OMAHA, Neb. -&nbsp;The&nbsp;Omaha Supernovas&nbsp;have officially secured a spot in the inaugural Pro Volleyball Federation Championship. With the Columbus Fury losing to the Atlanta Vibe Thursday night, Omaha is guaranteed to finish inside the top four in the league standings. The landmark championship is scheduled to take place on May 15 and May 18 at the home of the Supernovas, the&nbsp;CHI Health Center&nbsp;in downtown Omaha.&nbsp;&nbsp;

The Supernovas become the second of four teams set to battle it out for the Pro Volleyball Federation crown. The Atlanta Vibe was the first team to clinch on April 15. Omaha has been one of the top teams in the league over the entire season, as it sits in second place behind Atlanta with a record of 13-7 with four matches left go in the regular season. The Supernovas have regularly been in the top two, not dropping below second in the standings since the first few weeks of the year.&nbsp;

The Supernovas are also in a good position to lock in the No. 2 seed for the championship. Omaha needs to win two more matches or have the San Diego Mojo (9-10) reach 12 losses to secure the regular-season runner-up spot.&nbsp;

The top four teams in the league standings will advance to the championship in Omaha. The semifinals are to take place on May 15 at 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. CDT. No. 1 seed Atlanta will play the four seed at 6 p.m. with the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds competing in the 8:30 p.m. slot.&nbsp;

The two winning teams from the semifinals will advance to the championship on Saturday, May 18 with first serve set for 3:30 p.m. CDT.&nbsp;

CBS Sports Network will televise each match.&nbsp;&nbsp;

All-session tickets are now available for the championships and can be purchased via this&nbsp;<a href="https://db9xbvgbb.cc.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001WIzcIBAY97wVpHIJ_BMxndSOWq9-ynTbaEasFygEnFlX3Vgw0yp41unlbze_zETzxK1K0BpD7GHhZPNRe88TJJSqt24sHrqF7h4VdB3Zya3Dpz_gdh9D3F3A48ODcwQpi2qLw9eHso331YNx72rYXjLE8BZaRYEoF2JiO6o6Uzc=&amp;c=yclwVZIDJ-7bNU3n03rX_TsvnXSaCGB30PYkf8p-uj526zz8VOEUoQ==&amp;ch=5AIpUulW4KH9Xwp7CAL7cxLR2VDN-gU7mcUAa4J4OgMy94G3sQh5VA==" target="_blank">link.</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;

The Supernovas begin a two-match road trip starting on Saturday, May 4 against Columbus with first serve set for 6:30 p.m. CDT on CBS Sports Network. Omaha then travels to Vegas to take on the Thrill at 9 p.m. CDT on Monday, May 6.

The Omaha Supernovas aim to be the premier home of professional volleyball throughout the world. The team is owned by global music sensation&nbsp;Jason Derulo&nbsp;and entrepreneurs&nbsp;Danny White&nbsp;and&nbsp;Chris Erickson, Co-Founders of City+Ventures, an investment and business acceleration organization headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska.&nbsp;&nbsp;

ABOUT PRO VOLLEYBALL FEDERATION&nbsp;&nbsp;

Pro Volleyball Federation is the present&nbsp;and&nbsp;future of professional volleyball in North America. The League began play in January 2024 with world class players and coaches, including some of America’s greatest volleyball players joined by elite standouts from around the world. Seven teams have taken the court in the first season, with 10 teams scheduled for the 2025 campaign. Our focus is on ensuring that the level and quality of play, treatment of players and the entire fan experience is world class and the best offered anywhere. For more information, visit&nbsp;<a href="https://db9xbvgbb.cc.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001WIzcIBAY97wVpHIJ_BMxndSOWq9-ynTbaEasFygEnFlX3Vgw0yp41hTTveDB71tsW1XmwoENdYceVZf7xwJbLwz01pfo-PC8pHz6UWg0TRPvC3FdGrfBh3jI9msBsfHrGzViSBZE8QrFGnx31Rk7H9Ok4X0UYZ_l&amp;c=yclwVZIDJ-7bNU3n03rX_TsvnXSaCGB30PYkf8p-uj526zz8VOEUoQ==&amp;ch=5AIpUulW4KH9Xwp7CAL7cxLR2VDN-gU7mcUAa4J4OgMy94G3sQh5VA==" target="_blank">ProVolleyball.com</a>.&nbsp;

Geoff Exstrom&nbsp;Omaha SupernovasOMAHA, Neb. -&nbsp;The&nbsp;Omaha Supernovas&nbsp;have officially secured a spot in the inaugural Pro Volleyball Federation Championship. With the Columbus Fury losing to the Atlanta Vibe Thursday night, Omaha is guaranteed to finish inside the top four in the league standings. The landmark championship is scheduled to take place on May 15 and May 18 at the home of the Supernovas, the&nbsp;CHI Health Center&nbsp;in downtown Omaha.&nbsp;&nbsp;The Supernovas become the second of four teams set to battle it out for the Pro Volleyball Federation crown. The Atlanta Vibe was the first team to clinch on April 15. Omaha has been one of the top teams in the league over the entire season, as it sits in second place behind Atlanta with a record of 13-7 with four matches left go in the regular season. The Supernovas have regularly been in the top two, not dropping below second in the standings since the first few weeks of the year.&nbsp;The Supernovas are also in a good position to lock in the No. 2 seed for the championship. Omaha needs to win two more matches or have the San Diego Mojo (9-10) reach 12 losses to secure the regular-season runner-up spot.&nbsp;The top four teams in the league standings will advance to the championship in Omaha. The semifinals are to take place on May 15 at 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. CDT. No. 1 seed Atlanta will play the four seed at 6 p.m. with the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds competing in the 8:30 p.m. slot.&nbsp;The two winning teams from the semifinals will advance to the championship on Saturday, May 18 with first serve set for 3:30 p.m. CDT.&nbsp;CBS Sports Network will televise each match.&nbsp;&nbsp;All-session tickets are now available for the championships and can be purchased via this&nbsp;<a href="https://db9xbvgbb.cc.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001WIzcIBAY97wVpHIJ_BMxndSOWq9-ynTbaEasFygEnFlX3Vgw0yp41unlbze_zETzxK1K0BpD7GHhZPNRe88TJJSqt24sHrqF7h4VdB3Zya3Dpz_gdh9D3F3A48ODcwQpi2qLw9eHso331YNx72rYXjLE8BZaRYEoF2JiO6o6Uzc=&amp;c=yclwVZIDJ-7bNU3n03rX_TsvnXSaCGB30PYkf8p-uj526zz8VOEUoQ==&amp;ch=5AIpUulW4KH9Xwp7CAL7cxLR2VDN-gU7mcUAa4J4OgMy94G3sQh5VA==" target="_blank">link.</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;The Supernovas begin a two-match road trip starting on Saturday, May 4 against Columbus with first serve set for 6:30 p.m. CDT on CBS Sports Network. Omaha then travels to Vegas to take on the Thrill at 9 p.m. CDT on Monday, May 6.ABOUT OMAHA SUPERNOVAS&nbsp;&nbsp;The Omaha Supernovas aim to be the premier home of professional volleyball throughout the world. The team is owned by global music sensation&nbsp;Jason Derulo&nbsp;and entrepreneurs&nbsp;Danny White&nbsp;and&nbsp;Chris Erickson, Co-Founders of City+Ventures, an investment and business acceleration organization headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska.&nbsp;&nbsp;ABOUT PRO VOLLEYBALL FEDERATION&nbsp;&nbsp;Pro Volleyball Federation is the present&nbsp;and&nbsp;future of professional volleyball in North America. The League began play in January 2024 with world class players and coaches, including some of America’s greatest volleyball players joined by elite standouts from around the world. Seven teams have taken the court in the first season, with 10 teams scheduled for the 2025 campaign. Our focus is on ensuring that the level and quality of play, treatment of players and the entire fan experience is world class and the best offered anywhere. For more information, visit&nbsp;<a href="https://db9xbvgbb.cc.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001WIzcIBAY97wVpHIJ_BMxndSOWq9-ynTbaEasFygEnFlX3Vgw0yp41hTTveDB71tsW1XmwoENdYceVZf7xwJbLwz01pfo-PC8pHz6UWg0TRPvC3FdGrfBh3jI9msBsfHrGzViSBZE8QrFGnx31Rk7H9Ok4X0UYZ_l&amp;c=yclwVZIDJ-7bNU3n03rX_TsvnXSaCGB30PYkf8p-uj526zz8VOEUoQ==&amp;ch=5AIpUulW4KH9Xwp7CAL7cxLR2VDN-gU7mcUAa4J4OgMy94G3sQh5VA==" target="_blank">ProVolleyball.com</a>.&nbsp;

Omaha Supernovas Clinch Spot in Pro Volleyball Federation Championship 

<div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mhIwVHWpS0s?si=LWc1FeAsNr_5SL6j" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>First Pitch at 6:00!!

High School Baseball District B-3 First Round - #2 North Platte High School Vs. #3 Nebraska City

Story by NU Athletic Communication

Nebraska Head Coach Fred Hoiberg announced Wednesday that Braxton Meah (pronounced MEE-uh) will join the Husker program in 2024-25.

Meah, a 7-foot-1, 255-pound center from Layton, Utah, comes to Lincoln after spending two years at the University of Washington, where he started 47 of 63 games for the Huskies. He has one year of eligibility remaining.

According to Hoiberg, Meah is an experienced inside presence who can make an impact on both ends of the court. At 7-foot-1, he would become the tallest player to play at Nebraska since the 2013-14 season.

“Braxton gives us a different dimension for our system with his skill set and athleticism,” Hoiberg said. “He puts a lot of pressure on defenses with his ability to get to the rim and finish around the basket. Defensively, he’s led Washington in blocked shots each of the past two years and was on the Pac-12 all-defensive team in 2022-23. He has the size and length to be an effective rim protector.”

Last season, Meah played in all 32 games, averaging 5.3 points on 77 percent shooting and 5.5 rebounds per game, leading Washington in both field goal percentage and blocked shots (27). He reached double figures six times in 2022-23, including a 19-point, eight-rebound, five-block effort against UCLA when he was a perfect 8-of-8 from the field. He posted four games with 10 or more rebounds, including a career-high 14 rebounds at Arizona State when he had 13 points, including the game-winning free throws in overtime. It was one of three double-doubles that Meah had in Pac-12 play, as he totaled 10 points and 14 rebounds against Arizona State in the first meeting as well as 15 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks at Oregon.

Meah was an impact newcomer for Washington in 2022-23, starting 31 games he played in that season and averaging 8.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game. He was selected to the Pac-12 All-Defensive team after ranking fifth in the conference in blocked shots and seventh in rebounding, while also pacing the Pac-12 with a .706 field goal percentage. He had 14 double-figure games, including a career-high 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting, along with nine rebounds and five blocked shots against Stanford, and had 20 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots against UCLA.&nbsp; Meah had three-double doubles – all in Pac-12 action – and six games with at least 10 rebounds. He recorded five-or-more blocks three times, including a career-high six blocks against Cal Poly and five each against UCLA and at Cal.

He began his career at Fresno State, where he played 52 games over two seasons. He had a season-high 14 points on 6-of-6 shooting against Youngstown State in 2021-22, as he averaged 2.2 points on 78 percent shooting and 2.2 rebounds per game in 32 contests. He played in 23 games as a freshman, averaging 2.8 points and 2.3 rebounds per game.

Meah played for San Joaquin Memorial as a junior during the 2018-19 season, averaging 11.3 points, 10.1 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game en route to a 22-11 record and the Central Section Division II title. He was teammates with Jalen Green, who was the No. 2 pick of the 2021 NBA Draft. He played two seasons at Layton (Utah) Christian Academy. Meah did not play at SJM during what would have been his senior season (2019-20) because he started his high school eligibility clock by enrolling while still junior-high age, which is allowed in the state of Utah.

Story by NU Athletic CommunicationNebraska Head Coach Fred Hoiberg announced Wednesday that Braxton Meah (pronounced MEE-uh) will join the Husker program in 2024-25.Meah, a 7-foot-1, 255-pound center from Layton, Utah, comes to Lincoln after spending two years at the University of Washington, where he started 47 of 63 games for the Huskies. He has one year of eligibility remaining.According to Hoiberg, Meah is an experienced inside presence who can make an impact on both ends of the court. At 7-foot-1, he would become the tallest player to play at Nebraska since the 2013-14 season.“Braxton gives us a different dimension for our system with his skill set and athleticism,” Hoiberg said. “He puts a lot of pressure on defenses with his ability to get to the rim and finish around the basket. Defensively, he’s led Washington in blocked shots each of the past two years and was on the Pac-12 all-defensive team in 2022-23. He has the size and length to be an effective rim protector.”Last season, Meah played in all 32 games, averaging 5.3 points on 77 percent shooting and 5.5 rebounds per game, leading Washington in both field goal percentage and blocked shots (27). He reached double figures six times in 2022-23, including a 19-point, eight-rebound, five-block effort against UCLA when he was a perfect 8-of-8 from the field. He posted four games with 10 or more rebounds, including a career-high 14 rebounds at Arizona State when he had 13 points, including the game-winning free throws in overtime. It was one of three double-doubles that Meah had in Pac-12 play, as he totaled 10 points and 14 rebounds against Arizona State in the first meeting as well as 15 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks at Oregon.Meah was an impact newcomer for Washington in 2022-23, starting 31 games he played in that season and averaging 8.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game. He was selected to the Pac-12 All-Defensive team after ranking fifth in the conference in blocked shots and seventh in rebounding, while also pacing the Pac-12 with a .706 field goal percentage. He had 14 double-figure games, including a career-high 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting, along with nine rebounds and five blocked shots against Stanford, and had 20 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots against UCLA.&nbsp; Meah had three-double doubles – all in Pac-12 action – and six games with at least 10 rebounds. He recorded five-or-more blocks three times, including a career-high six blocks against Cal Poly and five each against UCLA and at Cal.He began his career at Fresno State, where he played 52 games over two seasons. He had a season-high 14 points on 6-of-6 shooting against Youngstown State in 2021-22, as he averaged 2.2 points on 78 percent shooting and 2.2 rebounds per game in 32 contests. He played in 23 games as a freshman, averaging 2.8 points and 2.3 rebounds per game.Meah played for San Joaquin Memorial as a junior during the 2018-19 season, averaging 11.3 points, 10.1 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game en route to a 22-11 record and the Central Section Division II title. He was teammates with Jalen Green, who was the No. 2 pick of the 2021 NBA Draft. He played two seasons at Layton (Utah) Christian Academy. Meah did not play at SJM during what would have been his senior season (2019-20) because he started his high school eligibility clock by enrolling while still junior-high age, which is allowed in the state of Utah.

