Nebraska men’s track eager for shot at Big Ten championship

Nebraska was cruising along, a Big Ten men’s indoor track and field title squarely in grasp.

Then, Wisconsin struck in the final individual event of the 2023 championships, placing four runners in the top six in the 3,000-meter run. The 23-point jolt put the Badgers ahead, and though Nebraska finished second in the final event — the 1,600 relay — Wisconsin had 110 points to NU’s 103.

“Our whole team did not see that coming,” Micaylon Moore said. “That was an absolute shock.”

The Nebraska junior is the top seed in the triple jump for this year’s Big Ten meet. Moore, one of many the Huskers are counting on to stack points, says NU wants to build a larger windfall on Day 1.

“We know the goal is to get away from everybody as soon as possible and not even leave it up to the distance events, which we know Wisconsin is strong in,” Moore said.

Moore heads to the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio, this weekend peaking at the right time in his signature event. He’s also armed with experience in competing at the annual two-day event, which begins Friday.

Moore finished fourth last season and 11th as a freshman. He says the trick is simple.

“Focus on not changing anything, don’t do anything special because I think a lot of times we get those big meets and you’re like, ‘Oh, I got to do this. I got to do this,'” Moore said. 

Last weekend, Moore popped the best mark of his career in the triple jump — 54 feet, ½ inch.

He set out to jump in the 53s, which is the qualifying mark for the NCAA meet in March. Instead, he notched the third-best jump in school history — with little “juice” from the crowd. 

“When I jumped, I knew it was a good one but I didn’t hear any ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs,’ so I wondered how good it really was,” Moore said. “Then I saw it on the board and I was like, ‘Whoa, yeah.’ I knew it was my best jump ever — I just didn’t know how good it would be.”

Nebraska again is in the conversation to win the men’s team race, perhaps even as the favorite. Moore’s triple-jump crew, ranked No. 1 in the nation is one reason why. Another is the Huskers’ efforts in the field, where the likes of Henry Zimmerman (weight throw) and Till Steinforth (heptathlon) are seemingly breaking their own records every weekend. 

The Huskers will also likely make hay in the 60 hurdles, where Darius Luff and Brithton Senior are seeded No. 1 and No. 2.

“Our team is superexcited,” Moore said. “We feel like we have a really good chance to win, and it’s our goal every year. We have the pieces — we know that if we just focus on what we can each do individually, everything will work itself out as a team.”