Track team gets last chance to qualify
By Darran Fowler
Staff Reporter
Time is running out
The deadline for collegiate ath
letes who have not qualified for the
national indoor track meet March 10
11 in Indianapolis is this weekend.
The Bob Devaney Sports Center
will be one of several sites across the
country offering athletes one last
opportunity to better a NCAA quali
fying standard this weekend when it
stages the last chance qualifier meet
Saturday. The meet, which features
free admission, begins at 11:15 a.m.,
with the final event scheduled for
3:10 p.m.
“We’re just giving those athletes
who may still have a chance of quali
fying an opportunity to do so, Ne
braska coach Gary Pepin said.
iNeorasKa nas nine inuiviauais
who have bettered NCAA qualifying
marks this season. Pepin said he
would like to see that list expand.
“The most important thing this
weekend is to see if we can’t pick up
a few more qualifiers for the NCAA
meet,” he said. “We’re down to the
wire, but we’ve got several athletes
who are real close to qualifying. So
it’s going to be a big weekend for
them.’’
Nebraska’s Mark Perry tops the
men’s list of athletes who have al
ready qualified for the national meet.
Perry will compete in the 55 and the
200-meter dash.
Nebraska’s Bobby Jelks and Regis
Humphrey also have qualified. Jelks
will join Perry in the 200-meter dash,
while Humphrey has qualified in the
800-meter run.
The top qualifiers for the Ne
braska women are Linetta Wilson
and Yvonne van der Kolk, who have
each qualified in two events. Wilson
has reached the qualifying mark in
the 200 and 400-meter dash, while
van der Kolk exceeded marks in the
800 and mile runs.
Nebraska’s Toyia Barnes, Joanne
Gomez, Renita Robinson and
Meredy Porter also have qualified.
Barnes qualified in the shotput, while
Gomez and Robinson will compete in
the triple jump. Porter will compete
in the long jump.
Pepin said that all of the Nebraska
athletes will not be competing at the
Sports Center this weekend. He said
he is sending athletes where the situ
ation looks best for them to qualify.
In some instances, like the
women’s mile relay, they arc going to
be in a meet where we know there are
going to be good athletes to help pull
them to a qualifying time,” Pepin
said. ‘‘It’s whatever facilities en
hance our opportunities best, either
due to the facility or the competition
that’s at that facility.”
Nebraska’s mile relay team of
Beth Webster, Tanya Lidy, Ximena
Restrepo and Wilson will travel to
Gainesville, Fla., for a last chance
meet Saturday at the University of
Florida. Webster will also compete in
the 55-meter hurdles.
Pepin said long jumper Kim
Guthrie, high jumper Shanta
McGlothan and distance runner
Dieudonne Kwizera have all been
close to qualifying this season. He
said they will try to surpass their
NCAA marks at the Sports Center
because they consider it an advantage
not to travel.
Nebraska assistant coach Jay
Dirksen said the number of athletes
going to Florida was longer at the
beginning of the week. But when the
Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis be
came available this weekend because
of a cancellation, the list shortened.
Dirksen said the cancellation
meant officials would be able to in
stall the track a week early.
Dirksen said he will accompany
several Comhuskers to Indianapolis
this weekend, including the men’s
1600-meter relay of Mark Jackson,
Ken Waller, Regis Humphrey and
Dale Barrage.
I he remaining Nebraska athletes
who will compete in Indianapolis arc
distance runners Jacques van
Rensburg and tw in brothers Frank
and Harald Graham. Fran ten Bcnsel
will also compete in the 800-meter
run and James Morris will compete in
the triple jump.
Dirksen said there are several
advantages to taking athletes to Indi
anapolis. He said that if they fail to
qualify, the schedule is such that the
athletes will arrive back in Lincoln in
time to compete again at the Sports
Center.
Dirksen also said the track in Indi
anapolis is considered one of the fast
est in the world. He said if the athletes
qualify, they will have an edge enter
ing the NCAA competition because
they will have already competed on
it.
“Everyone we’re taking has a
chance of qualifying, but you never
know,” Dirksen said.
Pepin said qualifying boils down
to the individuid’sseinmage^^^^
NU will duel
KSU in tourney
By Mark Derowitsch
Senior Reporter
Kansas State women’s basketball
coach Matilda Mossman likes the
Wildcats draw in the Big Eight Tour
nament
Except fra one thing.
The Wildcats, who are 17-10
overall and 7-7 in the Big Eight, don't
have Amy Stephens.
Kansas State will have to face
Stephens and sixth-seeded Nebraska,
in the tournament’s first round Satur
day at 8 p.m. at the Bicentennial
Center in salina, Kan.
In other first-round matches, Mis
souri will face Iowa State, regular
season champion Colorado faces
Oklahoma and Oklahoma State will
take on Kansas.
“I don’t think we match up very
well with Nebraska because we don’t
have Amy Stephens,” Mossman
said.
Stephens, a 5-foot-8 guard from
Alliance, leads the Big Eight in scor
ing while averaging 22 points a game.
In addition to Stephens, Mossman
said the Wildcats also have had prob
lems in the past with Nebraska’s in
side game. Center Kim Harris, a 6-1
senior from Decatur, 111., is averaging
13 points and 7.1 rebounds a game,
while sophomore forward Ann
Halsne averages 9.9 points and 5.1
rebounds.
“In the post, they have Harris and
Halsne,” Mossman said. “One’s a
physical player and the other is a
finesse player. Throw Stephens in
there and they’re tough to stop.”
Despite those problems, Mossman
said she likes the bracket the Wild
cats are in. The winner of the Ne
braska-Kansas State game will face
either Oklahoma State or Kansas
Sunday. The finals are scheduled for
Monday.
“My impression of the Big Eight
draw is that there’s no easy draw,”
Mossman said. “Look at the fact that
every team beat each other with the
exception of Colorado. It doesn’t
matter if you play the No. 2 seed or
No. 7 seed. This is a new season for
everyone.”
Colorado finished the regular sea
son with a 14-0 Big Eight record, the
first time a team finished undefeated
in conference games. The Buffaloes,
who are ranked 10th nationally, fin
ished their season with a 24-3 record
overall.
Nebraska coach Angela Beck said
she also likes the bracket Nebraska is
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