weeks. UNO placed three in the top eight of the 800 meters led by Katarina Zarudnaya who came in second with a personal best time of 2:19.49. Ashley Kildow also ran a PR, coming in sixth in a time of 2:22.11. Lydia Martin was eighth, narrowly missing a new personal best with a time of 2:24.75. Kathie-Lee Laidley exceled both on the track and in the field events. She was second in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 9.19. She also came in third in the high jump with a mark of 5-05 ¾. Kristin Rogers ran a PR of 10:44.16 in the 3,000 meters, good for seventh place, and Lauren Psota took eight in the 400 meter dash with a time of 59.14. Full results of the meet can be found at OMavs.com.
High Marks
Because the Mavericks do not qualify for NCAA championships during their four-year reclassification to Division I, their marks do not appear on the national performance list. However if included, Spenner would rank fifth in the country in the pentathlon. She also is first in the Summit League and would be ninth in the NCAA with her long jump mark of 20-02 1/2 at Nebraska Wesleyan on Jan. 18. Her league-leading triple jump mark of 41-01 3/4 earned at Iowa State on Dec. 7 ranks 21st nationally. In addition, Amanda Vorthmann's school record 5,000 meter time of 17:38.19 run at Nebraska Wesleyan is second in the Summit. Mihalinec leads the Summit League with her 60 meter dash time of 7.52 set in the prelims on Jan. 18 at NWU. The full Summit League performance list is available at OMavs.com.
Up Next For the Mavericks
Next weekend, the Mavericks will take part in the Iowa State Classic on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Feb. 7-9.
Players Mentioned
Sprints
/ Track & Field
Distance
/ Track & Field
Jumps
/ Track & Field
Distance
/ Track & Field
Sprints
/ Track & Field
Sprints
/ Track & Field
Distance
/ Track & Field
Jumps
/ Track & Field
Jumps/Multi-Even
/ Track & Field
Distance
/ Track & Field
Distance
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