Husker Men and Women Post Top-15 NCAA Finishes

The Nebraska track and field team capped off the 2023 NCAA Indoor Championships in Albuquerque, N.M., with eight first-team All-Americans, two second-team All-Americans and the best team finishes in over a decade.

The Nebraska men placed eighth with 24.75 points, the best indoor finish since 2009. The Nebraska women claimed their best finish since 2006, finishing 14th with 17 points.

Axelina Johansson achieved the top NCAA indoor finish by a Husker woman since 2011 with her runner-up placement in the shot put. Johansson had a mark of 62-8 3/4 (19.12m) in her final attempt to close in second place and garner first-team All-American honors.

In the men’s shot put, Jonah Wilson and Maxwell Otterdahl each accomplished personal-best marks and first-team All-America honors. Wilson tabbed the best indoor NCAA finish by a Husker man since 2018, placing second with a distance of 68-7 1/4 (20.91m). Otterdahl had the third-best mark in school history with a 67-8 (20.62m) to place fourth.

That was the first time NU has placed two athletes in the top five in the same event since the 1996 NCAA Indoor Championships, when Frank Mensah and Willie Hibler finished fourth and fifth in the 55m hurdles.

Darius Luff captured the bronze and first-team All-America honors in the 60m hurdles with a time of 7.60, a day after breaking the school record in the prelims with a 7.54. 

Till Steinforth posted a new heptathlon school record in his first-team All-American effort. He ended the day with 6,196 total points to finish fourth behind three athletes that now rank in the top five all-time in the collegiate men’s indoor heptathlon. 

Steinforth’s performance is the seventh-best score in collegiate indoor heptathlon history. He finished as runner-up in the pole vault, clearing 16-11 (5.16m), sixth in the 60m hurdles with an 8.03 and 11th in the 1000m with a 2:49.83. The sophomore from Germany entered Saturday in a good position after achieving personal-bests in the long jump and high jump portions on Friday.

Jenna Rogers closed her indoor season with first-team All-America honors in the women’s high jump, placing fourth with a clearance of 6-2 (1.88m).

On the men’s side, Mayson Conner was named a first-team All-American in the high jump, clearing 7-1 3/4 (2.18m) to tie for seventh.

The Huskers will start their outdoor season at the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays, March 30-April 1, in Austin, Texas.