KEARNEY The fourth-ranked Nebraska-Kearney wrestling team finishes its home season this weekend when Grand Canyon and Western State visit the Health and Sports Center.

The "Battle of the Antelopes" GCU's nickname, as well as UNK's will take place Friday with the 5th-ranked WSC Mountaineers coming to town Saturday. Both duals begin at 7 p.m.

Because Grand Canyon, a first-year program, has only five wrestlers, there will be no admission charged for that dual.

This will be the last chance for Loper fans to see standout seniors Tervel Dlagnev (Hwt.), Joe Ellenberger (157 lbs.) and Jeff Rutledge (141 lbs.) in action. The three have combined for six All-American honors and over 400 career wins.

After this weekend, UNK has five duals on the road before heading to New Mexico for the RMAC/West Region Championships March 1st. This year, the NCAA Championships (March 14-15) are in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

The Nebraska-Kearney wrestling team remained fourth in the latest Wrestling Coaches Association Division II Top 25 poll.

Minnesota State and Nebraska-Omaha remain 1-2 but RMAC member Adams State vaults up two places to third. The Grizzlies rise comes after they beat Central Oklahoma and 5th-ranked Western State in duals.

Individually, senior Jeff Rutledge (Lincoln East) and Marty Usman (Arlington, Texas) each moved up this week. Usman, coming back from injury, went up three spots to third at 174 lbs. while Rutledge moved up one spot to third at 141 lbs.

The other five Lopers that are ranked remained the same this week. They include seniors Tervel Dlagnev (1st/Hwt.) and Joe Ellenberger (2nd/157 lbs.), juniors Keenan McCurdy (8th/165 lbs.) and Joey Morrison (7th/125 lbs.) and sophomore Ryan Etherton (6th/149 lbs.).

NU to host No. 18 Oklahoma on Sunday

LINCOLN The No. 2 Huskers wrap up the home portion of their 2007-08 schedule with a 2 p.m. dual on Sunday with No. 18 Oklahoma at the NU Coliseum. Nebraska (11-2, 2-0 Big 12) will look to send its lone senior, Jon May, out with a win on Senior Day as the Huskers attempt to go undefeated at home against the Sooners (12-3, 0-2 Big 12).

NU faces its seventh consecutive ranked opponent in Oklahoma. The Huskers battled four teams in the top nine at the National Duals and then-No. 2 Oklahoma State on Jan. 20, before defeating No. 11 Missouri in the Coliseum on Feb. 2. Nebraska is 5-1 in that stretch with its one loss coming to top-ranked Iowa in the National Duals finals.

The Huskers' success has been in part to experienced leadership from upperclassmen such as May. The Husker coaching staff will honor May for his five years of dedication to the program in a predual ceremony. NU has will get some extra leadership on Sunday as head football coach Bo Pelini will join Manning as an honorary coach.

Nebraska faces the Sooners on Sunday and makes a trip to the East Coast to face Rider and No. 16 Hofstra before squaring off against No. 8 Iowa State in its final dual of the regular season. Wins against Oklahoma and Iowa State would put NU at a perfect 4-0 in the Big 12, a feat which Nebraska has never accomplished.

Husker fans can catch all of Nebraska's dual with Oklahoma on Huskers.com. Free video, audio and live stats will be provided. As part of the Take 5 promotion, up to

Fonner handicapping contest to be Saturday

Entries are still being taken for Fonner Park's upcoming handicapping contest set for Saturday. A $50 entry fee is required with the top five finishers splitting the proceeds. A $5 win-place-show wager on one horse in each of Oaklawn Park's race card is required with the pari-mutuel payoff determining your score.

First race post time is set for 1p.m. with doors opening to the Fonner Executive Suite one hour earlier. Complimentary programs, past performances, snacks and beverages will be provided; and, a drawing for two $50 gift certificates redeemable through the Budweiser gift catalogue at H & H Distributing will be held following the contest.

Reserve a seat by calling track announcer Steve Anderson at 308-383-0545 or Todd Otto at 308-382-4515.

UNK teams ranked 15th, 20th in Division II poll

KEARNEY The Nebraska-Kearney track and field teams are ranked 15th (women) and 20th (men) in the latest USTFCCCA (U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association) Division II Power Rankings.

