Ten Huskers to Compete at NCAA Championships

Ten Nebraska track and field athletes will compete at the NCAA Outdoor Championships this week in Eugene, Oregon. The meet begins Wednesday evening and runs through Saturday. 

Dais Malebana will start the week off for the Huskers in the 1,500-meter prelims on Wednesday at 7:16 p.m. (CT). All men’s events will take place on Wednesday and Friday at Hayward Field, while women’s events will be held on Thursday and Saturday. All events will be streamed at WatchESPN.com with television coverage each night on ESPN2 or ESPNU. 

Malebana finished sixth at the NCAA West Preliminary Round in the 1,500 meters with a PR time of 3:39.36, the No. 5 time in school history. He entered the regional meet seeded 34th out of 48 competitors, but he comfortably punched his ticket to nationals with his sixth-place finish. 

Following Malebana, Joey Daniels, Darius Luff and Luke Siedhoff will race in the 110-meter hurdles prelims at 8:02 p.m. on Wednesday. Siedhoff and Luff both earned automatic bids with top-three finishes in their heat at the NCAA West Prelims. Siedhoff is a two-time All-American in the event and ranks sixth in school history with a 13.58 PR. The freshman Luff will compete at nationals for the first time after a PR of 13.64, No. 8 in school history. Daniels’ regional time of 13.67 was good enough to qualify by time as one of the top 12 out of the region. His PR of 13.57 ranks fifth in school history, and he will compete at the NCAA Championships for a second time. The Princeton transfer was a second-team All-American in 2019 after finishing 12th.

Michael Hoffer, one of five individuals to qualify in both the men’s high jump and long jump, will compete in the latter event at 8:30 p.m. Hoffer set a PR of 25-8 1/4 (7.83m) to finish fifth in the 48-man field at the regional meet. His jump was the No. 7 wind-legal jump in school history. Burger Lambrechts Jr. will cap the first day of competition in the shot put at 9:10 p.m. Lambrechts Jr. was the Big Ten indoor shot put champion and was a first-team All-American, finishing fifth at the NCAA Indoor Championships. 

On Thursday, Judi Jones will represent NU in the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase at 6:02 p.m. She earned the 12th and final qualifying spot out of the NCAA West Preliminary Round and ranks No. 3 in school history in the event.  Maddie Harris and Mirta Kulisic will then throw the javelin at 6:45 p.m. Harris, a freshman, was the Big Ten champion and ranks fifth in the nation and No. 2 in school history. Kulisic, the Big Ten bronze medalist, finished sixth out of 48 at the NCAA West Preliminary Round and ranks eighth in school history in the event. 

Hoffer and Mayson Conner will begin Friday in the high jump at 6:30 p.m. Conner, who will compete at his third career NCAA Championships, is a two-time Big Ten champion and was a first-team indoor All-American and a second-team outdoor All-American as a freshman in 2019. He ranks seventh in school history in the high jump. Hoffer hit a new personal best of 7-2 1/4 (2.19m) at regionals to qualify in a second NCAA Championships event. He was the Big Ten indoor and outdoor runner-up. 

The men’s 1,500m final and 110-meter hurdles final will be held at 7:11 and 7:42 p.m., respectively, should Malebana, Daniels, Luff or Siedhoff qualify. 

The women’s steeplechase final, which Jones could feature in, will be contested Saturday at 5:24 p.m.

NCAA Outdoor Championships Schedule of Events (All times Central)

Wednesday

7:16 p.m. – Men’s 1,500m Prelims (Dais Malebana)

8:02 p.m. – Men’s 110m Hurdles Prelims (Joey Daniels, Darius Luff, Luke Siedhoff)

8:30 p.m. – Men’s Long Jump (Michael Hoffer)

9:10 p.m. – Men’s Shot Put (Burger Lambrechts Jr.)

Thursday

6:02 p.m. – Women’s 3,000m Steeplechase Prelims (Judi Jones)

6:45 p.m. – Women’s Javelin (Maddie Harris, Mirta Kulisic)

Friday

6:30 p.m. – Men’s High Jump (Mayson Conner, Michael Hoffer)

7:11 p.m. – Men’s 1,500m Final (Dais Malebana)

7:42 p.m. – Men’s 110m Hurdles Final (Joey Daniels, Darius Luff, Luke Siedhoff)

Saturday

5:24 p.m. – Women’s 3,000m Steeplechase Final (Judi Jones)