Mavs Compete at Wichita State This Week
Apr 10, 2013 | General, Track & Field
Weekly Release
This Week
The Omaha track & field team travels to Kansas this weekend to take part in the KT Woodman Classic at Wichita State on Friday and Saturday, April 12-13. Competition begins at 6 p.m. on Friday and 9 a.m. on Saturday from Cessna Stadium.
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.
Dual-ing Weekend
Junior Sami Spenner won two events to lead the Omaha track and field team at the 2013 Dakota Duals last Saturday at Yankton, S.D. Nearly all of the sprint times and jump distances were wind-aided so none counted toward school records or personal bests.
Spenner won the 200 meters in a time of 24.01, just edging teammate Maja Mihalinec who was second at 24.49. Spenner also took first in the triple jump with a distance of 41-00 1/4, a mark that would have been a school record had it not been for a wind clocked at 6.1 meters per second, well above the 2 mps limit. Spenner also took second in the 100 meter hurdles with a time of 14.10 and had a sixth-place finish in the high jump with a leap of 5-04 1/2.
Kathie-Lee Laidley had a personal best in the high jump with a leap of 5-08 1/2, putting her in second place. Lauren Psota set a new personal best in the 800 meters, running a time of 2:20.18, good for third place.
UNO picked up another first in the 3,000 meter steeplechase. Amanda Vorthmann won the event with a time of 11:27.67.
In addition, junior Liz Thompson set two personal bests in the throwing events. She was seventh in the shot put with a throw of 41-05 1/4, and she was 17th in the hammer throw with a PR of 123-04.
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 22nd in the long jump and 46th in the triple jump.
In the Summit League, several Mavericks rank in the top eight in the league. Spenner's long jump mark leads the league while her triple jump distance ranks second. Vorthmann leads the Summit in the 10,000 meters while Kristin Rogers is seventh. Zarudnaya is second in the Summit in the 800 meters and ranks sixth in the 1,500. Terri Armstrong ranks sixth in the 100 meters while Psota is also seventh in the 800 meters. Spenner and Laidley rank 4-5 in the 100 meter hurdles while Vorthmann is fourth in the 3,000 meter steeplechase and Behm is fifth. UNO has the league's best 4 x 100 meter relay time and its fourth-best 4 x 400 meter relay time. Laidley is third in the long jump while Shaw is sixth. Shaw is also fifth in the triple jump. Amanda Alexander is fourth in the heptathlon. The full NCAA and Summit League outdoor performance lists are available at OMavs.com.
Up Next For the Mavericks
The Mavericks will take part in four different events next week. Some athletes will travel to California for the Mt. SAC Relays-Multis on April 17-18, the Bryan Clay Invitational at Azusa Pacific on April 19 and the Beach Invitational on April 20. Other athletes will stay closer to home for the Doane College Relays on April 19-20 in Crete, Neb.
This Week
The Omaha track & field team travels to Kansas this weekend to take part in the KT Woodman Classic at Wichita State on Friday and Saturday, April 12-13. Competition begins at 6 p.m. on Friday and 9 a.m. on Saturday from Cessna Stadium.
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.
Dual-ing Weekend
Junior Sami Spenner won two events to lead the Omaha track and field team at the 2013 Dakota Duals last Saturday at Yankton, S.D. Nearly all of the sprint times and jump distances were wind-aided so none counted toward school records or personal bests.
Spenner won the 200 meters in a time of 24.01, just edging teammate Maja Mihalinec who was second at 24.49. Spenner also took first in the triple jump with a distance of 41-00 1/4, a mark that would have been a school record had it not been for a wind clocked at 6.1 meters per second, well above the 2 mps limit. Spenner also took second in the 100 meter hurdles with a time of 14.10 and had a sixth-place finish in the high jump with a leap of 5-04 1/2.
Kathie-Lee Laidley had a personal best in the high jump with a leap of 5-08 1/2, putting her in second place. Lauren Psota set a new personal best in the 800 meters, running a time of 2:20.18, good for third place.
UNO picked up another first in the 3,000 meter steeplechase. Amanda Vorthmann won the event with a time of 11:27.67.
In addition, junior Liz Thompson set two personal bests in the throwing events. She was seventh in the shot put with a throw of 41-05 1/4, and she was 17th in the hammer throw with a PR of 123-04.
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 22nd in the long jump and 46th in the triple jump.
In the Summit League, several Mavericks rank in the top eight in the league. Spenner's long jump mark leads the league while her triple jump distance ranks second. Vorthmann leads the Summit in the 10,000 meters while Kristin Rogers is seventh. Zarudnaya is second in the Summit in the 800 meters and ranks sixth in the 1,500. Terri Armstrong ranks sixth in the 100 meters while Psota is also seventh in the 800 meters. Spenner and Laidley rank 4-5 in the 100 meter hurdles while Vorthmann is fourth in the 3,000 meter steeplechase and Behm is fifth. UNO has the league's best 4 x 100 meter relay time and its fourth-best 4 x 400 meter relay time. Laidley is third in the long jump while Shaw is sixth. Shaw is also fifth in the triple jump. Amanda Alexander is fourth in the heptathlon. The full NCAA and Summit League outdoor performance lists are available at OMavs.com.
Up Next For the Mavericks
The Mavericks will take part in four different events next week. Some athletes will travel to California for the Mt. SAC Relays-Multis on April 17-18, the Bryan Clay Invitational at Azusa Pacific on April 19 and the Beach Invitational on April 20. Other athletes will stay closer to home for the Doane College Relays on April 19-20 in Crete, Neb.
Players Mentioned
Jumps/Multi-Even
/ Track & Field
Sprints
/ Track & Field
Jumps
/ Track & Field
Sprints
/ Track & Field
Sprints
/ Track & Field
Distance
/ Track & Field
Jumps/Multi-Even
/ Track & Field
Throws
/ Track & Field
Distance
/ Track & FieldTuesday, September 01
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Friday, August 21
Tuesday, April 21
