Huskers Set for NCAA West Preliminary Round

The Nebraska track and field team earned a total of 31 bids to the NCAA West Preliminary Round at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas from May 26-29. 

Athletes who rank among the top 48 in their respective events earned berths into the NCAA West Preliminary Round, as well as the 24 best relay times.

The Husker men claimed 19 bids to the regional meet, while the women’s team accounted for 12. Athletes with the top-12 times/marks and the best 12 relay teams at both the NCAA East and West prelims will qualify for the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Ore., from June 9-12.

Maddie Harris is the top-seeded Husker heading into the regional meet, as she is seeded third in the javelin with her PR of 183-11 (56.05m), which won her the Big Ten Championship last weekend. Mayson Conner is seeded seventh in the West Region with his high jump mark of 7-3 1/4 (2.22m), and Burger Lambrechts ranks seventh in the shot put at 65-7 (19.99m). 

The four-day regional meet will have the men compete on Wednesday and Friday, while the women will compete on Thursday and Saturday.

Nebraska’s NCAA West Preliminary Qualifiers

Husker Notes
• Lishanna Ilves (long jump) and Maddie Harris (javelin) were Nebraska’s Big Ten Outdoor champions two weeks ago. Ilves was also the Big Ten indoor long jump champion this year. Papay Glaywulu (triple jump), Burger Lambrechts Jr. (shot put) and Ieva Turke (triple jump) also won Big Ten indoor titles in 2021. 

• The Huskers had four NCAA Indoor Championships qualifiers this year: Burger Lambrechts (5th, shot put); George Kusche (10th, mile); Kevin Shubert (16th, shot put); Lishanna Ilves (16th, long jump); Papay Glaywulu (DNS, triple jump). 

• Nebraska has some event groups that rank among the best in the nation according to the USTFCCCA. The Husker men have the No. 3-ranked 110-meter hurdles unit and No. 3-ranked pole vault group. Three Husker men advanced to the NCAA West Preliminary Round in the 110-meter hurdles, while four Husker men qualified in the pole vault. For the Husker women, the long jump and javelin event groups both rank sixth in the nation. NU has three regional qualifiers in each category.