Mavericks Visit Nebraska, South Dakota This Week
Feb 19, 2014 | Track & Field
This Week
The Omaha track & field team distance runners will travel to Lincoln on Friday, Feb. 21 to take part in the Nebraska Tune-Up. Field event athletes and sprinters will be in Vermillion, S.D. to take part in the USD Open, while Sami Spenner will be competing in the pentathlon at the USA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Albuquerque, N.M.
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 8th Worldwide
After her performance at the Jack Jennett Invitational on Jan. 31, senior Sami Spenner now ranks eighth 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 the best score put up by an American athlete, and more than 100 points ahead of the next American athlete. Spenner's score ranks sixth all-time as a collegiate athlete and third all-time for American Collegiate athletes.
Last Week's Action
The Mavericks were in Ames, Iowa to take part in the 46 team Iowa State Classic. SamiSpenner helped lead Omaha to two first place finishes and a number of new personal records by capturing first in both the long jump and triple jump. Spenner's win marked the fourth time this season that she has won the triple jump while her leap of 41-05 3/4 bested the field by nearly a foot.
Kathie-Lee Laidley set a new season best in the high jump with a jump of 5-08 3/4, finishing second, while teammate Denneil Shaw finished eighth with a leap of 38-01 1/4.
Alyssa Thavanet set a new PR in the 800 meter run with a time of 2:20.87, finishing eighth, and Terri Armstrong set a new PR in the 400 meter dash with a time of 58.32.
Liz Thompson set a new PR in the weight throw with a toss of 51-03 3/4 which now puts the senior eighth overall in the Summit League.
Other notable performances include: Denneil Shaw finishing 12th out of 25 athletes in the long jump, and Zarudnaya finishing fourth in the 1,000 meter run with a time of 2:56.01.
Where Maverick Athletes Rank In The Summit League
In meets through Feb. 15, 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 fourth 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) . The Mavs also have the top distance medley relay time posted earlier this year by the team of Ashley Kildow, Spenner, Lauren Psota and Zarudnaya.
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 (4), Nicole Liske (7) and Jessica Ripp (10). Spenner is fourth in the high jump and ranks first overall in the Summit in the pentathlon.
Up Next For The Mavericks
Next weekend, the Mavericks will finish the indoor portion of their 2013-2014 season with the Summit League Indoor Championships. The meet starts Friday, Feb. 28th at the IPFW indoor track and field facility and will resume on Saturday, March 1.