Huskers add Braxton Meah to 2024-25 roster

Story by NU Athletic Communication&nbsp;

Nebraska track and field heads to Wichita, Kan. for the Shocker Open on Friday, May 3. Huskers will look to improve marks ahead of next week’s Big Ten Championships. Field events begin at 1:30 p.m. (CT) and running events start at 5 p.m. (CT).

Shocker OpenDate:&nbsp;Friday, May 3Location:&nbsp;Wichita, Kan. (Cessna Stadium)Start Times (CT):&nbsp;Field Events: 1:30 p.m. / Running Events: 5 p.m.Meet Schedule:&nbsp;<a href="https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sidearm.nextgen.sites/wichita.sidearmsports.com/documents/2024/2/25/24_ShockerOpen_Schedule.pdf" target="_blank">Link</a>

NCAA LeadersNebraska has 15 athletes and a relay that currently rank inside the top 20 of the NCAA in their respective events:

Rhema Otabor, Javelin, 191-10 (58.47m), No. 1 NCAAAxelina Johansson, Shot Put, 61-9 (18.82m), No. 2 NCAARhianna Phipps, Triple Jump, 43-10 (13.36m), No. 9 NCAAAshley McElmurry, Triple Jump, 43-9 (13.33m), t-No. 11 NCAAEniko Sara, Javelin, 177-11 (54.23m), No. 12 NCAAMine De Klerk, Shot Put, 57-6 ½ (17.54m), No. 13 NCAAMirta Kulisic, Javelin, 175-3 (53.41m), No. 14 NCAAEmanuela Casadei, Javelin, 175-0 (53.35m), No. 15 NCAAKalynn Meyer, Discus, 188-11 (57.58m), No. 19 NCAADarius Luff, 110m Hurdles, 13.25, No. 1 NCAATyus Wilson, High Jump, 7-5 (2.26m), No. 2 NCAATerrol Wilson, Triple Jump, 52-2 ½ (15.91m), No. 13 NCAAMicaylon Moore, Triple Jump, 52-1 (15.87m), No. 16 NCAADash Sirmon, Javelin, 242-8 (73.97m), No. 14 NCAA4x400m Relay (Pierce, Kaalund, Schultz, Bryant), 3:03.31, No. 15 NCAAKevin Shubert, Shot Put, 63-2 ¼ (19.26m), No. 18 NCAA

All-Time Top-10 PerformancesThe following Huskers have either improved their marks or cracked the all-time top-10 outdoor charts at Nebraska this season:&nbsp;

Darius Luff, 110mH, 13.25, No. 1Henry Zimmerman, Hammer Throw, 223-4 (68.07m), No. 2Tyus Wilson, High Jump, 7-5 (2.26m), No. 5Niko Schultz, 800m, 1:47.40, No. 6Tyler Brown, Javelin, 234-7 (71.50m), No. 7Kavian Kerr, 200m, 20.76, t-No. 10Sprint Medley Relay (Pierce, Wilson, Bryant, Schultz), 3:17.26, No. 24x400m Relay (Pierce, Kaalund, Schultz, Bryant), 3:03.31, t-No. 3Brynna McQuillen, 5000m, 16:13.75, No. 2Hillevi Carlsson, Hammer Throw, 207-6 (63.25m), No. 2Kalynn Meyer, Discus, 188-11 (57.58m), No. 3Mine De Klerk, Shot Put, 57-6 ½ (17.54m), No. 4Amelia Flynt, Shot Put, 56-1 (17.09m), No. 6Mine De Klerk, Discus, 181-0 (55.17m), No. 6Darby Thomas, 100m, 11.35, t-No.6Berlyn Schutz, 1500m, 4:17.31, No. 7Cammy Garabian, Hammer Throw, 202-4 (61.68m), No. 7Ali Bainbridge, 5000m, 16:29.39, No. 8Eniko Sara, Javelin, 177-11 (54.23m), No. 9Rhianna Phipps, Triple Jump, 43-10 (13.36m), No. 9Johanna Ilves, 100mH, 13.45, No. 9Amelia Flynt, Discus, 177-2 (54.01m), No. 10Ashley McElmurry, Triple Jump, 43-9 (13.33m), t-No. 10Sprint Medley Relay (Deebom, A. Walker, M. Walker, Schutz), 3:48.54, No. 1

Huskers in the PollsNebraska track and field moved up seven spots in the USTFCCCA week three women's rankings, coming in at fourth. That marks the highest team ranking for the women's program since being No. 4 in the 2006 final poll. The Nebraska men entered the polls for the first time during the outdoor season on Tuesday. They came in at 20th, while the women were ranked 13th.

The NU women have posted nine marks inside the top-20 nationally, while adding 16 Nebraska all-time marks. The men have posted seven marks inside the top-20, while putting up eight all-time marks.

Rhema Otabor threw an NCAA-leading 191-10 (58.47m) in her javelin season debut at the Jim Click Shootout, while Eniko Sara is 12th with a 177-11 (54.23m), Mirta Kulisic is ranked 14th with a &nbsp;175-3 (53.41m) and Emanuela Casadei is at 15th in the event with a 175-0 (53.35m). Adding to the throws success, reigning national champion Axelina Johansson has the second-best shot put mark of the season after hitting the Olympic Standard at the Michael Johnson Invitational with a 61-9 (18.82m). Mine De Klerk is 13th in the shot put (57-6 ½, 17.54m) and Kalynn Meyer is 19th in the discus (188-11, 57.58m). In the triple jump, Rhianna Phipps is ninth with a 43-10 (13.36m) and Ashley McElmurry is tied for 11th with a 43-9 (13.33m).

On the men’s side, Darius Luff is the top-ranked 110m hurdler after he ran a blazing 13.25 at the Drake Relays to break his own school record. That time is also ranked fifth in the world currently. Tyus Wilson cleared the second-best height in the NCAA on Friday night with a 7-5 (2.26m) in the high jump. In the triple jump, Terrol Wilson is ranked 13th with a 52-2 ½ (15.91m) and Micaylon Moore is ranked 16th with a 52-1 (15.87m). Dash Sirmon is 14th in the javelin with a 242-8 (73.97m) and Kevin Shubert is 18th in the shot put with a 63-2 ¼ (19.26m). Tyrell Pierce, Garrett Kaalund, Niko Schultz and Nick Bryant teamed up to clock the 15th-fastest 4x400m relay time in the NCAA this season on Saturday with a 3:03.31.

In Tuesday's polls, the Husker women were ranked third in the Big Ten Conference, while being named the top-ranked javelin squad in the country. They also are the No. 2 triple jump and shot put, No. 3 long jump and No. 5 discus group in the NCAA. The men were ranked fifth in the Big Ten, third in the high jump and fourth in the hammer throw on Tuesday.

Johansson Earns Big Ten Weekly AwardNebraska track and field's Axelina Johansson earned the Big Ten Women's Field Athlete of the Week honor, announced on April 25 by the conference office.

Johansson hit the Olympic Standard in the shot put on her birthday (April 20). The 61-9 (18.82m) was the farthest mark in the shot put field at the Michael Johnson Invitational by over two meters. The distance improved upon her mark that is No. 2 in the NCAA and first in the Big Ten. Johansson won the shot put at the Jim Click Shootout on April 6.

This is Nebraska's second conference weekly award during the outdoor season and its seventh overall during 2024.&nbsp;

Otabor Tabbed Big Ten Field Athlete of the WeekNebraska track and field's Rhema Otabor claimed the Big Ten Women's Field Athlete of the Week honor, announced by the conference office on April 10.

Otabor threw an NCAA-leading mark in the javelin on Friday at the Jim Click Shootout to lead a Nebraska top-four sweep. The 191-10 (58.47m) is currently first in the NCAA and won her the title during her season debut. The senior from Nassau, Bahamas is the reigning NCAA Champion and Big Ten Champion in the javelin, while she also holds the No. 2 mark in school history.

This is Nebraska's first conference weekly award during the outdoor season, but its sixth overall during 2024. The last time a Husker woman won a Big Ten weekly award was when Otabor brought in the same honor last season on April 26.

The next meets for the Huskers include the Bryan Clay Invitational April 11-13 in Azusa, Calif., and the Michael Johnson Invitational April 19-20 in Waco, Texas.

Nebraska's 2024 Big Ten Track &amp; Field Weekly AwardsJan. 17: Henry Zimmerman, Men's Field Athlete of the WeekJan. 24: Henry Zimmerman, Men's Field Athlete of the WeekFeb. 7: Till Steinforth, Men's Field Athlete of the WeekFeb. 21: Brithton Senior, Men’s Track Athlete of the WeekFeb. 21: Micaylon Moore, Men’s Field Athlete of the WeekApril 10: Rhema Otabor, Women's Field Athlete of the WeekApril 25: Axelina Johansson, Women’s Field Athlete of the Week

2024 Indoor Season RecapThe Husker men and women closed the indoor season inside the top 25, with the men tying for 12th and the women claiming 25th at the NCAA Championships. Out of 12 Husker entries, eight earned First-Team All-America honors by placing in the top eight.

Till Steinforth recorded his highest-career NCAA finish in the heptathlon to finish third, a day after becoming the first Husker to become a long jump First-Team All-American in the last decade with a seventh-place finish. The last Husker to place third or higher in the heptathlon at the NCAA Indoor Championships was Björn Barrefors in 2009. Tyus Wilson and Jenna Rogers each pitched in a top-eight finish in the high jump, while Micaylon Moore represented NU as a First-Team All-American in the triple jump. Rhianna Phipps placed fifth in the triple jump, Mine De Klerk took seventh in the shot put and Henry Zimmerman finished seventh in the weight throw to round out Nebraska’s First-Team All-Americans.

With Nebraska sending 11 athletes and 12 entries to the NCAA Championships, that marked the most athletes to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships since 2010 and the most entries since 2011.

At the Big Ten Championships, the Husker men finished second as a team, only four points behind Wisconsin. The women finished in eighth. Wilson (high jump), Moore (triple jump), Steinforth (long jump) and De Klerk (shot put) brought in Big Ten titles.&nbsp;

Zimmerman broke the weight throw school record on four occasions, while Berlyn Schutz broke the school record in the mile as a freshman. Altogether, 26 performances either broke into the all-time list for the first time or moved up the list during the indoor season.

2023 Outdoor Season RecapNebraska’s last outdoor season was marked by the men claiming the Big Ten title and the women finishing third. Both finishes were the best placements since the 2016 season. The team combined for 12 event titles throughout the meet. The women, powered by Axelina Johansson (shot put) and Rhema Otabor (javelin) bringing in NCAA titles, took eighth place at the NCAA Championships. That was the best finish since the 2006 season, when the Huskers tied for fourth. The men tied for 17th, their best team finish in seven years. The men and women combined for eight First-Team All-America honors, seven school records and 32 new top-10 marks throughout the outdoor season.

