Final Results
LINCOLN, Neb. - Two UNO track and field athletes set new school records in a weekend of competition at the Holiday Inn Invitational hosted by Nebraska. Senior #Heather Minssen set her second school record of the indoor season in the shot put while junior Anja Puc# earned hers on the track.
Competing against the field, Minssen, a native of Underwood, Iowa, posted a first-place mark with a distance of 48 feet, 11 and one-half inches, breaking her own school record set in December by more than ten inches.
“The competition was pretty good,” Minssen said. “When you're competing against [Nebraska] girls, they are always really hard to beat. I guess I was just on today. I was extremely happy with it.”
Minssen's previous school record came at the Wayne State Invitational in December when she threw 48 feet, one and one-quarter inch.
“Heather had two throws farther than her national leading throw from December,” said UNO head coach Steve Smith. “Heather's work ethic and help from technique and strength coaches like Rick Emsick are paying off big time."
Puc set her mark on Friday, making her debut in the 1,000 meter event. She posted a first-place finish with a time of 2:54.57. Her time beat the old school mark of 2:56.88 set in 2007.
Running mostly 200 and 400 meter events as a youth, the Slovenia native made the transition to the 800 meter run just last season in which she earned a trip to the European Team Championships in Norway last summer and became UNO's first athlete to participate in the World University Games in Belgrade.
“I didn't realize that the 1,000 meter would make me so tired,” Puc said. “I was happy to win, but I learned quickly that the race was much different than the 400 meter.”
On Saturday, Puc teamed with junior sprinter #Kayla Koepke# to run in the 600 yard event. They posted the second and fourth fastest times in school history, 1:24.43 and 1:25.84 respectively.
“If I was fresh, I believe I would have possibly won the race,” Puc said. “The 1,000 meter on Friday was pretty tiring for me.”
Adding to Saturday's victories, fifth-year senior sprinter #Pinar Saka#, running unattached, won both the 200 and 400 meter events with times of 24.36 and 53.52, respectively. The talented sprinter from Istanbul, Turkey has never left the Lincoln meet with a loss.
Off to a fast start in 2010, the Maverick track and field team is trying to continue its scoring streak at the NCAA Division II Indoor National Championships which stands at 19 years. Only four Division II teams lead the Mavs in that statistic.
