University of Minnesota Athletics
2005 Women's Track and Field Outlook
2/16/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
Wilson's certainty stems from the clear progress his young squad experienced during last season's competition. A team comprised of 41 freshman and sophomores totaled 63 points at the 2004 Big Ten Outdoor Championships. This season's roster is missing only one scorer from last year's conference meet; Olympic trials qualifier Monica Stearns' who finished third in the pole vault.
So with a full year of development, the team should not only be better in 2005, but will be deeper as well. "There are a lot of team members that have improved since last season and when you add in the freshman we've brought here, it creates a really good mix," associate head coach Matt Bingle explained. "Our depth is certainly better this year and having two or three people in every event with the possibility of scoring is what it takes to make a run at the Big Ten title."
"Having depth is what I really like about our team this season," Wilson concurred. "There are some backups that can come in if someone falters, has a bad day, or gets hurt. Now there's going to be someone there to replace them."
Bingle is anxious to witness the combination of a much improved team with the parity of the Big Ten at the conference meets. "If our athletes simply do what they're capable of doing, then we don't have to have any super-human efforts to be competitive this year," he said.
The key to competing for a conference crown is having depth in the sprints, hurdles, and jumps and Wilson proudly stated that Minnesota's strength in those events has increased dramatically. He pointed out that the sprints, hurdles and jumps make up 11 of the 19 track events, so those categories must be a priority because it's where much of the team scoring comes from year in and year out.
Sprints
This season's competitiveness, therefore, begins with a solid nucleus of sprinters. Kadian Douglas, Katie Grundman, and Melissa Woltman each can turn in quality individual performances and add significantly to a relay team. Douglas showed tremendous range placing fourth in the 100 meters in last year's conference meet, while also running the second leg for the fourth place 4x400-meter relay team. Grundman, a redshirt freshman, also possesses great range from 60 meters through 400 meters. Woltman could be a steady source of points throughout the season competing in the 100 and 200 meters. Wilson describes his sprinters as a "bevy of talent" and he knows that although some of them may not always score individually, they can all skillfully carry a relay baton.
Relays
He, therefore, said the team's goal is to at least have the 4x400-meter relay team among the top three in the conference. Douglas and Grundman will be joined by Melissa Steele and Mollie Hupp to create a formidable 1600-meter relay team. They have already demonstrated their tremendous potential having recorded the fifth fastest time in school history. "Since we've got good depth and our runners are well trained, then it's realistic to believe we can at least come in second or third," Wilson said.
Hurdles
Elizabeth Woolford and Shari Schutz combine to give the Gophers a potent one-two punch in the short hurdle races. Woolford scored last season at the Big Ten Indoor Championships finishing sixth, and also took ninth in the 100- meter hurdles at the outdoor conference meet. Schutz, who ranks eighth all- time among 100-meter hurdlers, doubles as a 400-meter hurdler, where she ranks seventh in school history.
In addition to her relay duties, Steele will also run the 400-meter hurdles and looks to improve on her runner-up finish last season by capturing her first Big Ten crown. Gina Dare, a former Minnesota State Champion from Apple Valley in the 300-meter hurdles clocking a 43.09, gives the Gophers another potential scorer in the 400 hurdles race.
Middle Distance
Mollie Hupp has a really good chance to make the podium in the conference 800 meter race. She is the marquee athlete among a solid group of middle distance runners. Hupp displayed her enormous potential by running to a fifth place finish in the 800 meters at last year's conference outdoor meet. She also anchored the 4x400 relay team to a fourth place finish at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships.
Add in Candace Borgen, who ran the 800 meters for the fifth place distance medley relay team last season, and Gabrielle Anderson, a true freshman and former 800 meter state champion, and the potential for greatness is clear. Wilson believes both can make a solid impact on the team's scoring chances by providing depth at mid-distance.
Distance
In the Big Ten, clearly the distance events are the most competitive. As Wilson pointed out, there are four distance events that offer 32 scoring positions. But he says there are minimally 40 very strong athletes in the conference that will compete for those spots, so scoring in the distance events means an athlete has truly reached an elite status. "We typically have to develop our people over time," Wilson admitted. "But that's the exciting part for a coach, to watch our kids continually improve."