Story by NU Athletic Communication&nbsp;Nebraska track and field heads to Wichita, Kan. for the Shocker Open on Friday, May 3. Huskers will look to improve marks ahead of next week’s Big Ten Championships. Field events begin at 1:30 p.m. (CT) and running events start at 5 p.m. (CT).Shocker OpenDate:&nbsp;Friday, May 3Location:&nbsp;Wichita, Kan. (Cessna Stadium)Start Times (CT):&nbsp;Field Events: 1:30 p.m. / Running Events: 5 p.m.Meet Schedule:&nbsp;<a href="https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sidearm.nextgen.sites/wichita.sidearmsports.com/documents/2024/2/25/24_ShockerOpen_Schedule.pdf" target="_blank">Link</a>NCAA LeadersNebraska has 15 athletes and a relay that currently rank inside the top 20 of the NCAA in their respective events:Rhema Otabor, Javelin, 191-10 (58.47m), No. 1 NCAAAxelina Johansson, Shot Put, 61-9 (18.82m), No. 2 NCAARhianna Phipps, Triple Jump, 43-10 (13.36m), No. 9 NCAAAshley McElmurry, Triple Jump, 43-9 (13.33m), t-No. 11 NCAAEniko Sara, Javelin, 177-11 (54.23m), No. 12 NCAAMine De Klerk, Shot Put, 57-6 ½ (17.54m), No. 13 NCAAMirta Kulisic, Javelin, 175-3 (53.41m), No. 14 NCAAEmanuela Casadei, Javelin, 175-0 (53.35m), No. 15 NCAAKalynn Meyer, Discus, 188-11 (57.58m), No. 19 NCAADarius Luff, 110m Hurdles, 13.25, No. 1 NCAATyus Wilson, High Jump, 7-5 (2.26m), No. 2 NCAATerrol Wilson, Triple Jump, 52-2 ½ (15.91m), No. 13 NCAAMicaylon Moore, Triple Jump, 52-1 (15.87m), No. 16 NCAADash Sirmon, Javelin, 242-8 (73.97m), No. 14 NCAA4x400m Relay (Pierce, Kaalund, Schultz, Bryant), 3:03.31, No. 15 NCAAKevin Shubert, Shot Put, 63-2 ¼ (19.26m), No. 18 NCAAAll-Time Top-10 PerformancesThe following Huskers have either improved their marks or cracked the all-time top-10 outdoor charts at Nebraska this season:&nbsp;Darius Luff, 110mH, 13.25, No. 1Henry Zimmerman, Hammer Throw, 223-4 (68.07m), No. 2Tyus Wilson, High Jump, 7-5 (2.26m), No. 5Niko Schultz, 800m, 1:47.40, No. 6Tyler Brown, Javelin, 234-7 (71.50m), No. 7Kavian Kerr, 200m, 20.76, t-No. 10Sprint Medley Relay (Pierce, Wilson, Bryant, Schultz), 3:17.26, No. 24x400m Relay (Pierce, Kaalund, Schultz, Bryant), 3:03.31, t-No. 3Brynna McQuillen, 5000m, 16:13.75, No. 2Hillevi Carlsson, Hammer Throw, 207-6 (63.25m), No. 2Kalynn Meyer, Discus, 188-11 (57.58m), No. 3Mine De Klerk, Shot Put, 57-6 ½ (17.54m), No. 4Amelia Flynt, Shot Put, 56-1 (17.09m), No. 6Mine De Klerk, Discus, 181-0 (55.17m), No. 6Darby Thomas, 100m, 11.35, t-No.6Berlyn Schutz, 1500m, 4:17.31, No. 7Cammy Garabian, Hammer Throw, 202-4 (61.68m), No. 7Ali Bainbridge, 5000m, 16:29.39, No. 8Eniko Sara, Javelin, 177-11 (54.23m), No. 9Rhianna Phipps, Triple Jump, 43-10 (13.36m), No. 9Johanna Ilves, 100mH, 13.45, No. 9Amelia Flynt, Discus, 177-2 (54.01m), No. 10Ashley McElmurry, Triple Jump, 43-9 (13.33m), t-No. 10Sprint Medley Relay (Deebom, A. Walker, M. Walker, Schutz), 3:48.54, No. 1Huskers in the PollsNebraska track and field moved up seven spots in the USTFCCCA week three women's rankings, coming in at fourth. That marks the highest team ranking for the women's program since being No. 4 in the 2006 final poll. The Nebraska men entered the polls for the first time during the outdoor season on Tuesday. They came in at 20th, while the women were ranked 13th.The NU women have posted nine marks inside the top-20 nationally, while adding 16 Nebraska all-time marks. The men have posted seven marks inside the top-20, while putting up eight all-time marks.Rhema Otabor threw an NCAA-leading 191-10 (58.47m) in her javelin season debut at the Jim Click Shootout, while Eniko Sara is 12th with a 177-11 (54.23m), Mirta Kulisic is ranked 14th with a &nbsp;175-3 (53.41m) and Emanuela Casadei is at 15th in the event with a 175-0 (53.35m). Adding to the throws success, reigning national champion Axelina Johansson has the second-best shot put mark of the season after hitting the Olympic Standard at the Michael Johnson Invitational with a 61-9 (18.82m). Mine De Klerk is 13th in the shot put (57-6 ½, 17.54m) and Kalynn Meyer is 19th in the discus (188-11, 57.58m). In the triple jump, Rhianna Phipps is ninth with a 43-10 (13.36m) and Ashley McElmurry is tied for 11th with a 43-9 (13.33m).On the men’s side, Darius Luff is the top-ranked 110m hurdler after he ran a blazing 13.25 at the Drake Relays to break his own school record. That time is also ranked fifth in the world currently. Tyus Wilson cleared the second-best height in the NCAA on Friday night with a 7-5 (2.26m) in the high jump. In the triple jump, Terrol Wilson is ranked 13th with a 52-2 ½ (15.91m) and Micaylon Moore is ranked 16th with a 52-1 (15.87m). Dash Sirmon is 14th in the javelin with a 242-8 (73.97m) and Kevin Shubert is 18th in the shot put with a 63-2 ¼ (19.26m). Tyrell Pierce, Garrett Kaalund, Niko Schultz and Nick Bryant teamed up to clock the 15th-fastest 4x400m relay time in the NCAA this season on Saturday with a 3:03.31.In Tuesday's polls, the Husker women were ranked third in the Big Ten Conference, while being named the top-ranked javelin squad in the country. They also are the No. 2 triple jump and shot put, No. 3 long jump and No. 5 discus group in the NCAA. The men were ranked fifth in the Big Ten, third in the high jump and fourth in the hammer throw on Tuesday.Johansson Earns Big Ten Weekly AwardNebraska track and field's Axelina Johansson earned the Big Ten Women's Field Athlete of the Week honor, announced on April 25 by the conference office.Johansson hit the Olympic Standard in the shot put on her birthday (April 20). The 61-9 (18.82m) was the farthest mark in the shot put field at the Michael Johnson Invitational by over two meters. The distance improved upon her mark that is No. 2 in the NCAA and first in the Big Ten. Johansson won the shot put at the Jim Click Shootout on April 6.This is Nebraska's second conference weekly award during the outdoor season and its seventh overall during 2024.&nbsp;Otabor Tabbed Big Ten Field Athlete of the WeekNebraska track and field's Rhema Otabor claimed the Big Ten Women's Field Athlete of the Week honor, announced by the conference office on April 10.Otabor threw an NCAA-leading mark in the javelin on Friday at the Jim Click Shootout to lead a Nebraska top-four sweep. The 191-10 (58.47m) is currently first in the NCAA and won her the title during her season debut. The senior from Nassau, Bahamas is the reigning NCAA Champion and Big Ten Champion in the javelin, while she also holds the No. 2 mark in school history.This is Nebraska's first conference weekly award during the outdoor season, but its sixth overall during 2024. The last time a Husker woman won a Big Ten weekly award was when Otabor brought in the same honor last season on April 26.The next meets for the Huskers include the Bryan Clay Invitational April 11-13 in Azusa, Calif., and the Michael Johnson Invitational April 19-20 in Waco, Texas.Nebraska's 2024 Big Ten Track &amp; Field Weekly AwardsJan. 17: Henry Zimmerman, Men's Field Athlete of the WeekJan. 24: Henry Zimmerman, Men's Field Athlete of the WeekFeb. 7: Till Steinforth, Men's Field Athlete of the WeekFeb. 21: Brithton Senior, Men’s Track Athlete of the WeekFeb. 21: Micaylon Moore, Men’s Field Athlete of the WeekApril 10: Rhema Otabor, Women's Field Athlete of the WeekApril 25: Axelina Johansson, Women’s Field Athlete of the Week2024 Indoor Season RecapThe Husker men and women closed the indoor season inside the top 25, with the men tying for 12th and the women claiming 25th at the NCAA Championships. Out of 12 Husker entries, eight earned First-Team All-America honors by placing in the top eight.Till Steinforth recorded his highest-career NCAA finish in the heptathlon to finish third, a day after becoming the first Husker to become a long jump First-Team All-American in the last decade with a seventh-place finish. The last Husker to place third or higher in the heptathlon at the NCAA Indoor Championships was Björn Barrefors in 2009. Tyus Wilson and Jenna Rogers each pitched in a top-eight finish in the high jump, while Micaylon Moore represented NU as a First-Team All-American in the triple jump. Rhianna Phipps placed fifth in the triple jump, Mine De Klerk took seventh in the shot put and Henry Zimmerman finished seventh in the weight throw to round out Nebraska’s First-Team All-Americans.With Nebraska sending 11 athletes and 12 entries to the NCAA Championships, that marked the most athletes to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships since 2010 and the most entries since 2011.At the Big Ten Championships, the Husker men finished second as a team, only four points behind Wisconsin. The women finished in eighth. Wilson (high jump), Moore (triple jump), Steinforth (long jump) and De Klerk (shot put) brought in Big Ten titles.&nbsp;Zimmerman broke the weight throw school record on four occasions, while Berlyn Schutz broke the school record in the mile as a freshman. Altogether, 26 performances either broke into the all-time list for the first time or moved up the list during the indoor season.2023 Outdoor Season RecapNebraska’s last outdoor season was marked by the men claiming the Big Ten title and the women finishing third. Both finishes were the best placements since the 2016 season. The team combined for 12 event titles throughout the meet. The women, powered by Axelina Johansson (shot put) and Rhema Otabor (javelin) bringing in NCAA titles, took eighth place at the NCAA Championships. That was the best finish since the 2006 season, when the Huskers tied for fourth. The men tied for 17th, their best team finish in seven years. The men and women combined for eight First-Team All-America honors, seven school records and 32 new top-10 marks throughout the outdoor season.

Huskers set for Shocker Open

Junior Jackson Brockett tossed the sixth individual no-hitter in Nebraska baseball history, and the first nine-inning no-hitter since 1954, in Nebraska's 8-0 win over Kansas State on Wednesday night at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park.

It marked NU's first individual no-hitter since 1981, when Anthony Kelley didn't allow a hit over seven innings against the Oklahoma Sooners. It was just the second ever nine-inning individual no-hitter, joining Richard Geier's no-hitter in 1954 against the Kansas Jayhawks.

In his first start of the season, Brockett posted a career-high 12 strikeouts on 107 pitches which is the most punchouts by a Husker hurler since Will Walsh last season. The outing was the second complete-game shutout by a Nebraska pitcher this season, joining Brett Sears who tossed a two-hitter against Ohio State earlier this season.

Nebraska (28-15) totaled eight runs on 12 hits and an error, while Kansas State (26-18) was held without a run or hit with two errors.

Ben Columbus finished 2-for-3 with a two-run homer, while Garrett Anglim produced a two-hit game along with a pair of RBI. Case Sanderson extended his on-base streak to 15 games and Tyler Stone drove in two runs. Rhett Stokes added two hits for the Huskers, while Riley Silva, Garrett Anglim and Cole Evans each recorded a knock.

The Elkhorn, Neb., native needed just eight pitches to get through the Wildcats first three hitters, setting up the Husker offense in the bottom of the first inning.

Silva drew a one-out walk and immediately stole second base, before advancing to third on a throwing error by the catcher. A wild pitch in the next at-bat allowed Silva to score and give NU an early 1-0 lead.

After a pair of outs in the bottom of the second inning, Columbus doubled down the right field line and Carey reached on a throwing error to give the Huskers runners on first and third. However, a strikeout ended the inning and stranded runners on the corners for the Big Red.

On the mound, Brockett continued to deal by setting down the next six Kansas State batters to remain perfect across the first three innings.

Silva reached for the second time on a single and swiped second for his 27th steal of the season, the most by a Husker since 2001. Stone walked to give Nebraska a pair of baserunners for the second straight inning before a fielder’s choice and groundout ended the third frame.

Brockett retired the side in order in the fourth inning, before a throwing error in the infield allowed the first Wildcat to reach base. The southpaw walked the next batter but induced an inning-ending double-play ball to keep Kansas State off the board in the fifth frame.

Nebraska’s offense broke through in the bottom half of the fifth, beginning with Stone being plunked and Sanderson’s double. Anglim subsequently drove both in on a two-run double to extend the NU advantage to 3-0.

In the next at-bat, Columbus launched a 375-foot two-run home run beyond the party porch in right field to push the lead to five runs. Brockett responded with a zero in the top of the sixth inning, striking out the side to keep the Huskers in front 6-0.

The southpaw put up another scoreless inning, while Nebraska added runs in the seventh and eighth innings on Carey’s sacrifice fly and Stone’s RBI groundout to grab an 8-0 lead.

Brockett worked around a leadoff walk in the ninth inning to retire the Wildcats in order and secure the sixth no-hitter in Nebraska baseball history.

Nebraska travels to Minneapolis Minn., for a three-game conference series this weekend with Minnesota on Friday-Sunday, May 3-5 at Siebert Field. First pitch of Friday’s series opener between the Huskers and the Golden Gophers is set for 5 p.m. CT.

