Otterdahl Leads Huskers on First Day of NCAA Championships

The Nebraska track and field team began action on day one of the NCAA Outdoor Championships on Wednesday at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin, Texas. 

Maxwell Otterdahl posted the top finish for the Huskers by taking fourth place in the shot put. Otterdahl’s best mark on the day was 67-4 (20.52m) on his third attempt, which put him in the lead after three throws. He ended up fourth just as he did at the NCAA Indoor Championships to earn first-team All-America honors for the third time in his career. With Otterdahl’s five team points, the Husker men are tied for 17th. 

Jonah Wilson finished in 10th place in the shot put, throwing 64-9 3/4 (19.75m) to earn second-team All-America accolades. Arthur Petersen placed 11th in the javelin with a mark of 236-10 (72.20m), and Dash Sirmon finished 13th at 230-4 (70.20m). Sirmon was the only freshman to qualify for nationals in the men’s javelin. Both Huskers earned second-team All-America honors. 

Till Steinforth finished 12th in the long jump with a jump of 25-4 1/2 (7.73m) to earn second-team All-America honors in the event. Steinforth also completed the first five events of the decathlon on Wednesday and is in third place with 4,291 points. Steinforth set a new personal best in the long jump of 25-10 (7.87m) to win that event with the No. 6 mark in school history. He was also seventh in the 100m after running 10.72. 

The men’s 4x100m relay team of Brithton Senior, Kavian Kerr, Lorenzo Paissan and Garrett Kaalund broke their own school record with a new best time of 38.91, which earned them a 15th-place finish and second-team All-America honors. They had previously broken the school record at the NCAA West First Round two weeks ago, running 39.03.  

Darius Luff earned an automatic qualifying spot in Friday’s 110m hurdles final after finishing second in his heat with a time of 13.40. Luff will race in the nine-man final at 8:42 p.m. on Friday. 

Thursday gets started with Steinforth in the decathlon at 12:30 p.m. Rhema Otabor and Maddie Harris will take the stage in the javelin at 7:30 p.m. Velecia Williams competes in the long jump at 9 p.m., and Axelina Johansson and Taylor Latimer take part in the shot put at 9:10 p.m.