University of Minnesota Athletics
2006 Minnesota Women's Track & Field Season in Review
6/28/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
The Minnesota women’s track & field team will go down as one of the best success stories in Golden Gopher Athletics during the 2005-06 sporting year. The outdoor season was a succession of one success story after another, using the 2006 indoor season as a springboard to a season of memories. Minnesota won its very first Big Ten title, then followed up with a third-place NCAA Midwest Region finish and a 19th-place showing at the NCAA Championships. Individual accolades were bestowed upon coaches and athletes as would be expected, but a real tribute to the Gopher program was that over half of the eligible student- athletes earned Academic All-Big Ten Team honors.
Minnesota Places 19th at NCAA Championships
The Golden Gophers tallied a program-high 14 points at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, placing 19th to post only the fourth top-20 finish in Minnesota history. Heather Dorniden, Emily Brown and Liz Roehrig earned All-America honors.
Largest Gopher Contingent at NCAAs
The nine athletes who competed at NCAA Championships for the Gophers marked the largest contingent to represent the Minnesota women’s track & field team at a national meet. Previously, the most Minnesota athletes to compete at the Championships was seven in 2001. Four of the nine Gophers made repeat trips to the NCAA outdoor meet. Emily Brown (steeplechase), Liz Podominick (shot put) and Andrea Smith (pole vault) competed a year ago, while Liz Alabi (hammer) competed in the shot put in the 2004 Championships.
And This Gopher Team is Young
The group of nine athletes who represented Minnesota at the 2006 NCAA Championships did not include a single senior, but instead a youthful lineup of two juniors, six sophomores and a freshman.
Dorniden the National Runner-Up in 800 Meters
Heather Dorniden ran to All-America honors with a runner-up finish in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:03.02. Reversing the finish from the NCAA Indoor Championships earlier this season, Oregon freshman Rebekah Noble edged Dorniden, capturing the title in 2:02.07. Dorniden’s second-place finish is the highest showing for a Gopher at the outdoor national meet. The game plan was for Dorniden to go out strong, knowing Noble has a great kick in the home stretch. “She ran a great race,” said Golden Gopher head coach Gary Wilson. “We wanted her out of trouble in the first 200 meters, hit 400 meter at about the 59- second mark, then be in the lead at 600 meters. She executed a great race. Noble just had a little better one.” Dorniden grabbed the lead early on and controlled the pace of the race. With 50 meters remaining, Noble began to make her charge. She passed Dorniden in the final 10 meters of the race. “I knew she was there somewhere,” said Dorniden. “I heard the crowd and I thought, uh-oh, here’s comes. I thought I might have enough to hold her off but she flew by me. I’m glad I hung on for second. “It’s been an awesome freshman year for me so finishing first or second at the national meet didn’t make too much difference to me,” added Dorniden.
Brown Breaks Steeplechase School Record En Route to Fourth-Place NCAA Finish
Junior Emily Brown captured All-America honors with a fourth-place finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in the third day of the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Brown placed fourth in a time of 9 minutes, 56.62 seconds, bettering her school re cord by over three seconds. “I really can’t be disappointed with my race since I did earn All-America honors, improved my personal best and set the school record again,” said Brown, a junior from West Allis, Wis., who had the nation’s top time coming into the race. “Perhaps my only disappointment was that I didn’t have enough kick left to catch that girl in third place.” The race was close throughout. With 800 meters remaining Colorado freshman Jennifer Barringer made her move to win by over two seconds with a time of 9:53.04. Illinois’ Cassie Hunt was second in 9:55.75. Tennessee-Chattanooga senior Shannon Womack finished 12 hundredths ahead of Brown for third place. The All-America honor is Brown’s second in her track career. She was a member of the Gopher distance medley relay that garnered All-America acclaim with a third-place finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships, earlier this spring.