Story by NU Athletic CommunicationJunior Jackson Brockett tossed the sixth individual no-hitter in Nebraska baseball history, and the first nine-inning no-hitter since 1954, in Nebraska's 8-0 win over Kansas State on Wednesday night at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park.It marked NU's first individual no-hitter since 1981, when Anthony Kelley didn't allow a hit over seven innings against the Oklahoma Sooners. It was just the second ever nine-inning individual no-hitter, joining Richard Geier's no-hitter in 1954 against the Kansas Jayhawks.In his first start of the season, Brockett posted a career-high 12 strikeouts on 107 pitches which is the most punchouts by a Husker hurler since Will Walsh last season. The outing was the second complete-game shutout by a Nebraska pitcher this season, joining Brett Sears who tossed a two-hitter against Ohio State earlier this season.Nebraska (28-15) totaled eight runs on 12 hits and an error, while Kansas State (26-18) was held without a run or hit with two errors.Ben Columbus finished 2-for-3 with a two-run homer, while Garrett Anglim produced a two-hit game along with a pair of RBI. Case Sanderson extended his on-base streak to 15 games and Tyler Stone drove in two runs. Rhett Stokes added two hits for the Huskers, while Riley Silva, Garrett Anglim and Cole Evans each recorded a knock.The Elkhorn, Neb., native needed just eight pitches to get through the Wildcats first three hitters, setting up the Husker offense in the bottom of the first inning.Silva drew a one-out walk and immediately stole second base, before advancing to third on a throwing error by the catcher. A wild pitch in the next at-bat allowed Silva to score and give NU an early 1-0 lead.After a pair of outs in the bottom of the second inning, Columbus doubled down the right field line and Carey reached on a throwing error to give the Huskers runners on first and third. However, a strikeout ended the inning and stranded runners on the corners for the Big Red.On the mound, Brockett continued to deal by setting down the next six Kansas State batters to remain perfect across the first three innings.Silva reached for the second time on a single and swiped second for his 27th steal of the season, the most by a Husker since 2001. Stone walked to give Nebraska a pair of baserunners for the second straight inning before a fielder’s choice and groundout ended the third frame.Brockett retired the side in order in the fourth inning, before a throwing error in the infield allowed the first Wildcat to reach base. The southpaw walked the next batter but induced an inning-ending double-play ball to keep Kansas State off the board in the fifth frame.Nebraska’s offense broke through in the bottom half of the fifth, beginning with Stone being plunked and Sanderson’s double. Anglim subsequently drove both in on a two-run double to extend the NU advantage to 3-0.In the next at-bat, Columbus launched a 375-foot two-run home run beyond the party porch in right field to push the lead to five runs. Brockett responded with a zero in the top of the sixth inning, striking out the side to keep the Huskers in front 6-0.The southpaw put up another scoreless inning, while Nebraska added runs in the seventh and eighth innings on Carey’s sacrifice fly and Stone’s RBI groundout to grab an 8-0 lead.Brockett worked around a leadoff walk in the ninth inning to retire the Wildcats in order and secure the sixth no-hitter in Nebraska baseball history.Nebraska travels to Minneapolis Minn., for a three-game conference series this weekend with Minnesota on Friday-Sunday, May 3-5 at Siebert Field. First pitch of Friday’s series opener between the Huskers and the Golden Gophers is set for 5 p.m. CT.

Brockett deals NU’s first nine-inning no-hitter since 1954

Best of the Midwest Track and Field results

#1 Creighton Preparatory School Vs. #4 North Platte&nbsp;

4-0, Creighton Prep moves on to championship match

2-0, Millard South advances to the championship match

<h2>Boy's District A-2 Soccer</h2>#1 Creighton Preparatory School Vs. #4 North Platte&nbsp;4-0, Creighton Prep moves on to championship match&nbsp;<h2>Girl's District A-3 Soccer</h2>#2 Millard South Vs. #3 North Platte2-0, Millard South advances to the championship match

Area District results

Story by UNK Athletic Communications&nbsp;

Kearney, Neb. –&nbsp;Junior&nbsp;Juliana Botero Molina&nbsp;will represent Nebraska-Kearney at the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ncaa.com/news/golf-women/article/2024-04-29/ncaa-division-ii-womens-golf-committee-announces-2024-championship-field" target="_blank">2024 NCAA Central Regional</a>&nbsp;May 6-8 in Bartlesville, Okla.

The regional field consists of nine teams from the MIAA, Great American Conference (GAC) and Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) as well as six individuals not from one of those squads. The regional committee uses a varsity of criteria from the regular season, including head-to-head competition and tournament finish, to determine the selections.

UNK was hoping to make the cut for a third straight year but just missed out. Next spring, the regional field expands to 18 teams.

The 2024 D2 NCAA women's golf field features 48 teams and 24 individuals competing at four regional sites (Bartlesville, Okla., Carmel, Ind., Cleveland, Tenn., and Stockton, Calif.). The top three Central teams, along with the top two individuals not on those teams, move on to the NCAA Championships May 21-25 in Orlando.

The 2024 MIAA Champion, Botero Molina has a 76.19 season stroke average which would set a new school record. Half of her 21 rounds have been between 71-75 and she joins Ana Summers (2015 &amp; 2016) and Sara Wissing (2009 &amp; 2010) as Lopers to individually qualify for regional play.

Rogers State will host the regional at the Hillcrest Country Club. UNK took part in the “Pre-Regional” meet at the course back in Sept. 2023 with Botero Molina tying for 16th&nbsp;place (150; 75-75).

Central Regional FieldTeams:1. Henderson State, Ark.&nbsp;[Great American Conference auto bid]2. Central Missouri&nbsp;[Mid-American Intercollegiate Athletics Association auto bid]3. Southwestern Oklahoma State4. Rogers State5. Augustana&nbsp;[Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference auto bid]6. Northeastern State7. Minnesota State8. Central Oklahoma9. Harding, Ark.

5. Paige Hoffman, Northwest Missouri State

Story by UNK Athletic Communications&nbsp;Kearney, Neb. –&nbsp;Junior&nbsp;Juliana Botero Molina&nbsp;will represent Nebraska-Kearney at the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ncaa.com/news/golf-women/article/2024-04-29/ncaa-division-ii-womens-golf-committee-announces-2024-championship-field" target="_blank">2024 NCAA Central Regional</a>&nbsp;May 6-8 in Bartlesville, Okla.The regional field consists of nine teams from the MIAA, Great American Conference (GAC) and Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) as well as six individuals not from one of those squads. The regional committee uses a varsity of criteria from the regular season, including head-to-head competition and tournament finish, to determine the selections.UNK was hoping to make the cut for a third straight year but just missed out. Next spring, the regional field expands to 18 teams.The 2024 D2 NCAA women's golf field features 48 teams and 24 individuals competing at four regional sites (Bartlesville, Okla., Carmel, Ind., Cleveland, Tenn., and Stockton, Calif.). The top three Central teams, along with the top two individuals not on those teams, move on to the NCAA Championships May 21-25 in Orlando.The 2024 MIAA Champion, Botero Molina has a 76.19 season stroke average which would set a new school record. Half of her 21 rounds have been between 71-75 and she joins Ana Summers (2015 &amp; 2016) and Sara Wissing (2009 &amp; 2010) as Lopers to individually qualify for regional play.Rogers State will host the regional at the Hillcrest Country Club. UNK took part in the “Pre-Regional” meet at the course back in Sept. 2023 with Botero Molina tying for 16th&nbsp;place (150; 75-75).Central Regional FieldTeams:1. Henderson State, Ark.&nbsp;[Great American Conference auto bid]2. Central Missouri&nbsp;[Mid-American Intercollegiate Athletics Association auto bid]3. Southwestern Oklahoma State4. Rogers State5. Augustana&nbsp;[Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference auto bid]6. Northeastern State7. Minnesota State8. Central Oklahoma9. Harding, Ark.Individuals:1. Morgan&nbsp;Brasser, Fort Hays State2. Juliana Botero Molina, UNK3. Morgan Becker, Oklahoma Baptist4. Ellen Spigner, Arkansas Tech5. Paige Hoffman, Northwest Missouri State6. Carly Moon, Winona State, Minn.

Lopers just miss the cut; field greatly expands in 2025

Story by MPCC Athletic Communications

Spearfish, S.D. – The Mid-Plains Community College men’s team continued their dominance as they brought home the team championship Saturday in Spearfish, S.D. The women’s team took home sixth in the overall standings.

"I am pleased with the performance of our student-athletes,” said Aukai Kaai, MPCC Rodeo Team roughstock coach. “There are several opportunities for our athletes to make the college finals. It will all come down to the short round in Lincoln this weekend."

The men continued to show why they are the best in the region as Kahiwa Augustiro placed first in bull riding, third in bareback and third in steer wrestling to claim the All-Around title.

Jackson Lunn rode to a second-place finish in bareback while Cinch Painter brought home a second-place finish in steer wrestling.

Team ropers Ryan Shepherd and partner Joey Boote (Dakota State University) secured the top spot in team roping while Clay Meyer and Sage Dieter finished fourth.

Emily Leach grabbed a first-place finish in breakaway while barrel racer Maggie Underhill notched a third-place finish in the average.

The MPCC rodeo team will round out the regular season at the Cornhusker Stampede in Lincoln, Neb. May 3-4.

Story by MPCC Athletic CommunicationsSpearfish, S.D. – The Mid-Plains Community College men’s team continued their dominance as they brought home the team championship Saturday in Spearfish, S.D. The women’s team took home sixth in the overall standings."I am pleased with the performance of our student-athletes,” said Aukai Kaai, MPCC Rodeo Team roughstock coach. “There are several opportunities for our athletes to make the college finals. It will all come down to the short round in Lincoln this weekend."The men continued to show why they are the best in the region as Kahiwa Augustiro placed first in bull riding, third in bareback and third in steer wrestling to claim the All-Around title.Jackson Lunn rode to a second-place finish in bareback while Cinch Painter brought home a second-place finish in steer wrestling.Team ropers Ryan Shepherd and partner Joey Boote (Dakota State University) secured the top spot in team roping while Clay Meyer and Sage Dieter finished fourth.Emily Leach grabbed a first-place finish in breakaway while barrel racer Maggie Underhill notched a third-place finish in the average.The MPCC rodeo team will round out the regular season at the Cornhusker Stampede in Lincoln, Neb. May 3-4.

Augustiro wins All-Around title at Will Lantis Yellow Jacket Stampede

Story by NU Athletic Communications

“I want to express our gratitude for all the people that came to help. Knowing that everyone in the state is going to help moving forward. My thoughts and prayers are with the people that were affected. Obviously in the game, Demitrius (Bell) went down with a significant injury. Blye Hill looks like maybe a semi-significant injury. Both to the patellas, I don’t know long term. I hate to speak until the MRIs are done and all that. It looks like it could be somewhat significant for each. From a football perspective, that hurts, from a personal perspective, they really hurt. I know both guys are tremendous competitors and young players and they’ll bounce back and be great. Just wanted to start with that. I thought the crowd, for an early game, for everything that happened yesterday, to have over 60,000 people there – what a great message in recruiting, what a great message to our team. Hopefully, we brought people some joy today on a dark day after yesterday.”

On if the offense showed what he wanted to see

“There were some explosive plays, there were some extended drives, there were some big plays. I have to watch the film to see who did what. Obviously, sometimes, some players are matched up against a player that’s older than them or better than them, but I thought there was a lot of positive energy in terms of the way the offense conducted itself – got in and out of the no huddle, sometimes got in a huddle. Just the overall feel from the field felt really good. Those are the things I was looking for. Obviously the two turnovers back-to-back, I didn’t like, but I’m happy that the defense made those plays. I felt for the rest of the game, that some plays were made that we have to make.

On if the game was a summary of Dylan Raiola’s spring season

“That’s a great question. I don’t know how to answer that, to be honest with you. I don’t get tongue twisted very often. Dylan’s had a very good spring. The plays I liked – I was up doing the TV at one point – one where we kicked a field goal that we missed, you could see that he so badly wanted to throw the ball back across the middle of the field as he was scrambling and he didn’t. The one scramble probably ends in a sack, but he has two hands on the ball, he’s running. It’s going to be the little things with Dylan, not the big things. He’s got a great feel for the game, he’s got a big arm. He’s calm. It’s going to be the little things – protecting the football, taking three, managing the game. It just felt like he did a lot of those things. He hasn’t done all of them. He’s grown as the spring has gone on. He, like the rest of our players, had a chance today to just improve on what they did last week, and I thought, in a lot of ways, he did.

“I think the thing with Jaylen is his ball skills just continue to improve. It’s really a credit to Marcus (Satterfield) and Garret (McGuire). They’ve introduced drills that I’ve always been against. Deep down, I’m just a d-line coach. They do pat and go and all these drills and I’m against them, and the guys have just bought in and gotten better and better and better. From the first scrimmage to this scrimmage, the ball skills, the catching of the football has just improved. I think Jaylen is one of the prime guys with that. It’s one thing when the guys have great speed, but when you’re a triple jumper and when you’re a long jumper – he has such athleticism and mobility. He can track balls, he’s loose, he can track it over his shoulder. He plays hard. When the quarterbacks get outside the pocket, he can turn up. To be honest with you, Dylan has the ability to get outside of the pocket and make those throws. Heinrich (Haarberg) can throw the ball 75 yards. So (Jaylen) has the feeling of ‘I can turn up on these plays.’ Danny (Kaelin) – I don’t know if you saw him get outside of the pocket and throw one downfield. He has a big-time arm and can do it as well. It’s contagious. Jaylen has been one of the most improved players on the team. His becoming a receiver is just growing exponentially.

“I felt bad for him. I think he thought the kicker was the same color jersey as him. I was watching that on tv. The kickoff return is hard to tell because it’s not live, but I watched the tv replay up there, and I think Koby (Bretz) grabbed his flag and that's it. Jacory’s dynamic, and he’s tough. He’s still learning a lot. They jumped offsides, and he took off before the ball was snapped because he saw them jump offsides, so he’s really a smart player. He’s really, really competitive, really fast, and if he can bring just a little bit of that kick return dynamic to our team, that changes things. He can play all three spots because he is quick and fast and can catch the ball across the middle.”

