University of Minnesota Athletics
Rue Sets NCAA Midwest Region Record
5/30/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
Golden Gopher pole vaulter Alicia Rue continued her impressive junior campaign defending her NCAA Midwest Region Championships title with a region championships’ record height of 14 feet, 1 3/4 inches. The 2009 Midwest Region Championships, hosted by the University of Oklahoma, concludes on Saturday.
Rue missed only one attempt before she cleared the winning height and defended her regional crown in the event. The Gopher All-American took three attempts 14-5 1/4, a height that would have matched the nation’s top mark as well as set a new Minnesota record. Rue will make her third NCAA outdoor nationals appearance.
“This regional meet is always a challenge,” said Golden Gopher Matt Bingle. “You have some athletes that continue to step it up, such as Alicia Rue, and others that struggle coming off the Big Ten Championships a couple weeks ago. Our performance today definitely reflects that. We had good things and not so good things happen. All you can do is pick it up tomorrow and see what happens.”
Always a marquee event for the Gopher women the 800 meters found four Minnesota runners vying for a spot in Saturday’s final. Two-time defending Heather Dorniden clocked the fastest time of the prelims, 2:06.77, to easy advance. Nikki Swenson also qualified for the final with a time of 2:08.11 after placing third in her heat. Jamie Dittmar posted a time of 2:10.67, while Julie Schwengler was timed at 2:13.33.
The Gophers’ 4x100-meter relay of Chimerem Okoroji, Nyoka Giles, Chioma Omeoga and Adrienne Thomas qualified for Sunday’s final with a time of 45.86 seconds. The time is the second-fastest relay time this season for the Minnesota foursome. Omeoga is the veteran on the relay, running with three true freshmen.
One of five Minnesota freshmen competing, DeAnne Hahn, was the first Golden Gopher in action competing in the women’s hammer throw. Hahn landed her top throw in her first attempt 165 feet, 7 inches. The effort, however, was not far enough to move on to finals. The Gopher rookie finishes her freshman season ranked sixth on the Gophers’ all-time list in the hammer with a season-best throw of 181-0. Hahn will compete again tomorrow in the shot put.
Christin Kingsley was unable to advance out of the prelims in the long jump. Kingsley’s best jump on the day was 18-10 1/2. Kingsley ends her Gopher career ranked second in school history in the event with a jump of 21-0. She landed that jump at the NCAA regional meet in 2008.
Coming off a school-record performance in the 400 meters at the Big Ten meet, junior Rikita Butler drew a tough lane lane 7 and failed to advance to the final in the event. Butler finished third in her heat with a time of 54.90 seconds.
Senior Laura Massey added a sixth-place finish in the pole vault with a season-best height of 12-10. Samantha Sonnenberg tied for 11th with a height of 12-
Kelly Stalpes ran her second-fastest time of the season, 1:00.43, in the 400-meter hurdles but failed to advance to the final. Stalpes had not run a 400-meter hurdles race until this season.
The Gophers had three throwers in the women’s discus competition but none of the trio managed to advance to the final. Senior Amanda Solberg topped the list of Gophers with a throw of 151-10 for 14th place. Hannah Studt was 17th with an effort of 153-10, while Nikki Tzanakis was 20th at 145-6.
The top five finishers in the 19 events contested at the regional championships advance to the NCAA Championships, hosted by the University of Arkansas on June 10-13.
Rue missed only one attempt before she cleared the winning height and defended her regional crown in the event. The Gopher All-American took three attempts 14-5 1/4, a height that would have matched the nation’s top mark as well as set a new Minnesota record. Rue will make her third NCAA outdoor nationals appearance.
“This regional meet is always a challenge,” said Golden Gopher Matt Bingle. “You have some athletes that continue to step it up, such as Alicia Rue, and others that struggle coming off the Big Ten Championships a couple weeks ago. Our performance today definitely reflects that. We had good things and not so good things happen. All you can do is pick it up tomorrow and see what happens.”
Always a marquee event for the Gopher women the 800 meters found four Minnesota runners vying for a spot in Saturday’s final. Two-time defending Heather Dorniden clocked the fastest time of the prelims, 2:06.77, to easy advance. Nikki Swenson also qualified for the final with a time of 2:08.11 after placing third in her heat. Jamie Dittmar posted a time of 2:10.67, while Julie Schwengler was timed at 2:13.33.
The Gophers’ 4x100-meter relay of Chimerem Okoroji, Nyoka Giles, Chioma Omeoga and Adrienne Thomas qualified for Sunday’s final with a time of 45.86 seconds. The time is the second-fastest relay time this season for the Minnesota foursome. Omeoga is the veteran on the relay, running with three true freshmen.
One of five Minnesota freshmen competing, DeAnne Hahn, was the first Golden Gopher in action competing in the women’s hammer throw. Hahn landed her top throw in her first attempt 165 feet, 7 inches. The effort, however, was not far enough to move on to finals. The Gopher rookie finishes her freshman season ranked sixth on the Gophers’ all-time list in the hammer with a season-best throw of 181-0. Hahn will compete again tomorrow in the shot put.
Christin Kingsley was unable to advance out of the prelims in the long jump. Kingsley’s best jump on the day was 18-10 1/2. Kingsley ends her Gopher career ranked second in school history in the event with a jump of 21-0. She landed that jump at the NCAA regional meet in 2008.
Coming off a school-record performance in the 400 meters at the Big Ten meet, junior Rikita Butler drew a tough lane lane 7 and failed to advance to the final in the event. Butler finished third in her heat with a time of 54.90 seconds.
Senior Laura Massey added a sixth-place finish in the pole vault with a season-best height of 12-10. Samantha Sonnenberg tied for 11th with a height of 12-
Kelly Stalpes ran her second-fastest time of the season, 1:00.43, in the 400-meter hurdles but failed to advance to the final. Stalpes had not run a 400-meter hurdles race until this season.
The Gophers had three throwers in the women’s discus competition but none of the trio managed to advance to the final. Senior Amanda Solberg topped the list of Gophers with a throw of 151-10 for 14th place. Hannah Studt was 17th with an effort of 153-10, while Nikki Tzanakis was 20th at 145-6.
The top five finishers in the 19 events contested at the regional championships advance to the NCAA Championships, hosted by the University of Arkansas on June 10-13.
Players Mentioned
SPR
/ Women's Track & Field
MD
/ Women's Track & FieldMD
/ Women's Track & Field
JU/SPR
/ Women's Track & Field
THR
/ Women's Track & FieldJU/SPR
/ Women's Track & FieldPV
/ Women's Track & Field
JU/SPR
/ Women's Track & FieldSPR
/ Women's Track & FieldPV
/ Women's Track & FieldMD
/ Women's Track & FieldTHR
/ Women's Track & Field
PV
/ 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 & FieldDyandra Gray | 2025 All-American
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