University of Minnesota Athletics
NCAA Midwest Region Track Updates - Day Two
5/30/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
Welcome to the second day of the 2009 NCAA Midwest Region Track & Field Championships, hosted by the University of Oklahoma. Once again the skies are crystal clear and the temperatures are warming up quickly. Temps are expected to hit 90 today as a gusty wind from the south has picked up.
The goal of every student-athlete competing in the regional meet is to secure an NCAA Championships for the national meet set for June 10-13, in Fayetteville, Ark. The top five finishers at the Midwest Region meet will earn automatic berths into the NCAA field. Nineteen (19) events will be contested for both men and women. The 10,000 meters and the decathlon for the men and heptathlon for the women qualify athletes directly to the NCAA Championships.
11 a.m.
The first event for the Gophers today is the men’s hammer throw. Andy Bastian and Aaron Studt will compete in a large contingent of 30 throwers. Studt enters the event seeded eighth, while Bastian is 10th. Studt has already punched a ticket to the NCAA Championships in the shot put. If you haven't seen the recent Star Tribune article on Aaron, check it out here.
Did you know... Golden Gopher assistant coach Lynden Reder holds the Minnesota record in the hammer throw with a distance of 215-4. He has coached four throwers to NCAA Midwest Region appearances this season.
Up first the Gopher women is DeAnne Hahn in the shot put. That competition begins at 12:15 p.m.
1:37 p.m.
Neither of the Gopher hammer throwers were able to pop a big enough throw to advance to the final. Studt finished 13th with a throw of 184-0, while Andy Bastian landed a throw of 180-1 for 15th. Bastian completes his Golden Gopher career ranked third all-time in the hammer with a throw of 197-5 from the 2007 season. Studt jumped to fourth on the list this season with a throw of 197-0 from the Big Ten meet.
2 p.m.
It’s a dry heat. OK, but it’s still hot here today in Norman. The temp has already risen to 88 so 90 is an easy target today. The athletes, especially those competing in the field events, have tents for shade. The runner warm up in the indoor track facility prior to their races to stay out of the heat as long as possible.
Looking ahead to the action on the track for the Gophers, the women’s 4x100-meter relay will take to the oval at 5 p.m. With three of the four relay members being true freshmen, this type of experience is so valuable for future years. The Gophers will compete among some of the best teams in the nation in today final.
The women’s 1,500 meters is scheduled for 5:20 p.m. The prelims were cancelled yesterday and the entire field was moved into today’s final. Especially in this kind of heat, running just a final is a huge advantage for these runners. Minnesota has two entrants in the race Ladia Albertson-Junkans and Elizabeth Yetzer.
Speaking of the 1,500 meters, the Gophers would like to send a shoot-out to one of their own Gabriele Anderson. Gabe would have been in the thick of things in the 1,500 meters here at the regional meet, before her season was ended in mid-April when she was diagnosed with Adenoid Carcinoma. Thinking about you, Gabe! Check out a great article on Gabe from the Star Tribune.
The Gopher men’s pole vaulters will begin their competition at 3 p.m. The first action on the track for the Gopher men is the 1,500 meters at 5:30 p.m. Ben Blankenship and Andy Richardson are included in the final field.
2:50 p.m.
DeAnne Hahn landed a top throw of 46-9 1/2 in the women’s shot put but did not advance to the final. Word has it that this talented Gopher thrower will switch from a glider shot putter to a spinner over the summer. DeAnne is the younger sister of former Golden Gopher All-American wrestler Damion Hahn.
5:10 p.m.
Liz Roehrig enjoyed a great day in the high jump and placed third, grabbing an NCAA Championships qualifier, clearing a height of 5-11 1/4. That height matches her season high. She had three attempts at the height of 6-0 1/4, which would have bettered her own school record by a quarter on an inch. Texas’ Destinee Hooker won with a height of 6-3 1/4, then attempt three jumps at an NCAA record height of 6-7. Roehrig will have the choice of whether to compete in the open high jump at the NCAA Championships. She is ranked second nationally in the heptathlon and may choose to forego the open high jump competition to concentrate on her specialty.
The Gophers’ 4x100-meter relay bought the baton around the track in a season-best time of 45.40 seconds to finish seventh in the event. The foursome of Chimerem Okoroji, Nyoka Giles, Chioma Omeoga and Adrienne Thomas clocked the third-fastest time in school history.
5:26 p.m.
