Weekly Release

This Week
The UNO track & field team is in-state this week for the Doane College Relays on Friday and Saturday, April 20 and 21. Action begins at 4 p.m. on Friday and Noon on Saturday.

The Coaches
Steve Smith is in his sixth season as the head coach of the University of Nebraska Omaha track program.  He served as an assistant for one year prior to taking the head coach's position.  Smith was named the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association Indoor Coach of the Year in 2009 after guiding the Mavericks to a stunning win in the MIAA Indoor Championships.  He earned the award the next winter, guiding the Mavs to a repeat as MIAA Indoor Champs.   Overall, Smith has guided the Mavericks to three conference championships and three top-five finishes at the NCAA Division II Championship including a fourth-place finish indoors in 2010. Smith is assisted by Chris Richardson (jumps and pentathalon/heptathalon), who was named  the USTFCCCA South Central Regional Assistant Coach of the Year in 2011.  Marc Bierbaum coaches the distance events, and Rich Emsick handles the throws.

Last Meet
The Mavericks competed in the KT Woodman Classic at Wichita State last weekend.  Amanda Vorthmann picked up her second straight win in the steeplechase with a time of 11:08.33 to open Friday's action.

Ashley Kildow earned her second straight personal best time in the 1,500 meters with a time of 4:57.71, taking nearly three seconds off her previous best.

Kristin Rogers had UNO's top time in the 5,000 meters with a time of 18:51.92, just ahead of fellow freshman Mikayla Peck who ran a personal best time of 18:53.52 to finish eighth.

Because of severe weather, the Mavericks pulled out of several events on Saturday, competing in just five.

Kathie-Lee Laidley posted a wind-aided jump of 19-09 in the long jump to win the event.  Teammate Denneil Shaw was third with a jump of 18-07 1/4, also wind-aided.

Laidley also tied her personal best in the high jump with a leap of 5-06, good for fourth place.

Shaw also was ninth in the triple jump with a mark of 37-10 3/4.

Terri Armstrong was 17th in the 100 meters with a wind-aided time of 12.37 while Jody-Ann Coore was 10th in the 100 meter hurdles with a time of 14.96, also a wind-aided time.

NCAA Championship
As UNO begins its transition to Division I, the Mavericks are unable to compete in the NCAA Championships this season.  Therefore, they are not included in the national qualifier list during the indoor or outdoor season.  However if UNO's indoor marks were included, Sami Spenner's personal best pentathlon score of 3,810 earned at the Jack Jennett Invitational at Northern Iowa on Jan. 27 ranked 40th in the nation.  Outdoors, Laidley ranks 48th for her 19-11 season high in the long jump on March 31.

All-Academic Team
Last season, the UNO track & field team earned an All-Academic Team  honor. Overall the athletes acquired a GPA of 3.19 and had 12 student-athletes on the Dean's List for the fall semester and 10 at the end of the spring semester. To earn all-academic honors, the team must accumulate a GPA of at least 3.00. Eight Mavericks also were named USTFCCCA All-Academic honorees for the 2010-11 academic year. The athletes who made the list were: Jody-Ann Coore, Kayla Koepke, Lianne McNaughton, Maja Mihalinec, Heather Minssen, Anja Puc, Celeste Robinson and Sami Spenner.     

Up Next For the Mavericks
UNO will finish its season next week when it travels to the Drake Relays on Thursday - Saturday, April 26 and 28.  The Mavs also will take part in the Simpson College Kip Janvrin Open on Friday, April 27.