University of Minnesota Athletics
Drake Relays, Sooner Invite Challenge Gophers
4/22/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
Gopher Track This Week:
Drake Relays
Wednesday-Saturday
April 24-25, 2009
Hosted by Drake
Des Moines, Iowa
Sooner Invitational
Saturday
April 25, 2009
Hosted by Oklahoma
Norman, Okla.
Hamline Invitational
Wednesday
April 22, 2009
Hosted by Hamline
St. Paul, Minn.
Drake Relays, Sooner Invite on Tap This Week
The Minnesota women’s track & field team will compete in three meets this week, the Hamline Invitational, the Drake Relays and the Sooner Invitational.
The Hamline Invitational is Wednesday, April 22, in St. Paul. The Gopher throwers and pole vaulters highlight the Gopher contingent competing in this meet.
Minnesota’s talented middle distance/distance corps will travel to Des Moines, Iowa, to compete in the prestigious Drake Relays on Friday-Saturday, April 24-25.
Twenty-two (22) Golden Gophers will travel to Norman, Okla., on Saturday, April 25, to compete in the Sooner Invitational.
100th Drake Relays Draws Big Numbers
The Drake Relays carries the slogan, “America’s Athletic Classic” and in celebrating its 100th season, the Drake Relays will welcome over 7,300 athletes to the famous blue track of Drake Stadium. A total of 53 NCAA Division I schools are expected to compete in the women’s event, while another 54 schools are entered from the college ranks. In addition, athletes from 66 countries are expected to compete in the 2009 Drake Relays.
Sooner Invite Offers a Look Ahead
Minnesota’s athletes competing at the Sooner Invitational will have the chance to get some experience at the University of Oklahoma facility that will play host to the upcoming NCAA Midwest Region Championships in late May.
Gophers Ranked No. 15
The Golden Gophers were ranked No. 15 in the April 15 USTFCCCA National Poll. Texas A&M held down the number-one ranking followed by Oregon and Virginia Tech. Two other Big Ten schools are ranked: Penn State at No. 7 and Michigan at No. 11.The next poll is April 22.
Relay Aims For Three-Peat
The powerful Minnesota middle distance/distance machine has captured five Drake Relay titles in the past three years. The Gophers’ 4x800-meter relay heads into the 2009 Relays having the chance to go for its third consecutive crown. Julie Schwengler, Jamie Cheever and Heather Dorniden ran on the 2007 and 2008 champion 4x800m relays and will be joined by Nikki Swenson to make up the 2009 version. The 4x800m relay competition will be held on Friday evening.
Seniors Cheever and Dorniden Leave a Legacy
Jamie Cheever and Heather Dorniden have won more Drake Relays titles than any other Golden Gopher with four. Dorniden is expected to anchor both the 4x800m and 4x1,600m relays. Cheever will run the 4x800m relay and the 3,000-meter steeplechase.
Could Duwell be Number Six?
Megan Duwell is entered in the Drake Relays 1,500-meter run. As she enjoys a breakout junior season in 2008-09, Duwell has the opportunity to become the sixth Golden Gopher to qualify for the NCAA Midwest Region Championships in the 1,500 meters. Duwell advanced to regionals a year ago in the steeplechase and has already posted a regional qualifying time in the 5,000 meters this season.
Seven Gophers With Regional Qualifying Marks to Compete at Sooner Invite
All-Americans Liz Roehrig and Alicia Rue top the list of Golden Gophers headed to the Sooner Invitational. Roehrig, the nation’s current leader in the heptathlon, is entered in four events: the 200 meters, high jump, long jump and javelin. Rue is tied for seventh in the nation in the pole vault.
Other Gopher regional qualifiers competing are Kari Schmidt (shot put), Amanda Solberg (discus), Samantha Sonnenberg (pole vault), Kelly Stalpes (400-meter hurdles) and Hannah Studt (discus).
Laskowske Runs Second-Fastest Time in Gopher History
Sophomore Amy Laskowske clocked an NCAA provisional qualifier in the 10,000-meter run at the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif. Laskowske finished fifth in a time of 33 minutes, 42.52 seconds, a personal best by over a minute and the second-fastest 10K time in Golden Gopher history.
Gophers Win Seven Titles at Phil Esten Challenge
Freshman Adrienne Thomas won the 200 and 400-meter dashes to pace the Golden Gopher women’s track & field team at the Phil Esten Challenge in Winona. Overall, the Gophers captured seven events titles.
Thomas ran a solid time of 24.87 seconds in her first 200-meters race of the season. She added the win in the 400 meters in 56.54 seconds.
The Gophers swept the top three places in two events, the 1,500 meters and the 400-meter hurdles. Alyson Seigrist led the charge in the 1,500 meters clocking a time of 4:43.86. She was followed by Laura Koch in second with a time of 4:48.17 and Claire Bootsma in third in 4:49.76.
Nicole Carroll topped the field in the 400 hurdles winning with a season-best time of 1:02.75. Sharyn Dahl finished second in 1:03.63 and Anna Johnson was third in 1:03.85.
Other event champions were Megan Smith in the 800 meters in a time of 2:13.78 and Kelly Wilson in the 5,000-meter run in 17:25.
The only field event champion for the Gophers was Nikki Schultz who tied for the title in the high jump with a height of 5-3.
Sprinter Linnea Johnson added a pair of second-place finishes for the Gophers in the 100 meters (12.47) and the 200 meters (25.37).
Minnesota Captures Big Ten Indoor Three-Peat
Minnesota used headliners Heather Dorniden and Alicia Rue and then plenty of depth to capture the 2009 Big Ten Indoor Track & Field Championships title and celebrate their third consecutive Conference crown. Dorniden won individual titles in the 600 meters and mile to pace the Gophers on the track, while Rue defended her pole vault crown to top the field events. Minnesota tallied 129 points to edge runner-up Penn State (125) and third-place Michigan (121.5).
Minnesota Track/Cross Country at its Pinnacle
Minnesota has enjoyed its finest seasons in track and cross country over the last four years. The Gophers have won at least a piece of the Big Ten “triple crown” (cross country, indoor track, outdoor track) in each season. Minnesota won its first Big Ten outdoor track title in 2006 and has won the last three indoor track titles (2007, 2008, 2009) and back-to-back cross country (2007, 2008) crowns as well.
Dorni Pretty Good in the Classroom as Well
Heather Dorniden has collected a lot of honors on the track, but the senior kinesiology major is top notch in the classroom as well. Dorniden carries a 3.9 grade point average and is a two-time recipient of the Minnesota Top-Five Award, honoring student-athletes with the highest cumulative GPAs. She will receive the prestigious 2009 President’s Student Leadership & Service Award in May. Dorniden was an ESPN the Magazine All-America Second Team honoree in 2008.
The Golden Gopher Coaching Staff
Matt Bingle is in his third season as the Golden Gophers head women’s track & field coach and his eighth overall coaching in the Minnesota program. Bingle is a three-time Big Ten Coach of the Year honoree. Bingle heads an extremely experienced coaching staff that includes assistants Gary Wilson (24th season, third as an assistant coach after 21 years as head coach) and Lynne Anderson (29th season).
Players Mentioned