Two athletes Wilson thinks have the potential to reach elite status in the conference include Lauren Williams and Ladia Albertson-Junkans. Williams clearly emerged last fall as the cross country team's number one runner. She earned second team All-Big Ten and All-Region honors and was the Gophers' top finisher in all six races in which she competed. Albertson- Junkans placed 15th at the Big Ten Cross Country Championships and was named the team's Rookie of the Year.
They will be flanked by a number of experienced veterans who have already proven their ability; among them are Jen Hess and Zoe Nagell. Last season Hess clocked Minnesota's best times in the 1,500 and outdoor 3,000 meters, while also running the steeplechase at the Big Ten Championships. Equally impressive, Nagell was the team's fastest in the mile, indoor 3,000 and 5,000 meters, and she ranks ninth among the Gophers all-time best at 5,000 meters.
Other distance runners coming off a productive cross country season and likely to carry their success into the spring include Emily Brown, Carly Emil, Sarah Hesser, and Annie Yetzer. Brown was the Gophers third finisher at the NCAA Midwest Cross Country Regional, while Yetzer came in as Minnesota's sixth runner. Emil and Hess provide valuable experience and add to Minnesota's notable depth in the distance events.
Multi-Events
Perhaps no aspect of the team has improved as dramatically and as quickly as the multi-events. A focal point during recent recruiting efforts, the multi- events now boast sophomores Jacenta Spandl and Maggie Jaunich who will be joined by freshmen Christin Kingsley and Liz Roehrig to give Minnesota a legitimate chance to have any and all athletes score in the conference meets. "We've gone from having no heptathletes to having four in just two years because we're able to coach our athletes to steady improvement," Wilson stated.
The coaching staff guided Spandl to runner-up finishes in both the Big Ten pentathlon and heptathlon last season. She also qualified for the NCAA Championships by scoring 5,000 points in the heptathlon and earned team MVP honors. Jaunich, a former walk-on, tallied 4,798 points to place fifth in the conference heptathlon. She now ranks sixth among the all-time school heptathletes.
Kingsley, a redshirt freshman and former state 100-meter hurdle champion, competed in four events at the state track meet as a junior and senior. Roehrig is a true freshman that will certainly provide an immediate impact. She also participated in four events at the state meet every year from 2001- 2004, winning three state high jump titles and twice finishing as the state runner-up in the 200 meters.
Throws
Wilson also predicts a return to greatness in the throws this season led by the much anticipated arrival of Liz Podominick. After concluding her basketball duties in March, Podominick will join the team for the outdoor season. In addition to her well publicized court skills, Podominick also holds the Minnesota state high school records in the shot put and discus.
Another highly touted freshman joining the Gophers is Rudy Radojac, who last year was listed third in the USATF high school javelin rankings. Nina Cotolupenco is looking to improve on a ninth place finish in the hammer throw at last year's conference meet. Though the throws will likely once again be a source of many outdoor team points, the excitement for next season is already building. Liz Alabi, who last season appeared in the NCAA Championships, and Kari Schmidt, a freshman with unlimited potential, are both redshirting this season and will surely help put the Gophers on a premier level in 2006.
Horizonal Jumps
Long jump and triple jump duties will fall squarely on the shoulders of two athletes; Sarah Nelson and Anna Arciszewska. Nelson took fourth in the long jump at the 2004 Big Ten meet and looks to break the school record with a leap of over 20 feet this season. Arciszewska, a freshman from Poland, can definitely fill a void in the triple jump by consistently marking 40 feet or more.
Pole Vault
Though Stearns departs as the school pole vault record holder and last season's most consistent team scorer, three freshmen will combine to maintain the steady stream of team points coming from the event. Laura Massey, Ashley Nord and Andrea Smith are all former state champions who will immediately begin pursuit of the school pole vault record.
