Saturday, April 12
Wichita, Kan.
10:30 AM
Omaha
at
KT Woodman Classic (Day 2)
Mavericks Travel to Sunflower State For Two Meets
Apr 9, 2014 | Track & Field
This Week
The Omaha track & field team will travel south to compete in two different meets this week. The multi-event athletes will compete in the Emporia State Multi in Emporia, Kan. April 10-11 while the rest of the Mavericks will head to Wichita, Kan. to compete in the KT Woodman Classic hosted by Wichita State April 11-12.
The Coaches
Chris Richardson is in his eighth season with the Omaha track & field program, his first as its 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.
Pre-Season Picks
The Mavericks were picked to finish third in this year's Summit League Outdoor Championship in the annual pre-season poll of the league's coaches. The Mavericks earned 24 points in the voting, ranking behind six-time defending champion North Dakota State (35 points/five first-place votes) and South Dakota (32/2). South Dakota State (23), Western Illinois (16), Fort Wayne (11) and IUPUI (6) rounded out the poll.
Previous Action
Omaha competed in the USD Snowbird on April 5, in which Sami Spenner finished with three first place finishes. The meet was originally called the Dakota Duals but was renamed and shortened to one day after the Yankton, S.D. area received a substantial amount of snow. Nearly all the sprints and jumps were wind aided so no marks count towards school records or personal bests.
Spenner won the 100 meter dash (11.82), 200 meters (23.86) and long jump (20-04 1/4) to win all three events that she competed in.
The Mavericks took six of the top eight spots in the long jump as Spenner (1) (20-04 1/4), Kathie-Lee Laidley (2) (19-03 1/2), Denneil Shaw (3) (18-00 1/2), Nicole Liske (6) (16-09 3/4), Macy Woitzel (7) (16-05) and Amanda Alexander (8) (16-02 1/4) all scored points for Omaha in the event.
Liske also had a top eight finish in the 100 meter dash, finishing sixth with a time of 12.73. Teri Armstrong was able to finish in the top eight in both events she competed in as the Bellevue, Neb. native finished seventh in the 200 meter dash (26.08) and eighth in the 400 meter dash (1:00.70)
Where Maverick Athletes Rank in the Summit League
In meets through April 5, many Maverick athletes are tops in the Summit League for individual events. Sami Spenner ranks third in the 100 meter dash and second in the 200 meters while Celeste Robinson is seventh in the 100 meter hurdles. Ashley Kildow ranks ninth in the 1500 meter run while Armstrong ranks 10th in the 100 meter dash.
Lauren Psota ranks ninth in the 400 meter dash while Kathie Lee-Laidley ranks third in the 100 meter hurdles. The Maverick 4x100 meter relay team ranks third and the 4x400 meter relay teams currently ranks fourth.
In field events, Omaha has three athletes ranked in the top 10 of the long jump as Sami Spenner (1), Laidley (2) and Denneil Shaw (7) all rank in the top 10. Nicole Liske is eighth in the triple jump, and Liz Thompson is seventh in the shot put. Omaha has two athletes ranked in the top 10 in the javelin throw as Spenner is ranked fifth and Amanda Alexander is ranked seventh.
Up Next For The Mavericks
Omaha will travel to the Sunflower State for the second straight week to compete in the Kansas Relays. The 87th installment of the meet will begin at 9 a.m. on Thursday, April 17 and run through Saturday, April 19. More than 250 colleges are expected to be represented at the meet.
The Omaha track & field team will travel south to compete in two different meets this week. The multi-event athletes will compete in the Emporia State Multi in Emporia, Kan. April 10-11 while the rest of the Mavericks will head to Wichita, Kan. to compete in the KT Woodman Classic hosted by Wichita State April 11-12.
The Coaches
Chris Richardson is in his eighth season with the Omaha track & field program, his first as its 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.
Pre-Season Picks
The Mavericks were picked to finish third in this year's Summit League Outdoor Championship in the annual pre-season poll of the league's coaches. The Mavericks earned 24 points in the voting, ranking behind six-time defending champion North Dakota State (35 points/five first-place votes) and South Dakota (32/2). South Dakota State (23), Western Illinois (16), Fort Wayne (11) and IUPUI (6) rounded out the poll.
Previous Action
Omaha competed in the USD Snowbird on April 5, in which Sami Spenner finished with three first place finishes. The meet was originally called the Dakota Duals but was renamed and shortened to one day after the Yankton, S.D. area received a substantial amount of snow. Nearly all the sprints and jumps were wind aided so no marks count towards school records or personal bests.
Spenner won the 100 meter dash (11.82), 200 meters (23.86) and long jump (20-04 1/4) to win all three events that she competed in.
The Mavericks took six of the top eight spots in the long jump as Spenner (1) (20-04 1/4), Kathie-Lee Laidley (2) (19-03 1/2), Denneil Shaw (3) (18-00 1/2), Nicole Liske (6) (16-09 3/4), Macy Woitzel (7) (16-05) and Amanda Alexander (8) (16-02 1/4) all scored points for Omaha in the event.
Liske also had a top eight finish in the 100 meter dash, finishing sixth with a time of 12.73. Teri Armstrong was able to finish in the top eight in both events she competed in as the Bellevue, Neb. native finished seventh in the 200 meter dash (26.08) and eighth in the 400 meter dash (1:00.70)
Where Maverick Athletes Rank in the Summit League
In meets through April 5, many Maverick athletes are tops in the Summit League for individual events. Sami Spenner ranks third in the 100 meter dash and second in the 200 meters while Celeste Robinson is seventh in the 100 meter hurdles. Ashley Kildow ranks ninth in the 1500 meter run while Armstrong ranks 10th in the 100 meter dash.
Lauren Psota ranks ninth in the 400 meter dash while Kathie Lee-Laidley ranks third in the 100 meter hurdles. The Maverick 4x100 meter relay team ranks third and the 4x400 meter relay teams currently ranks fourth.
In field events, Omaha has three athletes ranked in the top 10 of the long jump as Sami Spenner (1), Laidley (2) and Denneil Shaw (7) all rank in the top 10. Nicole Liske is eighth in the triple jump, and Liz Thompson is seventh in the shot put. Omaha has two athletes ranked in the top 10 in the javelin throw as Spenner is ranked fifth and Amanda Alexander is ranked seventh.
Up Next For The Mavericks
Omaha will travel to the Sunflower State for the second straight week to compete in the Kansas Relays. The 87th installment of the meet will begin at 9 a.m. on Thursday, April 17 and run through Saturday, April 19. More than 250 colleges are expected to be represented at the meet.
Players Mentioned
Jumps/Multi-Even
/ Track & Field
Distance
/ Track & Field
Jumps
/ Track & Field
Sprints/Jumps
/ Track & Field
Sprints
/ Track & Field
Jumps
/ Track & Field
Jumps/Multi-Even
/ Track & Field
Throws
/ Track & Field
Multi-Events
/ Track & FieldTuesday, September 01
Wednesday, August 26
Friday, August 21
Tuesday, April 21
