University of Minnesota Athletics
Gopher Women's Track Third at Big Tens
5/17/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
Minnesota came up short, placing third, in one of the closest team races in Big Ten history at the 2009 Big Ten Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Columbus, Ohio. The Golden Gophers finished with 131.5 points behind Penn State’s 139 points and Michigan’s total of 138.75. The team title was decided in the final event of the meet, the 4x400-meter relay, where the Nittany Lions won to grab the team title.
“We had some very good performances today but unfortunately it wasn’t enough to overcome some of the hits we took in certain other events,” said Minnesota head coach Matt Bingle. “We came close and we will always look back and think we should have won this meet. It certainly wasn’t from lack of heart or effort. We needed a few more breaks and just didn’t get them.
The Gophers’ top finish of the day was turned in by senior Heather Dorniden, who placed second in the 800-meter run, and paced a surge of 23 team points in the event. Nikki Swenson finished third in 2:07.19, while Jamie Dittmar was fourth in 2:07.79. Dorniden also contributed a fifth-place showing in the 1,500-meter run in a time of 4:23.04.
Minnesota scored in eight of the 10 events on the track highlighted by three Gophers tallying points in the 100-meter dash. Freshman Kylie Peterson led the charge by placing third in a time of 11.81 seconds, while Nyoka Giles was sixth in 11.87 seconds and Chioma Omeoga seventh in 11.93 seconds. Giles also scored in the 200 meters finishing seventh in a time of 24.26 seconds.
Rikita Butler added her name the list of regional qualifiers by running a school-record time of 53.88 seconds in the 400 meters to place third. Butler is the 26th individual Gopher to notch a qualifying mark for the NCAA Midwest Region Championships.
The Gophers’ first and second-place tandem from the 10,000-meter run returned to track to compete in the 5,000 meters on Sunday. Laskwoske, the 10K runner-up, finished sixth in the 5,000 meters in a time of 16:25.94. Duwell, the 10,000-meter champion, ran to a courageous seventh-place finish on an injured foot, clocking a time of 16:26.60.
Others scoring in track events for the Gophers were Kelly Stalpes in the 400-meter hurdles in a time of 1:00.87 and Elizabeth Yetzer in the 1,500 meters in 4:26.58. The Gophers’ 4x400-meter relay of Dorniden, Omeoga, Adrienne Thomas and Butler finished fifth in a time of 3:43.37.
The discus was the Gophers’ headlining field event on Sunday as Minnesota collected three scoring performances. Sophomore Nikki Tzanakis led the way with a third-place finish in the discus with a throw of 152-8. Amanda Solberg tallied a fifth-place finish with a throw of 148-4, while Hannah Studt was seventh at 145-7.
Two Gophers placed in the high jump to compete the team scoring. Caitlin Roemhildt finished fifth with a height of 5-8 3/4 and Natalie Devine tied for sixth at 5-7.
The NCAA Midwest Region Championships on May 29-30, in Norman, Okla., is the next competition on Minnesota’s schedule.
“We had some very good performances today but unfortunately it wasn’t enough to overcome some of the hits we took in certain other events,” said Minnesota head coach Matt Bingle. “We came close and we will always look back and think we should have won this meet. It certainly wasn’t from lack of heart or effort. We needed a few more breaks and just didn’t get them.
The Gophers’ top finish of the day was turned in by senior Heather Dorniden, who placed second in the 800-meter run, and paced a surge of 23 team points in the event. Nikki Swenson finished third in 2:07.19, while Jamie Dittmar was fourth in 2:07.79. Dorniden also contributed a fifth-place showing in the 1,500-meter run in a time of 4:23.04.
Minnesota scored in eight of the 10 events on the track highlighted by three Gophers tallying points in the 100-meter dash. Freshman Kylie Peterson led the charge by placing third in a time of 11.81 seconds, while Nyoka Giles was sixth in 11.87 seconds and Chioma Omeoga seventh in 11.93 seconds. Giles also scored in the 200 meters finishing seventh in a time of 24.26 seconds.
Rikita Butler added her name the list of regional qualifiers by running a school-record time of 53.88 seconds in the 400 meters to place third. Butler is the 26th individual Gopher to notch a qualifying mark for the NCAA Midwest Region Championships.
The Gophers’ first and second-place tandem from the 10,000-meter run returned to track to compete in the 5,000 meters on Sunday. Laskwoske, the 10K runner-up, finished sixth in the 5,000 meters in a time of 16:25.94. Duwell, the 10,000-meter champion, ran to a courageous seventh-place finish on an injured foot, clocking a time of 16:26.60.
Others scoring in track events for the Gophers were Kelly Stalpes in the 400-meter hurdles in a time of 1:00.87 and Elizabeth Yetzer in the 1,500 meters in 4:26.58. The Gophers’ 4x400-meter relay of Dorniden, Omeoga, Adrienne Thomas and Butler finished fifth in a time of 3:43.37.
The discus was the Gophers’ headlining field event on Sunday as Minnesota collected three scoring performances. Sophomore Nikki Tzanakis led the way with a third-place finish in the discus with a throw of 152-8. Amanda Solberg tallied a fifth-place finish with a throw of 148-4, while Hannah Studt was seventh at 145-7.
Two Gophers placed in the high jump to compete the team scoring. Caitlin Roemhildt finished fifth with a height of 5-8 3/4 and Natalie Devine tied for sixth at 5-7.
The NCAA Midwest Region Championships on May 29-30, in Norman, Okla., is the next competition on Minnesota’s schedule.
Players Mentioned
SPR
/ Women's Track & Field
HJ
/ Women's Track & Field
MD
/ Women's Track & FieldMD
/ Women's Track & Field
JU/SPR
/ Women's Track & FieldSPR
/ Women's Track & Field
SPR
/ Women's Track & FieldJU
/ Women's Track & FieldTHR
/ Women's Track & Field
JU/SPR
/ Women's Track & FieldTHR
/ Women's Track & Field
DIST
/ Women's Track & Field
JU/SPR
/ Women's Track & Field
THR
/ Women's Track & Field
DIST
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