University of Minnesota Athletics
2008 Golden Gopher Women's Track Season in Review
7/8/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
2008 Minnesota Women’s Track & Field Season Review
Golden Gophers Top 15 in Both NCAA Championships - Minnesota collected top-15 finishes at both national meets in 2008, posting a 15th-place finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships and a school-best outdoor finish of tied for 13th at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Dorniden Continues to Build on Golden Gopher Legacy - Golden Gopher junior Heather Dorniden became the most highly decorated women’s track athlete in Minnesota history when she collected her seventh career All-America honor at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Gophers Repeat as Big Ten Indoor Champions - Led by individual event champions Liz Roehrig, Alicia Rue and Liz Podominick, Minnesota defended its Big Ten team title during the indoor season.
Roehrig Wins Historic Fourth Big Ten Title - Liz Roehrig accomplished something no other Minnesota student-athlete in any other sport has done - win four consecutive Big Ten Conference titles in an individual sport/event - when she captured the Big Ten pentathlon title at the Indoor Championships. She earned All-America honors in both pentathlon and heptathlon during the 2008 season.
2008 Minnesota Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Honors
All-America
Heather Dorniden - 800m
Ruby Radocaj - Javelin
Liz Roehrig - Heptathlon
NCAA Midwest Region Field Event Athlete of the Year
Liz Roehrig
ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America
Heather Dorniden (Second Team)
Liz Podominick (Second Team)
ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District
Jamie Cheever (First Team)
Alicia Rue (Second Team)
Big Ten Medal of Honor
Liz Podominick
Big Ten Champions (All-Big Ten First Team)
Liz Roehrig - Heptathlon
Heather Dorniden - 800m
All-Big Ten Second Team
Jamie Cheever - 3,000m Steeplechase; Christin Kingsley - Long Jump; Liz Podominick - Shot Put & Discus; Ruby
Radocaj - Javelin; Caitlin Roemhildt - High Jump
Big Ten Sportsmanship Award
Liz Podominick
2008 Minnesota Women’s Indoor Track & Field Honors
All-America
Heather Dorniden - 800m
Liz Roehrig - Pentathlon
Alicia Rue - Pole Vault
NCAA Midwest Region Coach of the Year
Matt Bingle
NCAA Midwest Region Assistant Coach of the Year
Gary Wilson
Big Ten Field Event Athlete of the Year
Liz Roehrig
Big Ten Coach of the Year
Matt Bingle
Big Ten Field Event Athlete of the Championships
Liz Roehrig
Big Ten Champions (All-Big Ten First Team)
Liz Podominick - Shot Put
Liz Roehrig - Pentathlon
Alicia Rue - Pole Vault
All-Big Ten Second Team
Gabriele Anderson - DMR; Jamie Cheever, Mile; Heather Dorniden - 600m; Christin Kingsley - Long Jump; Challis
Larson - DMR; Caitlin Roemhildt - High Jump; Julie
Schwengler, 800m, DMR; Nikki Swenson, DMR
Big Ten Sportsmanship Award
Heather Dorniden
Minnesota Enjoys Plenty of Success in 2008
The Minnesota women’s track & field team enjoyed one of the finest season in school history in 2008. The Golden Gophers recorded the highest finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, when Minnesota tied for 13th (with Tennessee) with a school-record total of 15 points. During the indoor season, Minnesota posted the second-highest finish ever tying for 15th place with 16 points Five different Golden Gophers captured All-America honors with Heather Dorniden and Liz Roehrig earning national acclaim in both the indoor and outdoor meets.
Big Ten Champs Indoor in 2008
Minnesota defended its Big Ten indoor title in 2008, winning the crown on the Gophers’ home track. Liz Roehrig (pentathlon), Liz Podominick (shot put) and Alicia Rue (pole vault) won individual titles. Roehrig was named the Big Ten Field Event Athlete of the Championships. The Gophers placed third in the Big Ten Outdoor Championships at Illinois. Roehrig won the heptathlon and Heather Dorniden captured the title in the 800 meters.
Dorniden the Most Decorated in Minnesota History
For 17 years, the honor of being the most decorated track athlete in Minnesota women’s track history was held by thrower Rachel Lewis (1988-91) with six career All-America citations. Heather Dorniden matched Lewis’ total during at the 2008 NCAA Indoor Championships adding her sixth All-America honor with five coming in the 800 meters and one in the distance medley relay. Then at the 2008 NCAA Outdoor, Dorniden replaced Lewis as the most decorated Gopher track athlete as she earned her seventh career All-America honor.
