By
Francisco Merced
Arizona Daily Wildcat
In a sport decided by individual performances, a team effort allowed the Nebraska track and field team to edge out Arizona this weekend.
Unlike other scoring meets which crowns individual champions, the Jim Click Shootout gives its trophy to the overall combination of both squads, allowing Nebraska to defeat Arizona 345-342.
The Arizona track and field team invited Nebraska, Georgia and Oklahoma to compete in the annual meet held at Drachman Stadium Saturday.
UA head coach Dave Murray said he was very pleased with his athletes' performances this weekend.
"Overall, we had a great, great meet," Murray said. "We had a lot of real good performances by a lot of people."
The Arizona women entered the meet with a No. 4 ranking.
Facing two ranked opponents - No. 13 Nebraska and No. 21 Georgia - the Wildcats put a sizable distance between themselves and the Bulldogs by a margin of 191.5 to 156.5.
"We won the women's (portion) very handily against some very great schools," Murray said.
The women were once again led by junior Brianna Glenn, who took first in the three events she competed in individually - the 100-meter dash, the 200 and the long jump.
Glenn shined brightest in the long jump, where she finished only a tenth of a foot off the NCAA automatic qualifying standard with a mark of 21 feet.
Glenn, however, wasn't overly pleased with her performances.
"It was nice to win, but my performances weren't the best," Glenn said. "Maybe (they were) acceptable."
Glenn said she plans on improving her times before the Texas Relays in two weeks.
"I (would) like to defend my title (in the 100)," Glenn said. "It's one of my favorite meets, and it comes at a time when I feel I'm ready to run fast."
Helping Glenn out was junior Tara Chaplin who led an Arizona sweep in the 3,000 with a time of 9 minutes and 55.63 seconds.
Also providing big points for the Wildcats was senior Rori Kelly, who set a new personal record in the 100m high hurdles, winning with a time of 13.49 seconds. Her fellow hurdler - sophomore Alexandra Komnos - finished third with a time of 13.82.
For the men, junior Mike Kenyon once again won the individual 400m in a time of 45.97 while his teammate, sophomore Matt Lea, improved his time, finishing second in 46.78.
At the newest event to take place at Drachman Stadium, Arizona won both the men and women's 3,000 steeplechase. Junior Steve Smith and junior Katrin Engelen both took home titles.
Next up for the Wildcats is a trip to Palo Alto, Calif., where the distance runners will participate in the premier Stanford Invitational Friday.
