2019-20 Omaha Track & Field/Cross Country - Year In Review
4/1/2020
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Omaha’s track & field and cross country athletes know the time it takes to not only compete in their sport but to train for something that is a year-long endeavor. Distance runners train all summer and then start competing in early fall. Their efforts continue long into the winter, culminating in league and NCAA championships in late spring.
Track & field athletes are training hard months before the indoor season kicks off in early December. Sadly, the Mavericks, like all other athletes, never got to taste the fresh air of the outdoor season. Still, there was plenty of progress for the Mavericks’ runners, jumpers and throwers.
Cross Country
The Mavericks had one of the Summit League’s best distance specialists in junior Emily Johnson. The native of Elkhorn, Neb. was Omaha’s top runner in all five of the races in which she ran, breaking new ground along the way. Right behind, her teammates were setting lifetime best times at a regular clip.
Bradley
In mid-October, the parade of lifetime bests reached a peak with five Mavericks achieving lifetime bests at the Bradley Pink Classic in Peoria, Ill. Johnson led the pack with a school record 6K time of 21:12.9.
Read more about the Mavericks' meet at Bradley below
Summit League
Johnson was again out in front for the Mavericks at the Summit League Championship and earned first team all-league honors with a third-place finish overall.
NCAA Regionals
In November, the Mavericks earned their best NCAA regional finish in the Division I era, and Johnson, running her last race for the Mavericks, was 26th overall in the field of more than 230 runners.
Read more about the Mavericks' performance at the NCAA Midwest Regional
Academic Honors
Post season, Johnson was named to the Summit League Academic All-League Team and the entire team was named an All-Academic Team by the USTFCCCA for posting a combined team GPA of 3.54.
Make it 9? straight years ?? Omaha cross country is named an All-Academic Team. ????????
— Omaha Track & Field/Cross Country (@OmahaTFXC) February 5, 2020
??: https://t.co/lWwNbgY3Nc#EveryoneForOmaha | #OmahaTFXC pic.twitter.com/16JO1k2waE
Track & Field
The track & field season dawned as a showcase for Omaha’s seven freshmen, some of whom had an immediate impact with their performances. It also underscored the leadership of the returning veterans who posted some of UNO’s top marks in a season that was over too soon.
Season-long pursuit
Senior Brekk Flax was on a mission. She steadily reset her lifetime best time in the 60 meter dash throughout the season, finally reaching the pinnacle with a time of 7.77 at the Nebraska Tune-Up on Feb. 21. Her performance that day put her eighth all-time in the event in school history.
Going The Distance
UNO’s returning runners showed the way for the freshmen in the distance events. Seniors Anita Jenkins and Ivanna Uribe and sophomore Heidi Hall had some of UNO’s best times – Jenkins in the mile, Hall in the 3,000 meters and Uribe in the 5,000. It was freshman Paige Blackford who ultimately had UNO’s best mile time, edging out Jenkins with a time of 5:15.95 on Feb. 21.
No Rookie Jitters
Freshman Carrie Simonson gave us a look into the future of Omaha track & field with a strong rookie season. She had UNO’s top 200-meter time, running a new lifetime best in every meet and culminating with a time of 25.34 at Nebraska on Feb. 21. She also put up the Mavericks’ best long jump mark of the year and had their third-best 60-meter time.
In The Field
Sophomore Cecilia Ivwionrume took last year off, but that didn’t stop her from leading the Mavericks with a lifetime best weight throw mark of 48-02 ½ at Minnesota. In the multi-events, Jaycee Schettler competed in the pentathlon twice, but it was enough to earn two lifetime bests including a score of 3,048 at the Summit League Championship.
Cece Ivwionrume has a nearly 5 foot lifetime best in the weight throw with a toss of 48’2.5”! ????????#EveryoneForOmaha|#OmahaTFXC pic.twitter.com/NM3MXudV7L
— Omaha Track & Field/Cross Country (@OmahaTFXC) February 1, 2020
Schettler finishes the pentathlon with a season best in the shot put, her farthest ever long jump in a multi-event competition and then crushed her 800m by dropping 3?? seconds off her lifetime best. She finished with a 4??8?? point PR?? #EveryoneForOmaha| #OmahaTFXC ?????? pic.twitter.com/i0YyYFKECp
— Omaha Track & Field/Cross Country (@OmahaTFXC) February 28, 2020
Check out all of the Mavericks' performances at the link below
