Mavs Travel to Iowa State
Feb 12, 2014 | Track & Field
This Week
The Omaha track & field team will head to Ames, Iowa on Feb. 14-15 to take part in the Iowa State Classic. The meet begins at 11:00 a.m. each from the Lied Recreation Center.
The Coaches
Chris Richardson is in his eighth season with the Omaha track & field program, his first as head coach after seven seasons as an assistant. Richardson helped guide the Mavericks through some of their most successful years including three conference championships and three top-five NCAA finishes. The highlight of that stretch included a fourth-place finish at the 2010 indoor championship prior to the Mavericks' reclassification to Division I. In 2011, he was named the USTFCCCA South Central Regional Assistant Coach of the Year.
Richardson is assisted by Marc Bierbaum and Ryan Finley. Bierbaum is in his fourth season coaching the distance events in addition to coaching the cross country team. Finley is in his first season, coaching both sprints and jumps.
Spenner Ranks 3rd Worldwide
After her performance at the Jack Jennett Invitational on Jan. 31, senior Sami Spenner now ranks third worldwide in the pentathlon. Spenner won all five events scored towards the pentathlon, including a new school record in the long jump. The 2014 rankings released by iaaf.org list Spenner's score of 4,406 only 2 points behind second place and more than 100 points ahead of the next competitor. Spenner's score ranks sixth all-time as a collegian athlete and third all-time for American Collegiate athletes.
Last Week's Action
With most of the team in Vermillion, S.D. to compete in the Dakota Realty Alumni Meet, Katarina Zarudnaya competed in the Frank Sevigne Husker Invite where she set a new school record in the mile. Zarudnaya's time of 4:54.62 was nearly two seconds better than the previous school record set by Amanda Voorthmann last year (4:56.57)
At the Dakota Realty Alumni Meet, Sami Spenner set continued her dominance, winning all three events she competed in. Spenner won the 60 meter dash (7.52), 60 meter hurdles (8.57) and the 200 meter dash (24.67).
Kathie-Lee Laidley won the long jump with a leap of 18-09 3/4 while teammates Payton Horacek (5), and Nicole Liske (6) both joined Laidley in the top eight.
Ashley Kildow finished runner-up in the 800 meter run with a time of 2:21.44 in her only event of the day while Alyssa Thavanet just missed out on a top eight finish, finishing ninth with a time of 2:24.15.
Lindsey Bruns finished seventh and set a new PR in the 3,000 meter run with a time of 10:34.50, while Celeste Robinson set a new PR in the 60 meter hurdles, finishing seventh with a time of 9.22.
Other notable performances included: Laidley qualifying and finishing fourth in the 60 meter hurdles with a time of 9.06, and Liz Thompson coming in fifth in the weight throw with a throw of 50-11.
Where Maverick Athletes Rank In The Summit League
In meets through Feb. 8, many Maverick athletes are tops in the Summit League for individual events. Sami Spenner ranks first in the 60 meter dash while Katarina Zarudnaya ranks second in the 800 meter run. Terri Armstrong ranks eighth in the 60 meter dash, and Zarudnaya ranks fourth in the mile.
The Mavericks hold two of the top three spots in the 60 meter hurdles with Spenner (1) and
Kathie-Lee Laidley (3) . They also have two runners ranked in the top eight for the 5,000 meter run with Lindsey Bruns and Kristin Rogers.
In field events, Spenner ranks first in both long jump and triple jump with Laidley second in the long jump. Maverick triple jumpers hold four of the top 10 spots in the conference with Spenner (1), Denneil Shaw (3), Nicole Liske (7) and Jessica Ripp (10). Spenner is third in the high jump and now ranks first overall in the Summit in the pentathlon.
Up Next For The Mavericks
Next weekend, the Mavericks will head down I-80 to take part in the Nebraska Tune-up on
Friday, Feb. 21. Competition from the Bob Devaney Sports Center will start at 12:30 p.m.
The Omaha track & field team will head to Ames, Iowa on Feb. 14-15 to take part in the Iowa State Classic. The meet begins at 11:00 a.m. each from the Lied Recreation Center.
