For Immediate Release
2007 Indoor Track Wrap-Up
It’s uncommon for weather to impact
the outcome for indoor sports, but a snowstorm in early March
closed roads and cut the indoor track and field season one
meet short for Nebraska Wesleyan athletes, who were hoping
to improve their marks and qualify for the 2007 NCAA Division
III Championships.
Still, the Prairie Wolves ended up with eight participants
at the national meet March 9-10 in Terre Haute, Ind., and
six of those went on to earn All-America honors. Jenna Davies
and Jed Droge placed eighth in the women’s high jump
and men’s long jump, respectively. In addition, the
men’s 4x400-meter relay of Jason Peters, Chris Wolf,
Gordie Coffin (running in place of Evan Knight) and Ben Thayer,
placed fourth.
For his accomplishments leading up to the national meet, the
U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association
selected Peters as Central Region Indoor Men’s Track
Athlete of the Year.
At the GPAC Indoor Track & Field Championships, held Feb.
24 at Lincoln’s Bob Devaney Sports Center, individual
conference titles went to Coffin (60), Peters (200 and 400),
Derek Zulkoski (pole vault), Ashley Styskal (600), Amber Brandenburger
(mile), Bridget Baldwin (3,000) and Brittany Hubbard (5,000).
Peters was named Male Athlete of the Meet after scoring 28
points and recording conference meet records in the 60 (prelims),
200 and 400. Hubbard’s time of 18:15.11 in the 5K was
also a new meet record. Both the men and women placed second
in the final team scoring.
NWU hosted its annual Prairie Wolf Invitational on Feb. 16
at the Devaney Center as well. Coffin earned Nebraska Wesleyan’s
highest individual finish by placing second in the 200-meter
dash. Styskal and Brandenburger set new school records by
placing sixth in the 600 (1:38.28) and fourth in the 1,000
(2:59.11), respectively.
For the fourth year in a row, the Prairie Wolves brought home
both team titles from the Dennis Young Invitational hosted
on Feb. 10 by Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa.
Brandenburger and Peters were both named GPAC/Hauff Mid-America
Sports Indoor Track Athletes of the Week for their performances.
Brandenburger won the mile and Peters won two events and set
both the meet record and NWU school record in the 400.
Coffin won the same award for his performances in the 60 and
200 at the Adidas Classic hosted by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
on Jan. 27. He finished seventh overall, behind six NCAA Div.
I runners, in both events.
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