Nord, the South Dakota state pole vault record holder, is fully healthy after redshirting last season due to injury. Massey is a former three-time Wisconsin state pole vault champion while Smith qualified for the Minnesota state meet in the pole vault four consecutive seasons, winning the title by clearing a personal-best 12-7 that ranked her among the top 15 high school pole vaulters in the country. All have their sights on inching their way toward clearing 13 feet.
High Jump
Multi-event athlete Liz Roehrig will also be called upon to compete in the high jump. Less than a month into her freshman season, Roehrig has already climbed to the top of the Gophers' high jump list, setting a new school record by clearing 5-10 1/2. Spandl and Jaunich will also cross over to the individual high jump while Vanessa Schwanke, who took tenth at the Big Ten outdoor meet last season, will provide the team with another potential scorer.
Coach Wilson is quick to point out that the expected improvement of his squad is as much a credit to his fellow coaching staff as it is to his athletes. "All successful programs have consistency on their staff," he explained. "Matt's (Bingle) expertise in recruiting means the base work has been done. We're fortunate to have developed kids that will now be some big point getters. But we also have to have great depth so we can chip away at the competition. With 21 outdoor events, if you score an average of five points per event, then you're over 100 points and you're in the hunt for a top three finish."
Good talent, quality depth and coaching consistency is a recipe for sure success. But according to Bingle the Gophers understand well that hard work must also be part of the formula to achieve the team's potential. "Our athletes push each other everyday in practice and pick each other up when they're having tough times," Bingle said of the team's work ethic. "That makes a coach's job easier. The expectation is to work hard no matter who you are."
With continued hard work, Wilson thinks the team has potential to meet the lofty expectations set for this season. "We're not a one dimensional team," he pointed out. "I believe we're a well rounded team that has conference title contenders in almost every event."
Minnesota travels to Ohio State for the Big Ten Outdoor Championships May 13-15 where the Gophers will look to place among the top three conference teams. The Gophers will conclude the season in Sacramento, Calif. at the NCAA Championships in early June. Minnesota's track and field athletes are headed in a very positive direction this season. The Golden Gophers are certain to be out in front, on top of the standings, and therefore transitioning back into the upper division of the Big Ten Conference in 2005. "This year will be the bridge toward our goal of winning the Big Ten title in the very near future," declared head coach Gary Wilson, who enters his third decade at the program's helm this year. "I believe we're going to be a much improved team this season."
Wilson's certainty stems from the clear progress his young squad experienced during last season's competition. A team comprised of 41 freshman and sophomores totaled 63 points at the 2004 Big Ten Outdoor Championships. This season's roster is missing only one scorer from last year's conference meet; Olympic trials qualifier Monica Stearns' who finished third in the pole vault.
So with a full year of development, the team should not only be better in 2005, but will be deeper as well. "There are a lot of team members that have improved since last season and when you add in the freshman we've brought here, it creates a really good mix," associate head coach Matt Bingle explained. "Our depth is certainly better this year and having two or three people in every event with the possibility of scoring is what it takes to make a run at the Big Ten title."
"Having depth is what I really like about our team this season," Wilson concurred. "There are some backups that can come in if someone falters, has a bad day, or gets hurt. Now there's going to be someone there to replace them."
Bingle is anxious to witness the combination of a much improved team with the parity of the Big Ten at the conference meets. "If our athletes simply do what they're capable of doing, then we don't have to have any super-human efforts to be competitive this year," he said.
The key to competing for a conference crown is having depth in the sprints, hurdles, and jumps and Wilson proudly stated that Minnesota's strength in those events has increased dramatically. He pointed out that the sprints, hurdles and jumps make up 11 of the 19 track events, so those categories must be a priority because it's where much of the team scoring comes from year in and year out.
Sprints
This season's competitiveness, therefore, begins with a solid nucleus of sprinters. Kadian Douglas, Katie Grundman, and Melissa Woltman each can turn in quality individual performances and add significantly to a relay team. Douglas showed tremendous range placing fourth in the 100 meters in last year's conference meet, while also running the second leg for the fourth place 4x400-meter relay team. Grundman, a redshirt freshman, also possesses great range from 60 meters through 400 meters. Woltman could be a steady source of points throughout the season competing in the 100 and 200 meters. Wilson describes his sprinters as a "bevy of talent" and he knows that although some of them may not always score individually, they can all skillfully carry a relay baton.