The Coaches
Chris Richardson is in his eighth season with the Omaha track & field program, his first as head coach after seven seasons as an assistant. Richardson helped guide the Mavericks through some of their most successful years including three conference championships and three top-five NCAA finishes. The highlight of that stretch included a fourth-place finish at the 2010 indoor championship prior to the Mavericks' reclassification to Division I. In 2011, he was named the USTFCCCA South Central Regional Assistant Coach of the Year.
Richardson is assisted by Marc Bierbaum and Ryan Finley. Bierbaum is in his fourth season coaching the distance events in addition to coaching the cross country team. Finley is in his first season, coaching both sprints and jumps.
Spenner Ranks 3rd Worldwide
After her performance at the Jack Jennett Invitational on Jan. 31, senior Sami Spenner now ranks third worldwide in the pentathlon. Spenner won all five events scored towards the pentathlon, including a new school record in the long jump. The 2014 rankings released by iaaf.org list Spenner's score of 4,406 only 2 points behind second place and more than 100 points ahead of the next competitor. Spenner's score ranks sixth all-time as a collegian athlete and third all-time for American Collegiate athletes.
Last Week's Action
With most of the team in Vermillion, S.D. to compete in the Dakota Realty Alumni Meet, Katarina Zarudnaya competed in the Frank Sevigne Husker Invite where she set a new school record in the mile. Zarudnaya's time of 4:54.62 was nearly two seconds better than the previous school record set by Amanda Voorthmann last year (4:56.57)
At the Dakota Realty Alumni Meet, Sami Spenner set continued her dominance, winning all three events she competed in. Spenner won the 60 meter dash (7.52), 60 meter hurdles (8.57) and the 200 meter dash (24.67).
Kathie-Lee Laidley won the long jump with a leap of 18-09 3/4 while teammates Payton Horacek (5), and Nicole Liske (6) both joined Laidley in the top eight.
Ashley Kildow finished runner-up in the 800 meter run with a time of 2:21.44 in her only event of the day while Alyssa Thavanet just missed out on a top eight finish, finishing ninth with a time of 2:24.15.
Lindsey Bruns finished seventh and set a new PR in the 3,000 meter run with a time of 10:34.50, while Celeste Robinson set a new PR in the 60 meter hurdles, finishing seventh with a time of 9.22.
Other notable performances included: Laidley qualifying and finishing fourth in the 60 meter hurdles with a time of 9.06, and Liz Thompson coming in fifth in the weight throw with a throw of 50-11.
Where Maverick Athletes Rank In The Summit League
In meets through Feb. 8, many Maverick athletes are tops in the Summit League for individual events. Sami Spenner ranks first in the 60 meter dash while Katarina Zarudnaya ranks second in the 800 meter run. Terri Armstrong ranks eighth in the 60 meter dash, and Zarudnaya ranks fourth in the mile.
The Mavericks hold two of the top three spots in the 60 meter hurdles with Spenner (1) and
Kathie-Lee Laidley (3) . They also have two runners ranked in the top eight for the 5,000 meter run with Lindsey Bruns and Kristin Rogers.
In field events, Spenner ranks first in both long jump and triple jump with Laidley second in the long jump. Maverick triple jumpers hold four of the top 10 spots in the conference with Spenner (1), Denneil Shaw (3), Nicole Liske (7) and Jessica Ripp (10). Spenner is third in the high jump and now ranks first overall in the Summit in the pentathlon.
Up Next For The Mavericks
Next weekend, the Mavericks will head down I-80 to take part in the Nebraska Tune-up on
Friday, Feb. 21. Competition from the Bob Devaney Sports Center will start at 12:30 p.m.
Players Mentioned
Sprints
/ Track & Field
ATH
/ Cross Country
Sprints/Jumps
/ Track & Field
Distance
/ Track & Field
Jumps
/ Track & Field
Sprints/Jumps
/ Track & Field
Multi-Events
/ Track & Field
Multi-Events
/ Track & Field
Distance
/ Track & Field
Jumps
/ Track & Field
Jumps/Multi-Even
/ Track & Field
Throws
/ Track & Field
Distance
/ Track & FieldTuesday, September 01
Wednesday, August 26
Friday, August 21
Tuesday, April 21