On Dylan Raiola’s ability to make throws

"I’m not going to compare the guys. I don’t know if I can prepare to do that. I think the thing that Dylan has done really well this spring as a young player is sometimes young quarterbacks can pass on– ‘oh that guy is kind of covered– where as Dylan knows the ball’s supposed to go there and he’s going to throw it there. He’ll throw it on his back shoulder. He’ll throw it where he needs to throw it and then trust those guys to make those plays. You can’t play quarterback and receiver. You can only play quarterback. You gotta throw the ball away from the defender and let the guys go make the plays. I think all of our quarterbacks have done that, but you saw that today from him. To your point, I thought that was a big time catch. The four verticals to (Alex) Bullock, that’s the kind of thing we do pretty well. We are a pretty good four vertical team. I think later on when I was up in the TV booth, did we hit (Nate) Boerkircher down on the seam, I think? Heinrich (Haarberg) did, so we do that well, but the in-cuts and controlling in the middle of the field is really important to us. I think one of the major keys to that Mitch (Sherman), is throwing the ball below the chin so the ball is in a catchable space but if there’s a tip it’s not up in the air. That’s what happened on the triple slant interception, the ball was a little bit behind, a little bit high. Red zone tips equal picks. To me, we’re just constantly evolving those areas but Dylan has a great feel for that. The thing he does is he just trusted that the ball was supposed to go there. I’m gonna put it there where the defender isn’t and let the guy make those plays, and those guys made those plays.”

“I think he’s an NFL fullback, but I also think he’s a dynamic wideout too, and I think it’s a credit to Corey (Campbell) that the way that Janiran’s really continued to improve his body, but he’s in that 218 range, and so to me, he is a true weapon. He’s a guy that we could conceivably play at wideout for 10 plays in a row, or we could motion in and he’ll block defensive ends. He carried the football for us last year, but what I love is you see the perimeter screen game that we have going on, but to have a 220 pound wideout out there blocking their nickel, that helps. Then you put (Isaiah) Neyor and Jahmal (Banks) out there. You have some big men on the perimeter, so I’m really pleased with what Janiran’s done, and I think he’ll continue to evolve, and you’ll see him line up in a lot of different places in the offense.”

On how Thomas Fidone is moving this spring

“He’s a pretty explosive guy. He’s four five. I think the biggest thing with Thomas is at the end of the season, I said to Thomas. I was like, ‘What a great fall we had,’ meaning him. Like us. We had. He’s like, ‘What do you mean?’ What I love about Thomas Fidone is he’s never happy. He’s never happy, and it’s because he wants to be great. He wants to be the best tight end in the world, and he’s always trying to get better, but my point was, coming off two ACL’s, to get through a spring, a fall camp and a season healthy, that’s what he needed because now, instead of rehabbing this winter, he’s lifting, and he’s in the 260 range at four five, with 35 inch arms, 34 inch arms. He’s a physical freak and he’s loyal. Every team in the country’s trying to get him to leave and go there, and he’s a Nebraska Cornhusker through and through. I love that guy, and I love his approach, and it’s so good for our players to see a guy who’s so obsessed with being great and never happy. But at the same time, to your point, he just had to have a true off-season. He just had to have weightlifting, where he’s not rehabbing, and now I think you’re starting to really see what he can do.”

"Minimal warmups like (Marques Buford Jr.) and Giff (Isacc Gifford) and Ty (Robinson) and Nash (Hutmacher) and I told Tommi (Hill) not to and then typical Tommi Hill he’s out there the whole first series playing corner. He’s just like ‘let me get a series coach.’ And I’m like alright go get a series. And I love that guy, his competitive nature. Bryce (Benhart) and Ben Scott and other guys who played we kind of set numbers for them. Let’s get this guy three series. Let’s get this guy four. It’s kind of hard because we’re so thin and then with D-Bell (Demetrius Bell) we’re really thin. Jaidyn Doss, he played both ways for us. I don’t know if you saw that, he played corner, he played wideout so Jaidyn is a guy we think is really really special and we are just trying to foster many different talents for him.”

On strides Heinrich Haarberg has made since last season

“You saw a lot of this. He still had the ability to tuck the ball down and run. He’s truly a dual threat at a quarterback who can change the game. I love him taking what’s there. I love him being explosive, pushing the ball down the field, deep balls down the field. Elite ball in the middle of the field. I also love him moving in the pocket – Taking check downs, taking a bad play and getting out of it. I think it’s really, really important in our job. You guys haven’t asked the question yet of when you’re going to name a starter. I went to dinner with Eric Crouch. Eric tells me his entire freshman year here, he couldn’t sleep Friday night because on Saturday morning, they’d go to breakfast and Coach Gill (Turner Gill) would tell them who was starting that week. That’s Nebraska. What I love is that we’re going to focus on Dylan Raiola. I get that. But you can see the improvement in Heinrich (Haarberg). You can see Danny (Kaelin), as a true freshman, go out there and complete 60% of his balls, or whatever he did today. I want the quarterback play to be great. Each guy from there has to bring their own sensibility. Dylan kind of makes these types of plays, and &nbsp;Heinrich kind of makes these types of plays. I really believe that it’s going to take all of us to play pretty well at quarterback in the Big Ten. We have aspirations of regaining Nebraska’s place of winning national championships. How many games is it now to win a national championship? Between Big Ten, playoffs and the championship game, if you don’t have a bye, it’s 15 or 16 games, yes? play one quarterback. I think watching Heinrich blossom and getting better, and watching Danny and watching Dylan. You know Luke (Longval) and Jack (Woche) went out there and moved the football. I just want the quarterback play to be good and I think it’s a credit to Glenn (Thomas). He’s done really well.”&nbsp;

On if Rhule came to the conclusion that they’re set on the quarterback position

“I would say we would always, always, always look for quarterbacks. If there’s a quarterback that comes along, we would always take another quarterback. I think we have our starter sitting in that room. Let me say that. I think we have three guys that we believe in, but if a young player comes along or a depth player comes along – I don’t go looking in the portal, but I’m also not stupid when things come across to us. Scott Fitterer was the GM when I was in Carolina. He used to say, from the Seahawks, “We’re in on every trade.” He just would explore everything, but I think we have quarterbacks capable of winning for us. I think the quarterback play’s significantly improved from last season, and that’s kind of where we’re at.”

On the plan for the next few days with the transfer portal deadline on May 1

“What I do at the end of every spring, is I have a team meeting on Monday, and then they meet with their position coach, then they all meet with me over the course of however many days. I’ll be available Monday, I’ll be available Tuesday. I’ve had so many guys already come and talk to me. As you can tell, there’s a lot of tampering going on in college football. I’ve had guys, like I said earlier in a press conference, guys showing me their phones. If a player is urgent and they’re trying to make a decision about going in the portal, then they’ll sign up early for their meeting with me. A lot of guys, most of the team is probably pretty set, they’ll sign up with me later in the week or next week. That’s kind of on them. We have our process, we meet with every single player, go through where they stand right now. We can’t make promises for the future. I think the biggest thing that I’d say is, wanting them to always understand – everyone is going to have your back, everyone is going to tell you what you want to hear when things are going well. When you’re one of the top players and they’re trying to get you into the portal, when you’re Demitrius (Bell) or Blye (Hill) and you’re laying there, and you have tears running down your face and you don’t know what’s going to happen to you, who has your back then? I’m an open, open, open book. We talk to every single guy regardless, but a guy who’s trying to make a decision on the portal, they can come talk to us. I wouldn’t forget that we do a great job here of graduating players. We don’t slow down graduations. If they’ve graduated, they can still go in the portal. In training camp, they can go in the portal. It’s kind of an open conversation the whole time. We’re going to leave here and recruit. We’re going to recruit tomorrow and then go honor the student-athletes at Night at the Lied tomorrow night, then Monday/Tuesday, we’ll start the process.”

“Today, I saw a burst in him. I haven’t seen that long run from him in the other scrimmages. Maybe it was blocked better, maybe Tony (White) didn’t blitz as much today. I didn’t tell Tony what he could or couldn’t do. It was great to see that from Dante. He’s had a good spring, but you saw a burst. When I stand down there, you could see a level of acceleration into contact in that long run down the left sideline. Some really good things. You have a pretty deep running back room. You saw Maurice Mazzccua – I saw a spin move that he made that was a fantastic run. Big fan of Kenneth Williams. I think Kenneth is a guy that’s going to play here in some different ways. Dante, Emmett (Johnson) – I kind of sidelined Emmett at one point, said ‘that’s enough from you.’ During practice this week, Rahmir (Johnson) took a lot of reps in one of the practices, and he looked good in the no-huddle stuff that we’re doing. We get Gabe Ervin Jr. back, I think it’s a deep room. We’ll have to do a good job as coaches of figuring out what each guy does well. I think we have a good feel for it, but I was really pleased to see some of the things that Dante did today. Just a flash and a burst that maybe I hadn’t felt as the spring has gone on.”

“It is what it is. It is what it is. They’re going to call D-Bell (Demitrius Bell) and say ‘come here, come there,’ but when he’s hurt, who’s there with him? We are. I just have to coach them all like they’re my younger brother. I don’t like to say sons. I coach them all like they’re my younger brother. I’m hard on them probably, like an older brother is, but I try to give them advice, I try to listen to them. Help them through this. Sometimes they offer you so much money, you’ve got to leave. Coaches complain about it. My assistant coaches do the same thing to me – ‘hey, coach, I got this offer to go there.’ I just want them all to be successful. It’s a sad state. I’ll just say that. It’s a sad state. But it is what it is. And you know what? A lot of people want to come here too. A lot of people want to stay here. Roster numbers are certainly not going to be our issue in terms of having enough good players. I hope everyone saw that today. You saw a lot of guys flashing and doing some things. Maybe I’m thinking through three scrimmages, but we have a lot of depth. Keelan Smith made some big time catches down the stretch. I think we have a lot of guys that can make plays.”

“I was in the stadium. We had recruiting going on. I know some of my neighbors out there in Waverly and some of you were kind enough to even check on us as those things happened. I didn’t even realize what was happening. I was in the middle of recruiting and your phone is kind of going off, but everyone is in the building. My daughter called me – she’s in Omaha in school – she’s in the shelter. I went out to the Waverly road and my neighbors were affected. I talked to some friends. I talked to Eric Crouch, up there in Elkhorn and they were affected. But I was here. Obviously, we weren’t directly affected, but it’s just a sad thing to see.”