Relays
He, therefore, said the team's goal is to at least have the 4x400-meter relay team among the top three in the conference. Douglas and Grundman will be joined by Melissa Steele and Mollie Hupp to create a formidable 1600-meter relay team. They have already demonstrated their tremendous potential having recorded the fifth fastest time in school history. "Since we've got good depth and our runners are well trained, then it's realistic to believe we can at least come in second or third," Wilson said.
Hurdles
Elizabeth Woolford and Shari Schutz combine to give the Gophers a potent one-two punch in the short hurdle races. Woolford scored last season at the Big Ten Indoor Championships finishing sixth, and also took ninth in the 100- meter hurdles at the outdoor conference meet. Schutz, who ranks eighth all- time among 100-meter hurdlers, doubles as a 400-meter hurdler, where she ranks seventh in school history.
In addition to her relay duties, Steele will also run the 400-meter hurdles and looks to improve on her runner-up finish last season by capturing her first Big Ten crown. Gina Dare, a former Minnesota State Champion from Apple Valley in the 300-meter hurdles clocking a 43.09, gives the Gophers another potential scorer in the 400 hurdles race.
Middle Distance
Mollie Hupp has a really good chance to make the podium in the conference 800 meter race. She is the marquee athlete among a solid group of middle distance runners. Hupp displayed her enormous potential by running to a fifth place finish in the 800 meters at last year's conference outdoor meet. She also anchored the 4x400 relay team to a fourth place finish at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships.
Add in Candace Borgen, who ran the 800 meters for the fifth place distance medley relay team last season, and Gabrielle Anderson, a true freshman and former 800 meter state champion, and the potential for greatness is clear. Wilson believes both can make a solid impact on the team's scoring chances by providing depth at mid-distance.
Distance
In the Big Ten, clearly the distance events are the most competitive. As Wilson pointed out, there are four distance events that offer 32 scoring positions. But he says there are minimally 40 very strong athletes in the conference that will compete for those spots, so scoring in the distance events means an athlete has truly reached an elite status. "We typically have to develop our people over time," Wilson admitted. "But that's the exciting part for a coach, to watch our kids continually improve."
Two athletes Wilson thinks have the potential to reach elite status in the conference include Lauren Williams and Ladia Albertson-Junkans. Williams clearly emerged last fall as the cross country team's number one runner. She earned second team All-Big Ten and All-Region honors and was the Gophers' top finisher in all six races in which she competed. Albertson- Junkans placed 15th at the Big Ten Cross Country Championships and was named the team's Rookie of the Year.
They will be flanked by a number of experienced veterans who have already proven their ability; among them are Jen Hess and Zoe Nagell. Last season Hess clocked Minnesota's best times in the 1,500 and outdoor 3,000 meters, while also running the steeplechase at the Big Ten Championships. Equally impressive, Nagell was the team's fastest in the mile, indoor 3,000 and 5,000 meters, and she ranks ninth among the Gophers all-time best at 5,000 meters.
Other distance runners coming off a productive cross country season and likely to carry their success into the spring include Emily Brown, Carly Emil, Sarah Hesser, and Annie Yetzer. Brown was the Gophers third finisher at the NCAA Midwest Cross Country Regional, while Yetzer came in as Minnesota's sixth runner. Emil and Hess provide valuable experience and add to Minnesota's notable depth in the distance events.
Multi-Events
Perhaps no aspect of the team has improved as dramatically and as quickly as the multi-events. A focal point during recent recruiting efforts, the multi- events now boast sophomores Jacenta Spandl and Maggie Jaunich who will be joined by freshmen Christin Kingsley and Liz Roehrig to give Minnesota a legitimate chance to have any and all athletes score in the conference meets. "We've gone from having no heptathletes to having four in just two years because we're able to coach our athletes to steady improvement," Wilson stated.