Elizabeth Yetzer is going to NCAAs! The Gopher sophomore finished second in the 1,500-meter run with a career-best time of 4:24.20 to earn her ticket into the national meet. Yetzer has competed in three NCAA Cross Country Championships. She took the lead in the race with a lap to go but was passed by Texas Tech’s Gladys Kipsang on the backstretch. Yetzer hung with Kipsang the rest of the race, finishing a meter and a half second behind the winner. Ladia Albertson-Junkans competed in the race and posted a time of 4:38.82.
5:45 p.m.
Minnesota will have two runners compete in the 1,500-meter run at the NCAA Championships as Ben Blankenship joined Yetzer in earning automatic qualifiers in the event. Blankenship finished second in the men’s race with a career-best time of 3:45.37. Going into the bell lap, Blankenship and Oklahoma State freshman German Fernandez broke away from the pack. Blankenship dashed to the lead but couldn’t shake Fernandez, who won the NCAA indoor title in the mile earlier this season. Fernandez passed Blankenship with 200 meters to go and went on to win in a time of 3:43.09. Andy Richardson finished the race in 11th place with a time of 3:54.48.
After eight events, the Minnesota men lead in the team standings with 32 points, followed by Nebraska (29) and Texas A&M. Unfortunately for the Gophers, the only event they still have competitors left are the pole vault, discus and 3,000-meter steeplechase.
Are we at Midway?... John Jacobs Field is next to a very busy railroad track. Seemingly every hour you’ll hear the train whistle loudly announcing its arrival. Gopher head coach Steve Plasencia likened the Oklahoma track’s location to that of the St. Paul Saints’ Midway Stadium where trains are a part of the experience as well.
The Gopher women are involved in a tight team battle for third place. Through 11 events, Minnesota has 28.50 points, to Oklahoma’s 26.50, Texas El-Paso’s 26.0, Texas’ 26.0, SMU 25.0 and Nebraska 24.50. Nineteen (19) events are scored at the Midwest Region meet.
6:35 p.m.
Heather Dorniden was denied her third consecutive Midwest Region title in the 800 meters but the Golden Gopher All-American still have what she came to Norman for an automatic berth into the NCAA Championships. Dorniden ran a time of 2:05.70 for second place a tenth of a second behind North Dakota State senior Laura Hermanson (2:05.60). Dorniden took the lead from the opening gun and battled with Hermanson throughout. The talent pair ran most of the last lap shoulder-to-shoulder before Hermanson made a push in the final 100 meters. Nikki Swenson also scored points for the Gophers in the event with a seventh-place finish in a time of 2:11.72.
Did you know... Heather Dorniden’s eight NCAA All-America honors are the most in Golden Gopher women’s track history. She will run in her eighth NCAA Championships (indoor/outdoor) in the event in two weeks.
The results are in from the lengthy pole vault competition, an event that featured two Gophers among the 26 entrants. Joe Plencner and Brock Spandl both cleared 16-7 1/4. Plencner placed eighth taking missed attempts into account. Spandl finished in a tie for 15th.
Did you know... The successful Golden Gopher pole vaulters are coached by husband/wife team of Steve and Caroline White. Steve coaches the men and Caroline the women, and together they have turned the pole vault event into a strength for both teams.
7:35 p.m.
The Gophers had two throwers compete in the men’s discus. Jerry Netland finished 15th with a throw of 169-11, while Trey Davis was 18th with a toss of 159-11.
The last two events for the Gophers are the 3,000-meter steeplechase for both the men and women.
7:50 p.m.
Jamie Cheever ran her final track competition of her Gopher career placing 15th in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 10:59.81. Cheever posted the second-fastest steeplechase time in Gopher history (10:11.33) during the 2008 season. She still has one season of cross country eligibility remaining.
8:04 p.m.
Minnesota’s final competitor of this Midwest Region meet just crossed the finish line. Senior Ben Puhl placed 14th with a time of 9:19.87.
The Gophers will be represented by five women and five men at the NCAA Championships, June 10-13, in Fayetteville, Ark. The women qualified are Liz Roehrig (heptathlon, high jump), Amy Laskowske (10,000 meters), Heather Dorniden (800 meters), Alicia Rue (pole vault) and Elizabeth Yetzer (1,500 meters). The men headed to NCAAs are Hassan Mead (5,000), Ben Blankenship (1,500 meters), Matt Fisher (high jump), Aaron Studt (shot put) and R.J. McGinnis (decathlon).
NCAA Midwest Region Championships team scores will be posted after the 4x400-meter relay is completed.
Players Mentioned