Story by NU Athletic Communications<div><iframe src="https://cdn.jwplayer.com/players/PY0cmVPW-Qhb3tgnY.html" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" title="Rhule Presser Springgame Cam 7" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>Opening Statement“I want to express our gratitude for all the people that came to help. Knowing that everyone in the state is going to help moving forward. My thoughts and prayers are with the people that were affected. Obviously in the game, Demitrius (Bell) went down with a significant injury. Blye Hill looks like maybe a semi-significant injury. Both to the patellas, I don’t know long term. I hate to speak until the MRIs are done and all that. It looks like it could be somewhat significant for each. From a football perspective, that hurts, from a personal perspective, they really hurt. I know both guys are tremendous competitors and young players and they’ll bounce back and be great. Just wanted to start with that. I thought the crowd, for an early game, for everything that happened yesterday, to have over 60,000 people there – what a great message in recruiting, what a great message to our team. Hopefully, we brought people some joy today on a dark day after yesterday.”On if the offense showed what he wanted to see“There were some explosive plays, there were some extended drives, there were some big plays. I have to watch the film to see who did what. Obviously, sometimes, some players are matched up against a player that’s older than them or better than them, but I thought there was a lot of positive energy in terms of the way the offense conducted itself – got in and out of the no huddle, sometimes got in a huddle. Just the overall feel from the field felt really good. Those are the things I was looking for. Obviously the two turnovers back-to-back, I didn’t like, but I’m happy that the defense made those plays. I felt for the rest of the game, that some plays were made that we have to make.On if the game was a summary of Dylan Raiola’s spring season“That’s a great question. I don’t know how to answer that, to be honest with you. I don’t get tongue twisted very often. Dylan’s had a very good spring. The plays I liked – I was up doing the TV at one point – one where we kicked a field goal that we missed, you could see that he so badly wanted to throw the ball back across the middle of the field as he was scrambling and he didn’t. The one scramble probably ends in a sack, but he has two hands on the ball, he’s running. It’s going to be the little things with Dylan, not the big things. He’s got a great feel for the game, he’s got a big arm. He’s calm. It’s going to be the little things – protecting the football, taking three, managing the game. It just felt like he did a lot of those things. He hasn’t done all of them. He’s grown as the spring has gone on. He, like the rest of our players, had a chance today to just improve on what they did last week, and I thought, in a lot of ways, he did.<div><iframe src="https://cdn.jwplayer.com/players/Kmo1p8Ma-Qhb3tgnY.html" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" title="Dylan Presser Spring Cam 7" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>On showcasing Jaylen Lloyd’s talent“I think the thing with Jaylen is his ball skills just continue to improve. It’s really a credit to Marcus (Satterfield) and Garret (McGuire). They’ve introduced drills that I’ve always been against. Deep down, I’m just a d-line coach. They do pat and go and all these drills and I’m against them, and the guys have just bought in and gotten better and better and better. From the first scrimmage to this scrimmage, the ball skills, the catching of the football has just improved. I think Jaylen is one of the prime guys with that. It’s one thing when the guys have great speed, but when you’re a triple jumper and when you’re a long jumper – he has such athleticism and mobility. He can track balls, he’s loose, he can track it over his shoulder. He plays hard. When the quarterbacks get outside the pocket, he can turn up. To be honest with you, Dylan has the ability to get outside of the pocket and make those throws. Heinrich (Haarberg) can throw the ball 75 yards. So (Jaylen) has the feeling of ‘I can turn up on these plays.’ Danny (Kaelin) – I don’t know if you saw him get outside of the pocket and throw one downfield. He has a big-time arm and can do it as well. It’s contagious. Jaylen has been one of the most improved players on the team. His becoming a receiver is just growing exponentially.<div><iframe src="https://cdn.jwplayer.com/players/W1mGPMlT-Qhb3tgnY.html" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" title="Lloyd, Jaylen" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>On Jacory Barney Jr.“I felt bad for him. I think he thought the kicker was the same color jersey as him. I was watching that on tv. The kickoff return is hard to tell because it’s not live, but I watched the tv replay up there, and I think Koby (Bretz) grabbed his flag and that's it. Jacory’s dynamic, and he’s tough. He’s still learning a lot. They jumped offsides, and he took off before the ball was snapped because he saw them jump offsides, so he’s really a smart player. He’s really, really competitive, really fast, and if he can bring just a little bit of that kick return dynamic to our team, that changes things. He can play all three spots because he is quick and fast and can catch the ball across the middle.”On Dylan Raiola’s ability to make throws"I’m not going to compare the guys. I don’t know if I can prepare to do that. I think the thing that Dylan has done really well this spring as a young player is sometimes young quarterbacks can pass on– ‘oh that guy is kind of covered– where as Dylan knows the ball’s supposed to go there and he’s going to throw it there. He’ll throw it on his back shoulder. He’ll throw it where he needs to throw it and then trust those guys to make those plays. You can’t play quarterback and receiver. You can only play quarterback. You gotta throw the ball away from the defender and let the guys go make the plays. I think all of our quarterbacks have done that, but you saw that today from him. To your point, I thought that was a big time catch. The four verticals to (Alex) Bullock, that’s the kind of thing we do pretty well. We are a pretty good four vertical team. I think later on when I was up in the TV booth, did we hit (Nate) Boerkircher down on the seam, I think? Heinrich (Haarberg) did, so we do that well, but the in-cuts and controlling in the middle of the field is really important to us. I think one of the major keys to that Mitch (Sherman), is throwing the ball below the chin so the ball is in a catchable space but if there’s a tip it’s not up in the air. That’s what happened on the triple slant interception, the ball was a little bit behind, a little bit high. Red zone tips equal picks. To me, we’re just constantly evolving those areas but Dylan has a great feel for that. The thing he does is he just trusted that the ball was supposed to go there. I’m gonna put it there where the defender isn’t and let the guy make those plays, and those guys made those plays.”On Janiran Bonner“I think he’s an NFL fullback, but I also think he’s a dynamic wideout too, and I think it’s a credit to Corey (Campbell) that the way that Janiran’s really continued to improve his body, but he’s in that 218 range, and so to me, he is a true weapon. He’s a guy that we could conceivably play at wideout for 10 plays in a row, or we could motion in and he’ll block defensive ends. He carried the football for us last year, but what I love is you see the perimeter screen game that we have going on, but to have a 220 pound wideout out there blocking their nickel, that helps. Then you put (Isaiah) Neyor and Jahmal (Banks) out there. You have some big men on the perimeter, so I’m really pleased with what Janiran’s done, and I think he’ll continue to evolve, and you’ll see him line up in a lot of different places in the offense.”On how Thomas Fidone is moving this spring“He’s a pretty explosive guy. He’s four five. I think the biggest thing with Thomas is at the end of the season, I said to Thomas. I was like, ‘What a great fall we had,’ meaning him. Like us. We had. He’s like, ‘What do you mean?’ What I love about Thomas Fidone is he’s never happy. He’s never happy, and it’s because he wants to be great. He wants to be the best tight end in the world, and he’s always trying to get better, but my point was, coming off two ACL’s, to get through a spring, a fall camp and a season healthy, that’s what he needed because now, instead of rehabbing this winter, he’s lifting, and he’s in the 260 range at four five, with 35 inch arms, 34 inch arms. He’s a physical freak and he’s loyal. Every team in the country’s trying to get him to leave and go there, and he’s a Nebraska Cornhusker through and through. I love that guy, and I love his approach, and it’s so good for our players to see a guy who’s so obsessed with being great and never happy. But at the same time, to your point, he just had to have a true off-season. He just had to have weightlifting, where he’s not rehabbing, and now I think you’re starting to really see what he can do.”On if Rhule was resting veterans today"Minimal warmups like (Marques Buford Jr.) and Giff (Isacc Gifford) and Ty (Robinson) and Nash (Hutmacher) and I told Tommi (Hill) not to and then typical Tommi Hill he’s out there the whole first series playing corner. He’s just like ‘let me get a series coach.’ And I’m like alright go get a series. And I love that guy, his competitive nature. Bryce (Benhart) and Ben Scott and other guys who played we kind of set numbers for them. Let’s get this guy three series. Let’s get this guy four. It’s kind of hard because we’re so thin and then with D-Bell (Demetrius Bell) we’re really thin. Jaidyn Doss, he played both ways for us. I don’t know if you saw that, he played corner, he played wideout so Jaidyn is a guy we think is really really special and we are just trying to foster many different talents for him.”On strides Heinrich Haarberg has made since last season“You saw a lot of this. He still had the ability to tuck the ball down and run. He’s truly a dual threat at a quarterback who can change the game. I love him taking what’s there. I love him being explosive, pushing the ball down the field, deep balls down the field. Elite ball in the middle of the field. I also love him moving in the pocket – Taking check downs, taking a bad play and getting out of it. I think it’s really, really important in our job. You guys haven’t asked the question yet of when you’re going to name a starter. I went to dinner with Eric Crouch. Eric tells me his entire freshman year here, he couldn’t sleep Friday night because on Saturday morning, they’d go to breakfast and Coach Gill (Turner Gill) would tell them who was starting that week. That’s Nebraska. What I love is that we’re going to focus on Dylan Raiola. I get that. But you can see the improvement in Heinrich (Haarberg). You can see Danny (Kaelin), as a true freshman, go out there and complete 60% of his balls, or whatever he did today. I want the quarterback play to be great. Each guy from there has to bring their own sensibility. Dylan kind of makes these types of plays, and &nbsp;Heinrich kind of makes these types of plays. I really believe that it’s going to take all of us to play pretty well at quarterback in the Big Ten. We have aspirations of regaining Nebraska’s place of winning national championships. How many games is it now to win a national championship? Between Big Ten, playoffs and the championship game, if you don’t have a bye, it’s 15 or 16 games, yes? play one quarterback. I think watching Heinrich blossom and getting better, and watching Danny and watching Dylan. You know Luke (Longval) and Jack (Woche) went out there and moved the football. I just want the quarterback play to be good and I think it’s a credit to Glenn (Thomas). He’s done really well.”&nbsp;<div><iframe src="https://cdn.jwplayer.com/players/PUZ41hyK-Qhb3tgnY.html" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" title="Heinrich Presser Cam 7" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>On if Rhule came to the conclusion that they’re set on the quarterback position“I would say we would always, always, always look for quarterbacks. If there’s a quarterback that comes along, we would always take another quarterback. I think we have our starter sitting in that room. Let me say that. I think we have three guys that we believe in, but if a young player comes along or a depth player comes along – I don’t go looking in the portal, but I’m also not stupid when things come across to us. Scott Fitterer was the GM when I was in Carolina. He used to say, from the Seahawks, “We’re in on every trade.” He just would explore everything, but I think we have quarterbacks capable of winning for us. I think the quarterback play’s significantly improved from last season, and that’s kind of where we’re at.”On the plan for the next few days with the transfer portal deadline on May 1“What I do at the end of every spring, is I have a team meeting on Monday, and then they meet with their position coach, then they all meet with me over the course of however many days. I’ll be available Monday, I’ll be available Tuesday. I’ve had so many guys already come and talk to me. As you can tell, there’s a lot of tampering going on in college football. I’ve had guys, like I said earlier in a press conference, guys showing me their phones. If a player is urgent and they’re trying to make a decision about going in the portal, then they’ll sign up early for their meeting with me. A lot of guys, most of the team is probably pretty set, they’ll sign up with me later in the week or next week. That’s kind of on them. We have our process, we meet with every single player, go through where they stand right now. We can’t make promises for the future. I think the biggest thing that I’d say is, wanting them to always understand – everyone is going to have your back, everyone is going to tell you what you want to hear when things are going well. When you’re one of the top players and they’re trying to get you into the portal, when you’re Demitrius (Bell) or Blye (Hill) and you’re laying there, and you have tears running down your face and you don’t know what’s going to happen to you, who has your back then? I’m an open, open, open book. We talk to every single guy regardless, but a guy who’s trying to make a decision on the portal, they can come talk to us. I wouldn’t forget that we do a great job here of graduating players. We don’t slow down graduations. If they’ve graduated, they can still go in the portal. In training camp, they can go in the portal. It’s kind of an open conversation the whole time. We’re going to leave here and recruit. We’re going to recruit tomorrow and then go honor the student-athletes at Night at the Lied tomorrow night, then Monday/Tuesday, we’ll start the process.”On Dante Dowdell today“Today, I saw a burst in him. I haven’t seen that long run from him in the other scrimmages. Maybe it was blocked better, maybe Tony (White) didn’t blitz as much today. I didn’t tell Tony what he could or couldn’t do. It was great to see that from Dante. He’s had a good spring, but you saw a burst. When I stand down there, you could see a level of acceleration into contact in that long run down the left sideline. Some really good things. You have a pretty deep running back room. You saw Maurice Mazzccua – I saw a spin move that he made that was a fantastic run. Big fan of Kenneth Williams. I think Kenneth is a guy that’s going to play here in some different ways. Dante, Emmett (Johnson) – I kind of sidelined Emmett at one point, said ‘that’s enough from you.’ During practice this week, Rahmir (Johnson) took a lot of reps in one of the practices, and he looked good in the no-huddle stuff that we’re doing. We get Gabe Ervin Jr. back, I think it’s a deep room. We’ll have to do a good job as coaches of figuring out what each guy does well. I think we have a good feel for it, but I was really pleased to see some of the things that Dante did today. Just a flash and a burst that maybe I hadn’t felt as the spring has gone on.”On level of comfort with tampering“It is what it is. It is what it is. They’re going to call D-Bell (Demitrius Bell) and say ‘come here, come there,’ but when he’s hurt, who’s there with him? We are. I just have to coach them all like they’re my younger brother. I don’t like to say sons. I coach them all like they’re my younger brother. I’m hard on them probably, like an older brother is, but I try to give them advice, I try to listen to them. Help them through this. Sometimes they offer you so much money, you’ve got to leave. Coaches complain about it. My assistant coaches do the same thing to me – ‘hey, coach, I got this offer to go there.’ I just want them all to be successful. It’s a sad state. I’ll just say that. It’s a sad state. But it is what it is. And you know what? A lot of people want to come here too. A lot of people want to stay here. Roster numbers are certainly not going to be our issue in terms of having enough good players. I hope everyone saw that today. You saw a lot of guys flashing and doing some things. Maybe I’m thinking through three scrimmages, but we have a lot of depth. Keelan Smith made some big time catches down the stretch. I think we have a lot of guys that can make plays.”On how close he was to the storms“I was in the stadium. We had recruiting going on. I know some of my neighbors out there in Waverly and some of you were kind enough to even check on us as those things happened. I didn’t even realize what was happening. I was in the middle of recruiting and your phone is kind of going off, but everyone is in the building. My daughter called me – she’s in Omaha in school – she’s in the shelter. I went out to the Waverly road and my neighbors were affected. I talked to some friends. I talked to Eric Crouch, up there in Elkhorn and they were affected. But I was here. Obviously, we weren’t directly affected, but it’s just a sad thing to see.”

Coach Matt Rhule's Spring Game postgame quotes

Will Marshall and Gentry Scheve both produced top-20 finishes to lead the Nebraska men’s golf team to a tie for seventh at the 2024 Big Ten Championship presented by Old National Bank in Columbus, Ohio on Sunday.

Marshall, a fifth-year senior from Elburn, Ill, put together his best tournament finish of the season on the 7,240-yard, par-70 layout at the Scioto Country Club. He closed his conference championship appearance with a final-round 74 (+4) to lead the Huskers on Sunday. Marshall also led NU with an opening-round 73, before adding a 78 on Saturday. He finished with a three-round total of 225 (+15) over 54 holes to tie teammate Gentry Scheve for 19th in a field that featured 70 individuals.

Scheve, a senior from Emporia, Kan., capped his impressive conference tournament performance with a final-round 78 (+8) to match Marshall with a team-best 225 (+15). Scheve’s effort included a second-round 71 (+1) after opening the tournament on Friday with a 76. &nbsp;

The top-20 finishes by Marshall and Scheve marked Nebraska’s best individual Big Ten Tournament showings since Tanner Owen and Jay Cottam tied for 16th in 2019. Nebraska's tie for seventh in the team standings also marked its best conference tournament finish since 2019, when the Huskers took fifth.

With Marshall and Scheve leading the way, the Huskers moved up one spot in the final team standings into a tie for seventh at 904 (300-298-306). Junior Hamish Murray contributed a final-round 76 (+6) while fellow junior Harry Crockett added a 78 (+8) to complete Nebraska's 306 team score on Sunday. Murray (Sydney, Australia) and Crockett (Oxted, England) tied for 52nd overall with three-round totals of 232 (+22). Sophomore Davis Johnson rounded out the Husker contingent in a tie for 57th at 234 (+24).

