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For Immediate Release
January 20, 2005
BLAKE, POWELL EMBODY TRAITS OF TRACK AND
FIELD TEAMS
Balance and strength, two words Head Coach Dr. Ted
Bulling used to describe the 2005 Nebraska Wesleyan track and field
teams, are fitting adjectives for NWU’s top returnees this
season.
Erin Powell |
For the women, Erin Powell exhibited both balance
and strength in winning Outstanding Athlete honors at the Great
Plains Athletic Conference indoor and outdoor championships in 2004.
Already a four-time All-American, Powell has the ability to score
in multiple events (sprints, long jump and triple jump).
For the men, Bret Blake became the first man at
NWU to win four national titles in track as he won the outdoor 200-meter
dash and repeated as the indoor champion in the 55-meter dash last
season. Led by Blake and his efforts in everything from the 55 to
the 4x400 and distance medley relay, the Prairie Wolves continue
to rack up conference crowns and have finished no lower than fourth
at any of the last four NCAA Division III Championships.
Bret Blake |
Blake and Powell lead the way, but experienced supporting
casts are in place for Bulling, who said the men will be strong
in all areas, the women will be a very balanced team and both will
be major players in the GPAC this year.
Nebraska Wesleyan’s women were runners-up
at both conference meets and claimed a pair of top-20 team finishes
at nationals in 2004, but lost decorated sprinter Erin Dukich and
distance runner Gina Morgan to graduation.
Bulling said he expects senior Kami Long and sophomore
Ashley Sabin to lead his distance crew and noted the improvement
of sophomores Brenda Faimon, Jill Hansen and Amber Phipps during
the cross country season. All-Americans Kristi Lockhart and Ashley
Styskal join Powell in leading the sprinters, while junior Amy Vanderkolk
is back in the hurdles.
“Our women have a chance to be a NCAA top-10
type of team,” Bulling said.
In field events, Jennifer Nunnenkamp is the top
returning thrower, along with Morgan Butler and Rachel Seidel, while
Mira Brown leads the NWU vaulters. To view the women’s
roster, click
here.
“The Nebraska Wesleyan men have a distance
crew Bulling called “very possibly the strongest in the NCAA.”
Returning All-Americans Levi Ashley, Aaron Dye and
Blake Henning join national caliber runners Craig Dye, Rob Hruska,
Vince Sickler, Greg Timblin and Tom Unger.
NWU placed four in the top six in the GPAC’s
100 final last year. In addition to Blake and Jeff Aldrich, who
was on the national championship 4x100 in 2003, Gordie Coffin and
Matt Turman also competed at nationals in 2004. Scott Burns, Derek
Carson and Ben Thayer give the Prairie Wolves even more depth in
the sprints.
In the throws, senior Ryan Tietjen will look to
build on his list of credentials, which already includes four GPAC
titles and four All-America awards. Chris Collins, Chris Hadden,
Chris Krueger and Dustin Stuehrenberg are among the others to watch.
“Our men have the potential, and I mean to
emphasize the word potential, to be among the top two or three teams
in the country,” Bulling said. “We have a tremendous
amount of work to do before that can happen, but it is possible.”
Bulling called the hurdles the most improved area
of the men’s team and noted the return of Ryan Aspegren, Alex
Israelson, Isaac Jefferson, Scott Lervold and Craig Pekny.
Tom George, Matt Hampl, Travis Wagenknecht and Derek
Zulkoski all return to form the core of vaulters. Senior Tyler Gingery,
Turman and an influx of athletes who were very successful at the
high school level are expected to contribute in the horizontal jumps,
according to Bulling. Meanwhile, the NWU high jumpers will take
on a new look being entirely made up of first-year athletes. Click
here to view the men’s roster.
Some of Nebraska Wesleyan’s athletes competed
at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Holiday Inn Open last
week, but a majority of the Prairie Wolves will see their first
action at the Ward Haylett Invitational on Saturday in Crete. To
view the indoor and outdoor schedules, click
here.
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