Dorniden, Podominick Academic All-Americans
Heather Dorniden and Liz Podominick have been named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Second Team. In Golden Gopher women’s track/cross country history, Dorniden and Podominick are just the fifth and sixth student-athletes to earn national acclaim on a very prestigious award.
The ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America teams for women’s cross country and track celebrate the athletic and academic successes of 45 (15 on each of three teams) of the best and brightest student-athletes in the nation. The First Team alone featured 10 athletes with cumulative grade point averages above 3.95.
Dorniden, a junior majoring in kinesiology with a 3.92 grade point average, captured her seventh career All-America honor at the recent NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships making her the most highly decorated women’s track athlete in Minnesota history. The Inver Grove Heights, Minn., native won the Big Ten outdoor title in the 800 meters and finished second indoor and fifth outdoor at the NCAA meets. She also ran to NCAA All-Midwest Region honors during the 2007 cross country season. Dorniden was honored as Minnesota’s Female Athlete of the Year and with a Top-Five Award recognizing the top five cumulative GPAs in the Athletic Department.
Podominick, a graduate student carrying a 4.0 GPA in sociology, competed in her fourth career NCAA Outdoor Championships becoming just the second Gopher to compete at the national meet in the same event (discus) four times. A Lakeville, Minn., native, Podominick won her fourth career Big Ten event title, wining the indoor shot put this season. Podominick was a recipient of the Top-Five Award in 2007.
This is the second time that Minnesota had two Academic All-Americans in the same year. In 2001, both Corinne Nimtz and Aubrey Schmitt were selected for the honor.
Roehrig Joins List of Gophers With Highest NCAA Finishes in Outdoor Season
Liz Roehrig is the sixth Golden Gopher to capture a runner-up finish at an NCAA Outdoor Championships, placing second in the heptathlon in 2008. The top individual finishes outdoor were second-place showings by Rachel Lewis in the discus (1990), Heather Berlin in the javelin (1995), Tanya Simonsen in the javelin (1996) , Shani Marks in the triple jump (2003) and Heather Dorniden in the 800 meters (2006).
Roehrig Named USTFCCCA Midwest Region Field Event Athlete of the Year
Junior Liz Roehrig was honored as the USTFCCCA Midwest Region Field Event Athlete of the Year. Roehrig set Minnesota record in both the heptathlon and high jump during the 2008 outdoor season.
Podominick Makes History as a Four-Time NCAA Competitor in Discus
In 2008, senior Liz Podominick made her fourth trip to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the discus and third in the shot put. Podominick was the first Gopher since Aubrey Schmitt (1998-01 - shot put and discus) and second overall to compete in the same event at four NCAA Championships. Podominick is a four-time Big Ten champion with two in the discus (2005, 2006) and two in the shot put (2006 outdoor and 2007 indoor).
Radocaj Included in Minnesota Legacy in the Javelin
Senior Ruby Radocaj is the latest included on a long list of talented javelin throwers in Golden Gopher history. Yet despite the event producing the most All-Americans (seven) in Minnesota history, Radocaj is the first Gopher javelin thrower to capture All-America honors in back-to-back years (2007, 2008). She is the second two-time All-American, joining Heather Berlin, who earned national acclaim in 1993 and 1995.
Minnesota Included in NCAA Pole Vault Field For Fifth Straight Year
The 2008 NCAA Outdoor Championships marks the fifth straight year in which Minnesota advanced a pole vaulter to the national meet. In fact, in 2008 the Golden Gophers had two in Alicia Rue and Andrea Smith.
Four NCAA Tracksters Collect Academic Honors
Minnesota landed four student-athletes Heather Dorniden, Liz Podominick, Jamie Cheever and Alicia Rue on the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District V Teams as voted upon by the nation’s sports information directors. Dorniden, Podominick and Cheever are First Team honorees and advance to the national ballot for Academic All-America honors. Rue was named to the Second Team.
The Golden Gophers’ impressive total of four awardwinners is the most in the Big Ten Conference, which had 12 student-athletes accorded first or second team honors overall. Minnesota’s three first-team selections matches the number of first teamers from the rest of the Conference combined. The University of Hawaii (Manoa) was the only other school in the nation to collect three first-team honorees and four awardwinners overall.
The four Gophers honored will all compete at next week’s NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Dorniden, a junior majoring in kinesiology with a 3.92 grade point average, will pursue her seventh career All-America honor and her second national title in the 800 meters. Cheever, a junior with a 3.76 GPA in sociology, will compete in the 3,000-meter steeplechase after earning All-America acclaim in cross country last fall. Podominick, a graduate student carrying a 4.0 GPA in sociology, will compete in her fourth career NCAA Outdoor Championships, throwing both the shot put and discus at the national meet this year. Rue, a sophomore with a 3.70 GPA in education and math, will compete for her second career All-America citation in the pole vault.