Roehrig Captures All-America Honors in Heptathlon
Sophomore Liz Roehrig completed the grueling heptathlon competition at the NCAA Championships in eighth place, capturing All-America honors, with 5,467 points. The long competition in warm weather took its toll as Roehrig fell from fifth place after the first day to eighth place in the heptathlon. Her total of 5,467 is the third best of her career and garners the Gopher sophomore her first heptathlon All-America honor and her second overall. Arizona State’s Jacquelyn Johnson led the entire way to capture the title with 5,939 points, holding off Missouri State’s Tracy Partain who finished with 5,927. Roehrig opened the second day of the heptathlon by competing in the long jump. She landed a best of 19-2 1/2 to score 804 points and moved up one spot into fourth place with 4,241 points. Johnson won the long jump competition with a jump of 19-11 3/4 to improve her first-place total to 4,403 points. “From the start my legs felt a bit tired,” said Roehrig. “It took my first two rounds to get going and my third one really felt good. Unfortunately I was over the board by just a fraction of an inch.” Roehrig recorded a career-best throw of 102-3 in the javelin but it scored only 499 points causing her to slide to seventh place in the heptathlon standings with 4,740 points. The 800-meter run completed the heptathlon. Roehrig posted a career-best time of 2:27.32 to score 727 points. Roehrig was in fifth place with 3,437 points after the first day’s four events. Roehrig’s first-day total was comparable to two of her best performances earlier in the season. In winning the Big Ten title, Roehrig established personal bests in the hurdles, shot put and 200 meters to record her top first-day total of 3,447 points. In setting the Minnesota school record at the Georgia Limited Meet in April, Roehrig tallied 3,431 points. “The first day was a good one, I’m right where I expected to be,” said Roehrig. “I had close to my personal bests in the hurdles and shot put. High jump was just OK, but I did what I had to do.” Roehrig ran her second-best career time in the 100-meter hurdles, starting in lane two and clocking a time of 14.38 seconds. The Gopher sophomore, the Big Ten heptathlete champion, ran a clean race running into a slight head wind to finish second in her heat to Virginia Tech’s Saskin Tresschejin ((14.30). Johnson won the event with a time of 13.34. The heptathlon contested its second event – the high jump. Roehrig cleared five heights without a miss, scoring 879 points for clearing 5-7 3/4. The high jump is one of the events in the heptathlon considered a difference maker due the highest point totals awarded at the higher heights. Johnson added to her lead by clearing 5-10. Roehrig moved up two spots to sixth after the high jump with 1,804 points. As the temperatures claimed into the middle 80s under cloudless sunny skies, the heptathletes headed to their third venue, the shot put. Roehrig launched all three throws over 40 feet, landing a best of 42-6, just inches off her career best. The throw tallied 724 points as Roehrig finished fourth in the event. Hawaii- Manoa freshman won the event with an impressive throw of 45-9, moving all the way from 21st to ninth place after the shot put. With her performance in the shot, Roehrig improved a spot to fifth place with 2,528 points. Before heading off the track to prepare for the heptathlon’s final event of the day, the 200-meter dash, Roehrig took a quick dip in the steeplechase water hazard to cool off her legs. Roehrig, known as a bit of a team jokester yelled over to her coach, associate head coach Matt Bingle, “Don’t tell Brownie (Gopher steeplechaser Emily Brown) I was in here.” Roehrig didn’t have the best lane assignment, on the outside in lane eight, but she didn’t let that hinder her effort. Roehrig won her heat in a time of 24.76 seconds, just hundredths of a second off her personal best, to collect 909 points.
Alabi Advances to Hammer Final, Finishes 12th
The Gophers’ received a pleasant surprise in the hammer where Liz Alabi, who entered the NCAA meet ranked 21st, claimed the final of 12 qualifying spots to the final. Alabi fouled her first throw, then marked a toss of 182-3. On her third and final attempt, Alabi unleashed a throw of 195-4 to move up to 12th place. As the second thrower in a flight of 14, Alabi then endured a nervous wait to see if her mark would stand. In all, seven throwers had the chance to surpass Alabi. Six throwers left the circle unsuccessful. Ironically, an athlete coached by former Minnesota thrower and Big Ten javelin champion Lorena Anderson, now the throws coach at Western Illinois, posed the final hurdle. Western Illinois senior Jennifer Gilson was the seventh competitor to fall short of Alabi’s mark, sending the Gopher junior to her first career NCAA Championships final. “I was more nervous watching each of them throw than I was when I was in the circle myself,” said Alabi, who immediately knew her status thanks to the public address announcer. In the final, Alabi posted a best of 184 feet, 1 inch to finish in 12th place. She landed her best effort on her second throw. Winning the NCAA title in the event was Jenny Dahlgren with a throw of 226-4.
Three Gopher Throwers in NCAA Championships Field
Minnesota had three throwers compete at this year’s NCAA Championships, all in different events with Liz Alabi in the hammer, Liz Podominick in the shot put and Ruby Radocaj in the javelin. One might think this is a rather unusual occurrence but 2006 was actually the fourth time that Minnesota had three throwers at the national meet. The Gophers had a streak of three straight years that this happened: 1999-2001. In addition to Alabi’s 12th-place showing the hammer, Podominick landed her best throw in her third attempt, a mark of 51-4 1/2, to finish 14th in prelims and missing the cut for the final by 8 1/2 inches. Radocaj finished 18th in the javelin prelims with a throw of 147 feet, 8 inches. Radocaj fouled her first attempt and marked her best throw on her third and final attempt.
Schwengler and Smith Also Compete at NCAAs
Minnesota was also represented at the NCAA meet by sophomores Julie Schwengler in the 800 meters and Andrea Smith in the pole vault. Schwengler finished seventh in her heat with a time of 2:12.89. Schwengler was slowed by an ankle injury but was upbeat about her first NCAA Championships experience. “It was a great experience,” she said after the race. Smith was unable to clear the opening height of 12-3 1/2 and officially is recorded as a no height.
Wilson, Dorniden Earn Region and District Awards
Minnesota women’s track & field head coach Gary Wilson and Golden Gopher freshman middle-distance standout Heather Dorniden were selected as the U.S. Track & Field/Cross Country Coaches Association 2006 Midwest Region and Midwest District Coach of the Year and Track Athlete of the Year, respectively. The recipients of the awards were nominated and voted upon by NCAA Division I coaches. Earlier this season, Wilson was honored as the Big Ten Coach of the Year after guiding the Golden Gophers to the first Big Ten track title in program history. Minnesota sent a school record nine student-athletes to the NCAA Championships and finished 19th. Dorniden continues to add to an already impressive resume of her young collegiate career. An Inver Grove Heights, Minn., native, Dorniden placed second in the 800 meters at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, after winning the national crown at indoor meet.
Players Mentioned