The Huskers matched No. 88 Rutgers and No. 89 Wisconsin at 904 (+64) in the final team standings.&nbsp;Nebraska ended the tournament three strokes in front of No. 84 Michigan and Penn State (907), five shots ahead of Iowa (909) and nine strokes in front of No. 98 Minnesota (913). The Big Red also beat Maryland (934) by 30 strokes.&nbsp;

No. 44 Northwestern (863) pulled away for the team title at 863 (+23). The Wildcats fired the best final round of the tournament with a 289 (+9) to finish 15 shots ahead of runner-up Illinois (875), after the No. 18 Illini put up Sunday’s second-best round with a 292 (+12). No. 28 Purdue (886), No. 74 Michigan State (889), No. 37 Ohio State (890) and No. 46 Indiana (902) rounded out the teams ahead of the Huskers.&nbsp;

Northwestern’s Daniel Svard (211) captured the conference individual title on the strength of a final-round 68 (-2). Svard managed a one-shot win over runner-up Jackson Buchanan from Illinois who finished at 212 (+2), including an even-par 70 in the final round. Northwestern’s James Imai and Michigan State’s Ashton McCulloch tied for third at 215 (+5).

Svard, Buchanan, Imai, McCulloch, Herman Sekne (Purdue), Neal Shipley (Ohio State) and August Meekhof (Michigan State) claimed spots on the Big Ten All-Championship Team. Sekne added recognition as the conference's Les Bolstad Award winner.

Big Ten ChampionshipApril 26-28, 2024Columbus, OhioScioto Country Club (Par 70, 7,240 Yards)

Final Team Results1. (44) Northwestern - 280-294-289=863 (+23)2. (18) Illinois - 290-296-292=878 (+38)3. (28) Purdue - 288-301-297=886 (+46)4. (74) Michigan State - 286-291-312=889 (+49)5. (37) Ohio State - 291-297--302=890 (+50)6. (46) Indiana - 290-309-303=902 (+62)T7. (89) Wisconsin - 290-303-311=904 (+64)T7. (88) Rutgers - 292-305-307=904 (+64)T7. Nebraska - 300-298-306=904 (+64)T10. (84) Michigan - 305-304-298=907 (+67)T10. Penn State - 294-306-307=907 (+67)12. Iowa - 294-310-305=909 (+69)13. (98) Minnesota - 293-316-304=913 (+73)14. Maryland - 307-316-311=934 (+94)

Final Individual Results1. Daniel Svard, Northwestern - 68-75-68=211 (+1)2. Jackson Buchanan, Illinois - 71-71-70=212 (+2)T3. James Imai, Northwestern - 68-74-73=215 (+5)T3. Ashton McCulloch, Michigan State - 71-69-75=215 (+5)T5. Herman Sekne, Purdue - 73-72-72=217 (+7)T5. Neal Shipley, Ohio State - 74-69-74=217 (+7)T5. August Meekhof, Michigan State - 67-74-76=217 (+7)T8. Hunter Thomson, Michigan - 76-74-69=219 (+9)T8. Ethan Tseng, Northwestern - 71-74-74=219 (+9)10. Cameron Adam, Northwestern - 73-71-76=220 (+10)

Nebraska IndividualsT19. Will Marshall - 73-78-74=225 (+15)T19. Gentry Scheve - 76-71-78=225 (+15)T52. Hamish Murray - 76-80-76=232 (+22)T52. Harry Crockett - 83-71-78=232 (+22)T57. Davis Johnson - 75-78-81=234 (+24)

Story by NU Athletic CommunicationsWill Marshall and Gentry Scheve both produced top-20 finishes to lead the Nebraska men’s golf team to a tie for seventh at the 2024 Big Ten Championship presented by Old National Bank in Columbus, Ohio on Sunday.Marshall, a fifth-year senior from Elburn, Ill, put together his best tournament finish of the season on the 7,240-yard, par-70 layout at the Scioto Country Club. He closed his conference championship appearance with a final-round 74 (+4) to lead the Huskers on Sunday. Marshall also led NU with an opening-round 73, before adding a 78 on Saturday. He finished with a three-round total of 225 (+15) over 54 holes to tie teammate Gentry Scheve for 19th in a field that featured 70 individuals.Scheve, a senior from Emporia, Kan., capped his impressive conference tournament performance with a final-round 78 (+8) to match Marshall with a team-best 225 (+15). Scheve’s effort included a second-round 71 (+1) after opening the tournament on Friday with a 76. &nbsp;The top-20 finishes by Marshall and Scheve marked Nebraska’s best individual Big Ten Tournament showings since Tanner Owen and Jay Cottam tied for 16th in 2019. Nebraska's tie for seventh in the team standings also marked its best conference tournament finish since 2019, when the Huskers took fifth.With Marshall and Scheve leading the way, the Huskers moved up one spot in the final team standings into a tie for seventh at 904 (300-298-306). Junior Hamish Murray contributed a final-round 76 (+6) while fellow junior Harry Crockett added a 78 (+8) to complete Nebraska's 306 team score on Sunday. Murray (Sydney, Australia) and Crockett (Oxted, England) tied for 52nd overall with three-round totals of 232 (+22). Sophomore Davis Johnson rounded out the Husker contingent in a tie for 57th at 234 (+24).The Huskers matched No. 88 Rutgers and No. 89 Wisconsin at 904 (+64) in the final team standings.&nbsp;Nebraska ended the tournament three strokes in front of No. 84 Michigan and Penn State (907), five shots ahead of Iowa (909) and nine strokes in front of No. 98 Minnesota (913). The Big Red also beat Maryland (934) by 30 strokes.&nbsp;No. 44 Northwestern (863) pulled away for the team title at 863 (+23). The Wildcats fired the best final round of the tournament with a 289 (+9) to finish 15 shots ahead of runner-up Illinois (875), after the No. 18 Illini put up Sunday’s second-best round with a 292 (+12). No. 28 Purdue (886), No. 74 Michigan State (889), No. 37 Ohio State (890) and No. 46 Indiana (902) rounded out the teams ahead of the Huskers.&nbsp;Northwestern’s Daniel Svard (211) captured the conference individual title on the strength of a final-round 68 (-2). Svard managed a one-shot win over runner-up Jackson Buchanan from Illinois who finished at 212 (+2), including an even-par 70 in the final round. Northwestern’s James Imai and Michigan State’s Ashton McCulloch tied for third at 215 (+5).Svard, Buchanan, Imai, McCulloch, Herman Sekne (Purdue), Neal Shipley (Ohio State) and August Meekhof (Michigan State) claimed spots on the Big Ten All-Championship Team. Sekne added recognition as the conference's Les Bolstad Award winner.Big Ten ChampionshipApril 26-28, 2024Columbus, OhioScioto Country Club (Par 70, 7,240 Yards)Final Team Results1. (44) Northwestern - 280-294-289=863 (+23)2. (18) Illinois - 290-296-292=878 (+38)3. (28) Purdue - 288-301-297=886 (+46)4. (74) Michigan State - 286-291-312=889 (+49)5. (37) Ohio State - 291-297--302=890 (+50)6. (46) Indiana - 290-309-303=902 (+62)T7. (89) Wisconsin - 290-303-311=904 (+64)T7. (88) Rutgers - 292-305-307=904 (+64)T7. Nebraska - 300-298-306=904 (+64)T10. (84) Michigan - 305-304-298=907 (+67)T10. Penn State - 294-306-307=907 (+67)12. Iowa - 294-310-305=909 (+69)13. (98) Minnesota - 293-316-304=913 (+73)14. Maryland - 307-316-311=934 (+94)Final Individual Results1. Daniel Svard, Northwestern - 68-75-68=211 (+1)2. Jackson Buchanan, Illinois - 71-71-70=212 (+2)T3. James Imai, Northwestern - 68-74-73=215 (+5)T3. Ashton McCulloch, Michigan State - 71-69-75=215 (+5)T5. Herman Sekne, Purdue - 73-72-72=217 (+7)T5. Neal Shipley, Ohio State - 74-69-74=217 (+7)T5. August Meekhof, Michigan State - 67-74-76=217 (+7)T8. Hunter Thomson, Michigan - 76-74-69=219 (+9)T8. Ethan Tseng, Northwestern - 71-74-74=219 (+9)10. Cameron Adam, Northwestern - 73-71-76=220 (+10)Nebraska IndividualsT19. Will Marshall - 73-78-74=225 (+15)T19. Gentry Scheve - 76-71-78=225 (+15)T52. Hamish Murray - 76-80-76=232 (+22)T52. Harry Crockett - 83-71-78=232 (+22)T57. Davis Johnson - 75-78-81=234 (+24)

Huskers tie for Seventh at Big Ten Championship

Nebraska won the weekend series but couldn’t complete the sweep, as the Huskers fell 4-1 in the series finale against Iowa on Sunday at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park.

Nebraska (27-14, 10-5 Big Ten) scored a run on two hits and an error, while Iowa (24-17, 10-8 Big Ten) recorded four runs on eight hits.

Tyler Stone doubled and drew a walk, while Case Sanderson had a hit and a walk. Josh Caron drove in the Huskers’ lone run of the game.

Will Walsh dropped to 4-3 on the season, allowing three runs on five hits in 4.2 innings of action. Casey Daiss pitched one inning, giving up one run on a hit. Grant Cleavinger, Evan Borst, Rans Sanders, Kyle Perry and Kyle Froehlich combined to blank the Hawkeyes over the final 3.1 innings, holding Iowa to just two hits.

Iowa grabbed a 1-0 lead in the opening frame after a two-out walk, followed by an RBI double to left field.

A two-out solo homer to the left-field berm doubled the lead for the Hawkeyes in the second inning.

The Huskers plated their lone run of the game behind a pair of hits in the fourth inning. Riley Silva reached on a fielder’s choice, before Stone’s double to right-center had runners on second and third with one out for the Big Red. Caron lifted a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Silva and trimming the deficit to 2-1.

The Hawkeyes got the run back in the next half inning with a two-out solo homer into the Iowa bullpen in the top of the fifth.

Cole Evans opened the bottom of the fifth with a walk and later stole second, before moving to third on a wild pitch. The NU offense couldn’t get a timely two-out hit to bring home Evans and cut into the deficit.

Iowa had a runner on third with one out in the sixth after a leadoff double and a groundout to second. A wild pitch allowed the runner on third to jog on home to give the Hawkeyes a 4-1 advantage.

The Huskers were retired in order over the final three innings to preserve the three-run victory for the Hawkeyes in the series finale.

Nebraska returns to action with a midweek matchup at Creighton on Tuesday, April 30 at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha.

Story by NU Athletic CommunicationsNebraska won the weekend series but couldn’t complete the sweep, as the Huskers fell 4-1 in the series finale against Iowa on Sunday at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park.Nebraska (27-14, 10-5 Big Ten) scored a run on two hits and an error, while Iowa (24-17, 10-8 Big Ten) recorded four runs on eight hits.Tyler Stone doubled and drew a walk, while Case Sanderson had a hit and a walk. Josh Caron drove in the Huskers’ lone run of the game.Will Walsh dropped to 4-3 on the season, allowing three runs on five hits in 4.2 innings of action. Casey Daiss pitched one inning, giving up one run on a hit. Grant Cleavinger, Evan Borst, Rans Sanders, Kyle Perry and Kyle Froehlich combined to blank the Hawkeyes over the final 3.1 innings, holding Iowa to just two hits.Iowa grabbed a 1-0 lead in the opening frame after a two-out walk, followed by an RBI double to left field.A two-out solo homer to the left-field berm doubled the lead for the Hawkeyes in the second inning.The Huskers plated their lone run of the game behind a pair of hits in the fourth inning. Riley Silva reached on a fielder’s choice, before Stone’s double to right-center had runners on second and third with one out for the Big Red. Caron lifted a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Silva and trimming the deficit to 2-1.The Hawkeyes got the run back in the next half inning with a two-out solo homer into the Iowa bullpen in the top of the fifth.Cole Evans opened the bottom of the fifth with a walk and later stole second, before moving to third on a wild pitch. The NU offense couldn’t get a timely two-out hit to bring home Evans and cut into the deficit.Iowa had a runner on third with one out in the sixth after a leadoff double and a groundout to second. A wild pitch allowed the runner on third to jog on home to give the Hawkeyes a 4-1 advantage.The Huskers were retired in order over the final three innings to preserve the three-run victory for the Hawkeyes in the series finale.Nebraska returns to action with a midweek matchup at Creighton on Tuesday, April 30 at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha.

Series sweep eludes Huskers

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Kyle Tucker and the Houston Astros had a very successful stay in Mexico City.

Tucker, Jose Altuve and Jeremy Peña each hit a solo homer, helping Framber Valdez and the Astros beat the Colorado Rockies 8-2 on Sunday.

Tucker and Yainer Diaz each drove in two runs as Houston swept the two-game series at Alfredo Harp Helú Stadium.

“The plan was to use the series as a springboard looking forward,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “We want this series to be like a new beginning for us. We need to have more urgency."

Valdez (1-0) pitched five innings of two-run ball in his first big league start since April 2. The left-hander allowed five hits, struck out six and walked none.

“He threw the ball well the first couple of innings," Espada said. "Command was not there, but he settled in the third and he gave us five innings. It was encouraging to see the way he threw the ball.”

Valdez had been sidelined by elbow inflammation, one of several pitching injuries that had contributed to Houston’s 9-19 start. Justin Verlander is back, but the Astros are awaiting the return of José Urquidy, Luis Garcia and Lance McCullers Jr. at some point this season.

"When the rotation is healthy, we have proved that we can do great things in the postseason,” Espada said.

Elias Díaz had two hits for Colorado, and Sean Bouchard and Jacob Stallings each drove in a run. Austin Gomber (0-2) was charged with four runs and six hits in seven innings.

“We have not played our best baseball and our record is indicative of that, but the players come with energy to compete. There has not been one sign of them not being happy,” manager Bud Black said. “We will continue to play hard."