Cheever Made Outdoor Championships Debut
Jamie Cheever earned an at-large berth to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, her first trip to the outdoor national meet. Cheever has competed in three NCAA Indoor Championships and a pair of NCAA Cross Country Championships. The Gopher junior has twice captured All-America acclaim, in 2006 as a member of the distance medley relay and last fall in cross country.
Kingsley Owns Seven Top Long Jump Marks in School History
Junior Christin Kingsley returned to the NCAA Championships in the long jump in 2008. Kingsley’s career-best leap of 21-0 (6.40m) to place second at the Big Ten Championships marked just the second time a Minnesota long jumper reached the 21-foot milestone. She may not own the school record (Liz Roehrig, 21-1 1/4), but Kingsley does have the distinction on landing seven of the top 10 individual jumps in school history.
Gopher Tracksters Collecting Their Diploma This Spring
In addition to preparing for the championship portion of their season, four Golden Gophers will receive their undergraduate degree in the upcoming week. They are: Gabriele Anderson, KC Helf, Ashley Nord and Julie Schwengler.
Heather Dorniden Earns Prestigious Top Five Award
Heather Dorniden was among the 2008 recipients of the Top Five Award, honoring student-athletes with the highest cumulative grade point averages in the Minnesota Athletics Department.
Heather Dorniden, Women’s Track Earns Top Honors at Golden Goldy’s Banquet
Heather Dorniden was honored as Minnesota’s Female Athlete of the Year at the recent Golden Goldy’s banquet, the student-athletes’ annual end-of-year celebration. The Gopher women’s track & field team was honored with the Female Team Community Service Award.
Dorniden helped both the track and cross-country teams win Big Ten titles during the course of the year. A six-time All-American, Dorniden was named the 2007 NCAA Midwest Region Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year and was also the NCAA runner-up in the 800 meter during the indoor season. Along with her track efforts, Dorniden was an all-region selection in cross-country. Hailing from Inver Grove Heights, Minn., Dorniden is the only two-time winner of a Golden Goldys award. She was named the 2007 Female Rookie of the Year last season. Dorniden won the award over rowing’s Jenny Barnes, basketball’s Emily Fox, hockey’s Gigi Marvin and swimming’s Jillian Tyler.
The Golden Gopher Coaching Staff
Matt Bingle completed his second season as the head coach of the Golden Gopher women’s track & field team and his sixth overall as a member of the Minnesota coaching staff. Bingle was the 2008 Big Ten Indoor Track Coach of the Year, as well as the 2008 USTFCCCA Midwest Region Indoor Track Coach of the Year. Bingle was assisted by two well-respected veterans of the coaching ranks, Gary Wilson and Lynne Anderson.
Big Ten Conference Post-Season Awards
Minnesota juniors Liz Roehrig and Heather Dorniden were named All-Big Ten First Team honorees as the Big Ten Conference Office announced its post-season awards list. The Golden Gophers also landed five athletes on the All-Big Ten Second Team.
Roehrig captured her second career Big Ten heptathlon title, scoring a school-record and Olympic “A” Standard of 5,855 points. The mark is also an automatic qualifier to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in June. Roehrig, a six-time Big Ten multi-event champion, will compete in the long jump and high jump at next week’s NCAA Midwest Region Championships. She is ranked second nationally in the heptathlon and fifth in the high jump.
Dorniden added just her second career Big Ten title to her resume by wining the crown in the 800 meters with a time of 2 minutes, 6.44 seconds. A six-time All-American who won the national indoor title in the 800 meters in 2006, Dorniden has qualified in three events (400m, 800m, 1,500m) for the upcoming NCAA Midwest Region meet. She is expected to compete in the 800 meters.
Athletes who placed second at the Championships were accorded All-Big Ten Second Team honors: Jamie Cheever (3,000m steeplechase), Christin Kingsley (long jump), Liz Podominick (shot put and discus), Ruby Radocaj (javelin) and Caitlin Roemhildt (high jump). Podominick was also honored as the Minnesota recipient of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.
Penn State’s Shana Cox was named the Big Ten Track Athlete of the Year and the Track Athlete of the Championships after winning the 200 and 400 meters and anchoring the champion 4x400-meter relay. Nittany Lion head coach Beth Alford-Sullivan was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year. Purdue javelin specialist Kara Patterson was named the Big Ten Field Event Athlete of the Year and the Field Event Athlete of the Championships. Michigan discus thrower Emily Pendleton was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
Players Mentioned
