University of Minnesota Athletics
No. 4 Gophers Head to Pre-NCAA Meet
10/15/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
Golden Gopher Cross Country This Week:
Pre-NCAA Meet
Saturday, Oct. 18 Terre Haute, Ind.
Tori Neubauer Invitational
Saturday, Oct. 18 West Salem, Wis.
Golden Gopher Watch List Oct. 18, 2008
Minnesota to Run at Pre-NCAA Meet - The Minnesota cross country teams, both the men and the women, will travel to Terre Haute, Ind., on Saturday, Oct. 18, to compete in the Pre-NCAA Meet. The event allows teams to race on the course that will host the NCAA Championships in November.
Golden Gopher Women Ranked No. 4 - The Minnesota women’s cross country team is currently ranked No. 4 in the nation. The Gophers will compete in the Pre-NCAA Blue Race, where they will meet No. 1-ranked Washington and 10 other nationally ranked teams. The Pre-NCAA White Race features 10 nationally ranked teams. A total of 10 of the 11 Big Ten schools will compete in the Pre-NCAA Meet.
Golden Gopher Men Run Blue Race - The Minnesota men, ranked No. 14 nationally, are entered in the Pre-NCAA Blue Race. A total of 12 nationally ranked teams are included in the field, topped by No. 2 Oklahoma State. Another 11 nationally ranked teams will be running in the White Race. The Big Ten has eight teams competing at the Pre-NCAA Meet on Saturday.
Doubling Up - The Gopher men’s and women’s teams will also have athletes competing at the Jim Drews (men) and Tori Neubauer (women) Invitationals, hosted by Wisconsin-LaCrosse in West Salem, Wis., on Saturday.
Gopher Women Prepare For a Huge Challenge
The Minnesota women’s cross country team will take their best-ever No. 4 national ranking into the Pre-NCAA Meet, on Saturday, Oct. 18, in Terre Haute, Ind. The meet, hosted by Indiana State, is contested on the LaVern Gibson Cross Country Course, the site of the NCAA Championships in November. The women’s race schedule is split into three events all 6-kilometers in distance, the Blue Race, the White Race and the Open Race. Minnesota will compete in the Blue Race at 10 a.m. CT, then have a number of individuals run in the Open Race at 12:30 p.m. CT.
Minnesota Also to Compete at Neubauer Invite
The Gophers will send a second squad of competitors to West Salem, Wis., to compete in the Tori Neubauer Invitational on Saturday. Minnesota is the defending champion in the event.
Minnesota Paired With Top-Ranked Washington
The No. 4 Golden Gophers will face No. 1 Washington in the Blue Race (10 a.m.), which also includes top-10 teams No. 6 Stanford and No. 9 Michigan State. Overall the Blue Race field includes 12 nationally ranked teams. The White Race features 10 ranked teams led by No. 3 Florida State, No. 5 Princeton and No. 8 Arizona State. The three top-10 teams not competing in the Pre-NCAA meet are No. 2 Oregon, No. 7 West Virginia and No. 10 Arkansas.
Ten Big Ten Teams to Run at Pre-NCAA Meet
The Gophers will be joined by 10 other Big Ten Conference teams at the Pre-NCAA Meet. Joining Minnesota in the Blue Race is Indiana, Iowa, Michigan State and Wisconsin. Competing the White Race are Illinois, Michigan, Northwestern, Ohio State and Purdue. Penn State is the only Big Ten school that is not competing in the Pre-NCAA Meet this year.
Gophers Fourth a Year Ago
The Gophers placed fourth in the Pre-NCAA Blue Race in 2007. Jamie Cheever led the charge with a 15th-place finish, followed by Elizabeth Yetzer in 24th.
The Golden Gopher Lineup
A dozen (12) Golden Gophers will compete on race day at the Pre-NCAA Meet. Seven will compete as a team in the Blue Race, while five will run in the Open Race.
Blue Race Lineup
Gabriele Anderson (Sr., Perham, Minn./Perham)
2004 - 36th, 22:57.8 - Open
2006 - 89th, 21:36.4 - White
2007 - 27th, 20:54.2 - Blue
Jamie Cheever (Jr., Minneapolis, Minn./Southwest)
2006 - 48th, 21:04.2 - White
2007 - 15th, 20:44.5 - Blue
Heather Dorniden (Jr., Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Rosemount)
2006 - 131st, 21:55.8 - White
2007 - 94th, 21:39.0 - Blue
Megan Duwell (Jr., West Bend, Wis./West Bend West)
2006 - 54th, 22:27.4 - Open
2007 - 92nd, 21:38.0 - Blue
Amy Laskowske (Jr., Palatine, Ill./Palatine)
2006 - 91st, 21:37.2 - White
2007 - 26th, 22:10.9 - Open
Felicitas Mensing (Gr., Neuhausen, Germany/Kepler/Coastal Carolina)
Mallory Van Ness (Jr., Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View/Missouri)
2007 - 14th, 21:54.7 - Open
Open Race Lineup
Ariella DePrenger-Gottfried (Jr., Eau Claire, Wis./Memorial)
2005 - 59th, 23:06.3 - Open
2006 - 68th, 22:35.7 - Open
Meghan Mason (Gr., State College, Pa./State College/American)
Sally Paulson (Jr., Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Simley)
2006 - 60th, 22:31.8 - Open
2007 - 120th, 21:58.3 - Blue
Nikki Swenson (So., Dawson, Minn./Dawson-Boyd)
2007 - 4th, 21:29.9 - Open
Elizabeth Yetzer (Jr., Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North)
2006 - 39th, 20:58.8 - White
2007 - 24th, 20:52.1 - Blue
Golden Gopher Coaching Staff
Gary Wilson, the dean of the Big Ten women’s cross country coaches, is in his 24th season heading the Minnesota program. He is assisted by volunteer assistant head coach, Sarah Hesser, who is in her fourth season on the coaching staff after competing for the Golden Gophers. Kallie Suske is also a volunteer assistant.
Players Mentioned