In the third edition of the indoor rankings, the UNK women have 189.54 points with the Loper men at 200.60 points. The Adams State men (256.02) are ranked first with Ashland U. of Ohio the top women's team (242.48) this week.

A team's total point score is the sum of all points earned by a team in each event. Teams are allowed to select up to two student-athletes per event, and an athlete can only be used in a maximum of three events (not including relays). Also, only one relay team per event can be selected. Schools are responsible for submitting their own results.

UNK, a member of the North Central Region in track, was ranked 13th (women) and 15th (men) last week. Neither squad cracked the first rankings on Jan. 24.

Hastings College's Moeller wins GPAC honor

Hastings' Katie Moeller is the Great Plains Athletic Conference field athlete-of-the-week. Moeller, a freshman from Grand Island and a Grand Island Northwest graduate, won the high jump for the third week in a row and cleared 5-7 at the Doane Scott Nisely Memorial Invite. Her mark is the best in the GPAC and second in the NAIA behind a 6-0.75 jump by Ruky Abdulai from Simon Fraser University.

NU's Ottey named top college sprinter

LINCOLN In the latest issue of Track and Field News, the publication celebrated its 60th birthday with a list of the best track and field athletes over the past six decadess. Under the "Best College Woman" section, former Husker Merlene Ottey was named the best collegiate woman sprinter.

Ottey is easily the most decorated track and field athlete in Nebraska history as she won 14 national championships from 1980 to 1984. Ottey also competed in seven straight Olympic Games from the 1980 games in Moscow to the 2004 games in Atlanta. Over her seven Olympics, Ottey was runner-up three times and also earned five bronze medals, including earning the silver in the 100-meter dash (1992 Barcelona), 200-meter dash (1996 Atlanta) and 4x100-meter relay (Sydney 2000). Ottey still holds 13 school records, including four relay marks.

Storm loses VanGilder for the rest of the season

KEARNEY The Tri-City Storm of the United States Hockey League announced Thursday that forward Jordan VanGilder will miss the remainder of the 2007-2008 season with a broken ankle. VanGilder, a 5-foot-8, 168-pound left-handed shooting forward from Lino Lakes, Minnesota broke his ankle in practice on Wednesday.

VanGilder has 8 goals and 2 assists on the season, including 2 short-handed goals. In his two seasons with the Storm, VanGilder has recorded 17 goals, 10 assists and only 18 penalty minutes in 91 career games. He has committed to the University of Alaska-Fairbanks to continue his hockey career.

Storm add forward Schooley to roster

KEARNEY The Tri-City Storm of the United States Hockey League announced Thursday that they have added forward Anthony Schooley to their active roster. Schooley was acquired in a trade with the Waterloo Black Hawks in exchange for a sixth-round draft pick in the 2008 USHL Draft. Anthony is a 5-11, 175-pound forward from Romulus, Mich. He has yet to play this season due to injuries.

In 18 career games with Waterloo, Schooley has 3 goals, 3 assists and 4 penalty minutes. He has committed to Michigan Tech for the 2009-2010 school year. Schooley, who will wear number 3 for the Storm, is expected to be in the line-up for this weekend's double-header against the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders.

HC games with Colorado Christian relocated

The Hastings College baseball games scheduled for Friday and Saturday against Colorado Christian in Denver, Colo. are on as scheduled with a slight field re-location. The games are now going to be played in Pueblo, Colo. at Runyan Field. Friday will be a double-header consisting of one 7-inning game and one 9-inning game with the first game set to start at noon. On Saturday the two teams will play again at Runyan Field in Pueblo, Colo. in a 9-inning game starting at 11 a.m.

This will be the first competition of the season for the Broncos.

High School Bowling Championships on NET

LINCOLN Whether they are facing a 7-10 split or just nailed a sweeper, the state's finest high school girl bowlers will be competing for school pride and personal accomplishment when the "Nebraska High School Girls Bowling Championships" air at 10 a.m. Feb. 17 on NET1.

With teams from all across the state and in four classes, the competition will be taped on Sunday at Lincoln's Sun Valley Lanes. Calling the Class A, B, C and D action during the four-hour broadcast will be sportscasters Larry Punteney and Steve Sempeck.

The " Nebraska High School Girls Bowling Championships " will also be webcast on NET's Web site (netNebraska.org) at 10 a.m. Feb. 17. All that is needed is access to the Internet and a free Windows Media Player program. Webcasting of the program is a free service of NET.