The coaching staff guided Spandl to runner-up finishes in both the Big Ten pentathlon and heptathlon last season. She also qualified for the NCAA Championships by scoring 5,000 points in the heptathlon and earned team MVP honors. Jaunich, a former walk-on, tallied 4,798 points to place fifth in the conference heptathlon. She now ranks sixth among the all-time school heptathletes.
Kingsley, a redshirt freshman and former state 100-meter hurdle champion, competed in four events at the state track meet as a junior and senior. Roehrig is a true freshman that will certainly provide an immediate impact. She also participated in four events at the state meet every year from 2001- 2004, winning three state high jump titles and twice finishing as the state runner-up in the 200 meters.
Throws
Wilson also predicts a return to greatness in the throws this season led by the much anticipated arrival of Liz Podominick. After concluding her basketball duties in March, Podominick will join the team for the outdoor season. In addition to her well publicized court skills, Podominick also holds the Minnesota state high school records in the shot put and discus.
Another highly touted freshman joining the Gophers is Rudy Radojac, who last year was listed third in the USATF high school javelin rankings. Nina Cotolupenco is looking to improve on a ninth place finish in the hammer throw at last year's conference meet. Though the throws will likely once again be a source of many outdoor team points, the excitement for next season is already building. Liz Alabi, who last season appeared in the NCAA Championships, and Kari Schmidt, a freshman with unlimited potential, are both redshirting this season and will surely help put the Gophers on a premier level in 2006.
Horizonal Jumps
Long jump and triple jump duties will fall squarely on the shoulders of two athletes; Sarah Nelson and Anna Arciszewska. Nelson took fourth in the long jump at the 2004 Big Ten meet and looks to break the school record with a leap of over 20 feet this season. Arciszewska, a freshman from Poland, can definitely fill a void in the triple jump by consistently marking 40 feet or more.
Pole Vault
Though Stearns departs as the school pole vault record holder and last season's most consistent team scorer, three freshmen will combine to maintain the steady stream of team points coming from the event. Laura Massey, Ashley Nord and Andrea Smith are all former state champions who will immediately begin pursuit of the school pole vault record.
Nord, the South Dakota state pole vault record holder, is fully healthy after redshirting last season due to injury. Massey is a former three-time Wisconsin state pole vault champion while Smith qualified for the Minnesota state meet in the pole vault four consecutive seasons, winning the title by clearing a personal-best 12-7 that ranked her among the top 15 high school pole vaulters in the country. All have their sights on inching their way toward clearing 13 feet.
High Jump
Multi-event athlete Liz Roehrig will also be called upon to compete in the high jump. Less than a month into her freshman season, Roehrig has already climbed to the top of the Gophers' high jump list, setting a new school record by clearing 5-10 1/2. Spandl and Jaunich will also cross over to the individual high jump while Vanessa Schwanke, who took tenth at the Big Ten outdoor meet last season, will provide the team with another potential scorer.
Coach Wilson is quick to point out that the expected improvement of his squad is as much a credit to his fellow coaching staff as it is to his athletes. "All successful programs have consistency on their staff," he explained. "Matt's (Bingle) expertise in recruiting means the base work has been done. We're fortunate to have developed kids that will now be some big point getters. But we also have to have great depth so we can chip away at the competition. With 21 outdoor events, if you score an average of five points per event, then you're over 100 points and you're in the hunt for a top three finish."
Good talent, quality depth and coaching consistency is a recipe for sure success. But according to Bingle the Gophers understand well that hard work must also be part of the formula to achieve the team's potential. "Our athletes push each other everyday in practice and pick each other up when they're having tough times," Bingle said of the team's work ethic. "That makes a coach's job easier. The expectation is to work hard no matter who you are."
With continued hard work, Wilson thinks the team has potential to meet the lofty expectations set for this season. "We're not a one dimensional team," he pointed out. "I believe we're a well rounded team that has conference title contenders in almost every event."
Minnesota travels to Ohio State for the Big Ten Outdoor Championships May 13-15 where the Gophers will look to place among the top three conference teams. The Gophers will conclude the season in Sacramento, Calif. at the NCAA Championships in early June.
Players Mentioned