Houston had lost five in a row before arriving in Mexico City, scoring a total of 10 runs during the slide. But it fared much better at Alfredo Harp Helu, with its elevation of 7,349 feet.

Yordan Alvarez hit two homers and Tucker also went deep during&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/astros-rockies-score-mexico-e59bfeb0e73b01ad897774d82ea689d1">Saturday’s 12-4 victory</a>.

Tucker connected in the first inning in the finale of the two-game set. Altuve went deep in the third, and Peña hit his third homer in the fourth.

It was Houston’s second regular-season visit to Mexico. It swept two games in Monterrey against the Angels in May 2019.

The Astros also played exhibition games in Mexico against the Padres in 2016 and Marlins in 2004.

The Rockies also had played in Mexico before. They beat San Diego in Monterrey in their 1999 season opener.

Colorado pushed across two runs in the second, tying it at 2. Bouchard singled home Elias Díaz, and Stallings had a sacrifice fly.

Altuve responded with his seventh homer on a drive to left.

Houston broke it open with four runs in the eighth. Alex Bregman hit an RBI single, and Yainer Diaz added a two-run double.

Astros: RHP Hunter Brown (0-4, 9.68 ERA) is scheduled to start Tuesday night against Cleveland. Carlos Carrasco (1-2, 4.63 ERA) pitches for the Guardians.

Rockies: RHP Ryan Feltner (1-2, 5.68 ERA) will start the series opener against the Marlins on Tuesday in Miami.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1714356687208.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>MEXICO CITY (AP) — Kyle Tucker and the Houston Astros had a very successful stay in Mexico City.Tucker, Jose Altuve and Jeremy Peña each hit a solo homer, helping Framber Valdez and the Astros beat the Colorado Rockies 8-2 on Sunday.Tucker and Yainer Diaz each drove in two runs as Houston swept the two-game series at Alfredo Harp Helú Stadium.“The plan was to use the series as a springboard looking forward,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “We want this series to be like a new beginning for us. We need to have more urgency."Valdez (1-0) pitched five innings of two-run ball in his first big league start since April 2. The left-hander allowed five hits, struck out six and walked none.“He threw the ball well the first couple of innings," Espada said. "Command was not there, but he settled in the third and he gave us five innings. It was encouraging to see the way he threw the ball.”Valdez had been sidelined by elbow inflammation, one of several pitching injuries that had contributed to Houston’s 9-19 start. Justin Verlander is back, but the Astros are awaiting the return of José Urquidy, Luis Garcia and Lance McCullers Jr. at some point this season."When the rotation is healthy, we have proved that we can do great things in the postseason,” Espada said.Elias Díaz had two hits for Colorado, and Sean Bouchard and Jacob Stallings each drove in a run. Austin Gomber (0-2) was charged with four runs and six hits in seven innings.The Rockies have dropped 11 of 14 games.“We have not played our best baseball and our record is indicative of that, but the players come with energy to compete. There has not been one sign of them not being happy,” manager Bud Black said. “We will continue to play hard."Houston had lost five in a row before arriving in Mexico City, scoring a total of 10 runs during the slide. But it fared much better at Alfredo Harp Helu, with its elevation of 7,349 feet.Yordan Alvarez hit two homers and Tucker also went deep during&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/astros-rockies-score-mexico-e59bfeb0e73b01ad897774d82ea689d1">Saturday’s 12-4 victory</a>.Tucker connected in the first inning in the finale of the two-game set. Altuve went deep in the third, and Peña hit his third homer in the fourth.It was Houston’s second regular-season visit to Mexico. It swept two games in Monterrey against the Angels in May 2019.The Astros also played exhibition games in Mexico against the Padres in 2016 and Marlins in 2004.The Rockies also had played in Mexico before. They beat San Diego in Monterrey in their 1999 season opener.Colorado pushed across two runs in the second, tying it at 2. Bouchard singled home Elias Díaz, and Stallings had a sacrifice fly.Altuve responded with his seventh homer on a drive to left.Houston broke it open with four runs in the eighth. Alex Bregman hit an RBI single, and Yainer Diaz added a two-run double.UP NEXTAstros: RHP Hunter Brown (0-4, 9.68 ERA) is scheduled to start Tuesday night against Cleveland. Carlos Carrasco (1-2, 4.63 ERA) pitches for the Guardians.Rockies: RHP Ryan Feltner (1-2, 5.68 ERA) will start the series opener against the Marlins on Tuesday in Miami.

Astros sink Rockies a second time in Mexico City, 8-2 Sunday

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — The sixth quarterback selected in the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/live/nfl-draft-2024-updates">2024 NFL draft</a>&nbsp;was No. 1 in the Denver Broncos' eyes.

The Broncos bypassed a bevy of blue-chip defenders to draft former Oregon quarterback Bo Nix with the 12th pick Thursday night.

“He stood out in a lot of areas,” coach Sean Payton said. “His arm strength, we saw it at his pro day, but then even in the private workout was very good. And he’s super smart.”

Denver has churned through 13 starting quarterbacks since Peyton Manning retired as a Super Bowl champion following the 2015 season. None of the signal-callers who have followed him has been able to lead Denver back to the playoffs.

Their eight-year playoff drought is exacerbated by seven straight losing seasons and watching Patrick Mahomes lead division rival Kansas City to three Super Bowl parades in five years, including the past two.

There was plenty of speculation the Broncos would have to move up to get in on the quarterback run, but they've already unloaded three first-round draft picks since 2022, including two in the Russell Wilson trade that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/denver-broncos-sean-payton-nfl-draft-2605ee521f58b7d3ebb1d2e4647c4578">didn't work out</a>.

Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye went 1-2-3 as expected, and when the New York Giants bypassed a QB at No. 6, Payton felt good about the three QB-needy teams — Minnesota, Denver and Las Vegas — all being set to get their man.

Then, the Atlanta Falcons pulled off the stunner of Round 1, selecting Michael Penix Jr. at No. 8 even though they just signed Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180 million contract.

“New York would have been the surprise team and if New York took a quarterback, then there's three waiting for two,” Payton said. “And so once New York cleared, I'm sure every team we're talking about felt like all right. And then Atlanta takes a quarterback and that's the fun part about this draft. You can't dive into everyone's draft room to know how they feel about someone.”

The Falcons' move threw teams for a loop and the Broncos sweated it out when the Vikings swapped the No. 11 pick for the New York Jets' 10th overall selection. They exhaled when the Vikings took QB J.J. McCarthy and the Jets took an offensive tackle.

"We could have moved a couple of picks back and maybe gotten a couple of picks,” general manager George Paton said. “But at the end of the day, 'This was our guy. Let's just take him. Let's not overthink it.' And we would have been sick if we lost him just for, you know, a couple of fifth-round picks or what have you.”

So, ultimately, the Broncos stood pat and didn't have to part with any picks to get the quarterback they wanted, one whom Payton acknowledged was “bigger than I thought he was” at 6-foot-2 and 217 pounds.

Half of the top dozen selections were quarterbacks for the first time ever.

“I wasn't shocked. I think the six of us, we're all capable of playing at the next level,” Nix said. “It's going to be fun to watch everybody and see how they develop. I wasn't shocked at all because I think this class of quarterbacks was very strong.”

Nix joins a quarterback room that includes newly acquired&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jets-broncos-zach-wilson-0f36a1ec7cd75358ccdd7d51f19791ee">Zach Wilson</a>, whom the Broncos traded for Monday after the 2021 second overall pick had three disappointing seasons with the New York Jets.

Also on the roster is Jarrett Stidham, who split his two starts last season after coach Sean Payton benched Russell Wilson, and Ben DiNucci.

“They're all going to compete,” Payton said. “Bill (Parcells) taught me a long time ago, let's just let them play and we've got to maximize the reps that we have and let them develop, and that stuff will sort itself out."

“Well, I know everybody has to compete, I know everybody has to go to work,” Nix said. “We haven't had any conversations thus far past draft prep. But I just can't wait to get around the locker room, I can't wait to get around the guys, meet all my new teammates, meet coaches and get to work.”

Russell Wilson signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers, but remains the highest-paid player on Denver's roster because the Broncos will pay $37.79 million of his $39 million salary in 2024. That's on top of the $85 million in dead cap charges they'll absorb over the next two years.

After three solid seasons at Auburn, Nix had two terrific seasons at Oregon, where he threw for 74 touchdowns with 10 interceptions and he completed almost 75% of his passes in 27 games.

Because he capitalized on the extra year the NCAA granted athletes because of the pandemic, Nix played in a whopping 61 college games.

Now he's ready to lead Denver out of its nearly decade-long doldrums.

He thanked the Broncos for “putting their beliefs in me.”

Nix is the first player the Broncos have selected in the first round since 2021, when they chose cornerback Patrick Surtain II with the ninth overall pick.

Story by Arnie Stapleton AP Pro Football Writer<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1714133460248.jpeg" alt="Oregon quarterback Bo Nix looks to pass against Washington during the first half of the Pac-12 championship NCAA college football game Dec. 1, 2023, in Las Vegas. The Denver Broncos drafted former Nix with the 12th pick in the NFL draft Thursday night, April 25, 2024." />
 <figcaption>Oregon quarterback Bo Nix looks to pass against Washington during the first half of the Pac-12 championship NCAA college football game Dec. 1, 2023, in Las Vegas. The Denver Broncos drafted former Nix with the 12th pick in the NFL draft Thursday night, April 25, 2024.</figcaption>
 </figure>ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — The sixth quarterback selected in the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/live/nfl-draft-2024-updates">2024 NFL draft</a>&nbsp;was No. 1 in the Denver Broncos' eyes.The Broncos bypassed a bevy of blue-chip defenders to draft former Oregon quarterback Bo Nix with the 12th pick Thursday night.“He stood out in a lot of areas,” coach Sean Payton said. “His arm strength, we saw it at his pro day, but then even in the private workout was very good. And he’s super smart.”Denver has churned through 13 starting quarterbacks since Peyton Manning retired as a Super Bowl champion following the 2015 season. None of the signal-callers who have followed him has been able to lead Denver back to the playoffs.Their eight-year playoff drought is exacerbated by seven straight losing seasons and watching Patrick Mahomes lead division rival Kansas City to three Super Bowl parades in five years, including the past two.There was plenty of speculation the Broncos would have to move up to get in on the quarterback run, but they've already unloaded three first-round draft picks since 2022, including two in the Russell Wilson trade that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/denver-broncos-sean-payton-nfl-draft-2605ee521f58b7d3ebb1d2e4647c4578">didn't work out</a>.Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye went 1-2-3 as expected, and when the New York Giants bypassed a QB at No. 6, Payton felt good about the three QB-needy teams — Minnesota, Denver and Las Vegas — all being set to get their man.Then, the Atlanta Falcons pulled off the stunner of Round 1, selecting Michael Penix Jr. at No. 8 even though they just signed Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180 million contract.“New York would have been the surprise team and if New York took a quarterback, then there's three waiting for two,” Payton said. “And so once New York cleared, I'm sure every team we're talking about felt like all right. And then Atlanta takes a quarterback and that's the fun part about this draft. You can't dive into everyone's draft room to know how they feel about someone.”The Falcons' move threw teams for a loop and the Broncos sweated it out when the Vikings swapped the No. 11 pick for the New York Jets' 10th overall selection. They exhaled when the Vikings took QB J.J. McCarthy and the Jets took an offensive tackle."We could have moved a couple of picks back and maybe gotten a couple of picks,” general manager George Paton said. “But at the end of the day, 'This was our guy. Let's just take him. Let's not overthink it.' And we would have been sick if we lost him just for, you know, a couple of fifth-round picks or what have you.”So, ultimately, the Broncos stood pat and didn't have to part with any picks to get the quarterback they wanted, one whom Payton acknowledged was “bigger than I thought he was” at 6-foot-2 and 217 pounds.Half of the top dozen selections were quarterbacks for the first time ever.“I wasn't shocked. I think the six of us, we're all capable of playing at the next level,” Nix said. “It's going to be fun to watch everybody and see how they develop. I wasn't shocked at all because I think this class of quarterbacks was very strong.”Nix joins a quarterback room that includes newly acquired&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jets-broncos-zach-wilson-0f36a1ec7cd75358ccdd7d51f19791ee">Zach Wilson</a>, whom the Broncos traded for Monday after the 2021 second overall pick had three disappointing seasons with the New York Jets.Also on the roster is Jarrett Stidham, who split his two starts last season after coach Sean Payton benched Russell Wilson, and Ben DiNucci.“They're all going to compete,” Payton said. “Bill (Parcells) taught me a long time ago, let's just let them play and we've got to maximize the reps that we have and let them develop, and that stuff will sort itself out."Nix knows that.“Well, I know everybody has to compete, I know everybody has to go to work,” Nix said. “We haven't had any conversations thus far past draft prep. But I just can't wait to get around the locker room, I can't wait to get around the guys, meet all my new teammates, meet coaches and get to work.”Russell Wilson signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers, but remains the highest-paid player on Denver's roster because the Broncos will pay $37.79 million of his $39 million salary in 2024. That's on top of the $85 million in dead cap charges they'll absorb over the next two years.After three solid seasons at Auburn, Nix had two terrific seasons at Oregon, where he threw for 74 touchdowns with 10 interceptions and he completed almost 75% of his passes in 27 games.Because he capitalized on the extra year the NCAA granted athletes because of the pandemic, Nix played in a whopping 61 college games.Now he's ready to lead Denver out of its nearly decade-long doldrums.He thanked the Broncos for “putting their beliefs in me.”Nix is the first player the Broncos have selected in the first round since 2021, when they chose cornerback Patrick Surtain II with the ninth overall pick.