Loontjer Claims Bronze in B1G Pole Vault

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Nebraska senior Tyler Loontjer earned the bronze medal in the men’s pole vault on the first day of the Big Ten Track & Field Outdoor Championships on Friday.

Loontjer cleared 17-9 1/4 (5.42m) on his second attempt to take third place behind the top two finishers who cleared the same height but on their first attempts. It was Loontjer’s second career third-place finish at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships. 

He led three Husker men who scored team points in the event. Garrison Hughes was seventh with a clearance of 17-1 1/2 (5.22m), while Kevin Cahoy finished eighth at 16-9 1/2 (5.12m). 

The NU women got on the board on Friday with an eighth-place finish from Erika Freyhof in the 10,000 meters, one of two women’s events to go final on Friday. Freyhof smashed her personal-best ime with a run of 34:02.26, which is the No. 3 time in Nebraska school history. Also in the 10,000 meters, Grace Pagone took 14th place with a PR of 34:55.00, the No. 8 time in school history. It was Pagone’s first time running the 10,000 meters in three years at Nebraska. 

The Husker men picked up three more team points in the javelin. Zach Podraza placed seventh with a throw of 201-11 (61.54m), and freshman Tyler Brown threw a personal-best 201-1 (61.29m) to finish eighth. 

In preliminary races, Dais Malebana was an automatic qualifier for the 1,500 meters final after winning his heat with a time of 3:43.44. Kayla Hugg advanced to the 200 meters final with a qualifying time of 24.24. 

Podraza is in 10th place in the decathlon at the midway point with 3,645 points. Kolby Heinerikson tied or set PRs in four of five events on Friday and is in 13th place with 3,535 points. 

In the heptathlon, Kerrigan Myers leads the Big Red in 11th place with 3,023 points. She had PRs in two of the four events on Friday. Teri Zanker set three PRs and is in 13th place with 2,975 points. Kate Kadrmas also had three PRs and is in 15th with 2,876 points. 

Tyler Drew ran a personal-best 53.26 to lead the Huskers in 12th place in the 400-meter hurdles. 

Saturday begins at 10:30 a.m. with the resumption of the men’s decathlon. The women’s heptathlon begins at Noon. Field events get underway at 2 p.m., and track events start at 4 p.m .