Husker Track & Field Set for NCAA Outdoor Championships

The nationally ranked Nebraska track and field teams will have 19 entries this week at the NCAA Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.

Entering the competition, the men are 10th and the women are 13th in the USTFCCCA week 10 polls. A year ago, the women captured eighth for their best finish since 2006 and the men tied for 17th in the team race.

Darius Luff will get the Huskers started on Wednesday, running in the 110m hurdles semifinal at 7:32 p.m. (CT). The senior from Lincoln, Neb. broke his own school record this season at the Drake Relays with a 13.25. That time is the third-best in the NCAA and the 16th-best in the world during the 2024 season. Luff won his third Big Ten title a couple weeks back and qualified for his seventh NCAA Championship meet at the West Preliminary Round. 

Dash Sirmon and Tyler Brown will represent the Huskers in the men’s javelin on Wednesday at 7:45 p.m. (CT). Sophomore Sirmon is currently ranked fourth in the NCAA after tossing a big 265-3 (80.86m) at the Big Ten Championships to break the school record and take the silver medal. Brown is making his NCAA Championship debut after placing eighth at regionals. Kevin Shubert is set for an 8:40 p.m. (CT) start time in the men’s shot put on Wednesday. He won the NCAA West Preliminary Round with a personal-best 65-1 1/4 (19.84m). That mark ranks ninth in the NCAA this season.

Garrett Kaalund will round out Wednesday’s action for the Huskers, running in the 200m semifinal at 8:44 p.m. (CT). The sophomore from San Antonio, Texas seems to get faster each time he hits the track, continuing to beat his school record time. Kaalund clocked a 20.25 at the NCAA West Preliminary Round to earn his spot at Hayward Field.

The elite Nebraska women’s throwers will open up the day on Thursday, with Hillevi Carlsson competing in the hammer throw at 5 p.m. (CT) and Rhema Otabor, Mirta Kulisic, Eniko Sara and Emanuela Casadei throwing the javelin at 8:45 p.m. (CT). Carlsson owns the second-best hammer mark in school history (207-6, 63.25m) and is making her first NCAA Championship appearance this week. The reigning javelin national champion, Otabor, headlines the women’s javelin. She finished second at the regional to secure her return to NCAAs. Kulisic threw a 174-5 (53.16m) to place eighth, Sara went 172-10 (52.69m) to finish ninth and Casadei threw 165-5 (50.42m) to place 12th at the NCAA West Preliminary Round. NU’s women’s javelin crew is one of three event groups to send four athletes to nationals in one event. The other two event squads are Arkansas’s women’s 400m and LSU’s women’s 200m.

Velecia Williams will take on the long jump on Thursday at 9 p.m. (CT) after going a personal-best 21-6 ¼ (6.56m) on her final attempt at regionals. That mark is seventh in school history and earned her a place at NCAAs, after finishing 10th at last year's championship meet. Axelina Johansson, last year’s NCAA Outdoor Shot Put Champion, will take center stage at 9:40 p.m. (CT) on Thursday. From Hok, Sweden, Johansson has already earned her spot on the Olympic team. She owns the indoor and outdoor shot put school records, is a three-time Big Ten Champion and a four-time All-American.

On Friday, Tyus Wilson will compete in the men’s high jump at 7:30 p.m. (CT). He’s cleared the best mark in the NCAA this season and the third-best mark in Nebraska school history with a 7-6 (2.29m). From Sterling, Kan., Wilson claimed the indoor and outdoor high jump Big Ten titles this season and is a two-time First-Team All-American. 

At 8:20 p.m. (CT), Terrol Wilson and Micaylon Moore will compete in the men’s triple jump. Both athletes made their NCAA Championship debuts during this season’s indoor meet. From Fort Collins, Colo., Moore garnered First-Team All-America honors in the triple jump with a seventh-place finish at NCAA Indoors. He brought in the Big Ten title in the triple jump during this year’s indoor season and the Big Ten silver medal in the long jump during this year’s outdoor season. With a triple jump mark of 53-6 ¼ (16.31m) at Big Ten Outdoors, Moore moved up to fifth on Nebraska’s all-time list. From Kingston, Jamaica, Wilson has the fourth-best outdoor triple jump mark in school history with a 53-10 ¼ (16.41m). He jumped that distance at this season’s Big Ten Outdoor Championships to claim silver. Wilson was named a Second-Team All-American at the NCAA Indoor Championships in March, placing 13th.

Upon advancement from Wednesday’s semifinals, Luff will compete in the 110m hurdles final at 8:42 p.m. (CT) and Kaalund will compete in the 200m final at 9:37 p.m. (CT) on Friday.

On Saturday, Jenna Rogers will take on NCAAs in the high jump for the sixth time at 4 p.m. (CT). This year’s indoor season was marked by Rogers bringing in her fourth First-Team All-America honor after placing sixth at NCAAs with a 6-2 (1.88m). From Rutherford, N.J., she has claimed the silver medal at Big Ten Indoors and Outdoors this season. Her best clearance of 2024 was at the Graduate Classic, when she went 6-2 3/4 (1.90m) to move up to second in the indoor high jump on Nebraska’s all-time list. 

Kalynn Meyer will throw the discus at 4:05 p.m. (CT) Saturday for her first NCAA Championship appearance. She went a personal-best 190-0 (57.92m) at regionals, cementing her spot as the third-best discus thrower in school history and claiming sixth among the field to send herself to NCAAs. A Superior, Neb. native, Meyer finished fourth in the discus at the Big Ten Championships a couple weeks ago.

Rhianna Phipps and Ashley McElmurry will round out the meet for the Huskers at 4:50 p.m. (CT) on Saturday. This is Phipps’s fifth NCAA Championship appearance. She earned her career-best NCAA finish during this year’s indoor meet, placing fifth in the triple jump with a 44-7 (13.59m). At regionals, the jumper from St. Thomas, Jamaica hit 44-10 ¼ (13.67m) to finish eighth. That mark would put her among the top-five in school history, but it was slightly wind-aided at 2.1 m/s. McElmurry is making her NCAA Championship debut after having a breakout outdoor season. Her 44-8 ¾ (13.63m) from regionals is a personal-best and is the fifth-best mark in school history. The senior from Missoula, Mont. took home silver in the triple jump at Big Ten Outdoors with a distance of 43-10 ½ (13.37m).

Each event will have a live stream on ESPN+. Television coverage for track events will be at 6:30 p.m. (CT) on ESPN2 on Wednesday, 7:30 p.m. (CT) on ESPN2 on Thursday, 8 p.m. (CT) on ESPN2 on Friday and 4:30 p.m. (CT) on ESPN on Saturday.

Nebraska's NCAA Outdoor Championships Qualifiers
Kalynn Meyer, Women’s Discus
Jenna Rogers, Women’s High Jump
Rhianna Phipps, Women’s Triple Jump
Ashley McElmurry, Women’s Triple Jump
Rhema Otabor, Women’s Javelin
Mirta Kulisic, Women’s Javelin
Eniko Sara, Women’s Javelin
Emanuela Casadei, Women’s Javelin
Hillevi Carlsson, Women’s Hammer Throw
Axelina Johansson, Women’s Shot Put
Velecia Williams, Women’s Long Jump
Kevin Shubert, Men’s Shot Put
Dash Sirmon, Men’s Javelin
Tyler Brown, Men’s Javelin
Garrett Kaalund, Men’s 200m
Darius Luff, Men’s 110m Hurdles
Tyus Wilson, Men’s High Jump
Terrol Wilson, Men’s Triple Jump
Micaylon Moore, Men’s Triple Jump