Mavs Resume Outdoor Slate at Dakota Duels
Apr 1, 2015 | Track & Field
This Week
The Omaha track & field team resumes its outdoor season at the Dakota Duels in Sioux Falls, S.D. on Saturday, April 4. The event hosted by South Dakota will begin at 11 a.m.
The Coaches
Chris Richardson is in his ninth season with the Omaha track & field program, his second 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 fifth season coaching the distance events in addition to coaching the cross country team. Finley is in his second season, coaching both sprints and jumps. Cliff Cisar and former UNO standout and multiple record holder Sami Spenner are volunteer assistant coaches.
Pre-Season Picks
The Omaha track & field team was picked fifth in the Summit League's annual pre-season coaches' poll. The Mavericks received 25 points in the voting to fall just behind Oral Roberts (30) and just ahead of Western Illinois (19).
North Dakota State, the seven-time defending Summit League women's champion, was picked to again win the league, receiving seven first-place votes and 49 points total. South Dakota received the other first-place vote and finished second in the poll with 43 points. South Dakota State was third with 37. IUPUI (7th/12 pts.) and Fort Wayne (8th/9 pts.) rounded out the poll.
The Previous Meet
Omaha began the outdoor season at the Tulsa Duels at Hurricane Track Stadium.
Stephanie Ahrens had UNO's one event win of the day with a leap of 5-07 in the high jump. Ahrens led a 1-2-3 finish for the Mavericks in the event. Taryn Derickson was second at 5-03, and Emily Everitt was third at 5-01.
In the long jump, Denneil Shaw finished sixth with a jump of 17-09 ¼ while Payton Horacek was eighth at 17-07. In the triple jump, Noni Henderson took fourth with a distance of 35-11 ½ while Shaw was fifth at 35-10 ¾.
In the shot put, Amanda Conlin was fifth at 41-07 ¾. In the javelin, Lauren Doeschot took sixth with a throw of 112-01.
On the track, Ashley Kildow took third in the 3,000 meters with a time of 10:01.72, obliterating her previous personal best in the event by more than 1:40. Kristin Rogers also had a PR in the event, running a time of 10:39.62, good for seventh place. Rose Gensichen finished eighth with a time of 10:45.15. In the 1,500 meters, Karo Garcia cracked the top eight, finishing sixth in a time of 5:09.02.
Ahrens ran sixth in the 100 meter hurdles with a time of 15.65. In the 400 meter hurdles, Maddie Buller was fifth at 1:05.50. In the 400 meters, Hannah Fowler came in eighth with a time of 59.12. In the 800 meters, Kayla Sabotin finished eighth with a time of 2:30.04.
The team of Buller, Terri Armstrong, Alyssa Thavenet and Fowler was third in the 4x400 meter relay with a time of 4:02.16.
All-Summit League Honors
Freshman Stephanie Ahrens and sophomore Taryn Derickson both were named to the Summit League Indoor Track & Field All-League team for their performances in the high jump. Ahrens finished in second place with a mark of 5-07 ¼ while Derickson came in third with a jump of 5-05 ¼.
The “Last” Season
The Omaha track & field team is in its fourth and final year of reclassification from Division II to Division I. The Mavericks are eligible for NCAA competition beginning with the 2015-16 season.
Up Next For The Mavericks
The Omaha track & field team will compete in the Jim Duncan Invitational on Friday and Saturday, April 10-11. The event begins at 3:30 p.m. on Friday in Des Moines, Iowa.
