University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Set to Compete in Iowa Musco Twilight
4/28/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
Gopher Track This Week:
Musco Twilight
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Francis X. Cretzmeyer Track
Hosted by Iowa – Iowa City, Iowa
2 p.m.
Gophers Head to Iowa’s Musco Twilight
The Minnesota women’s track & field team will compete at the Musco Twilight, hosted by the University of Iowa, on Saturday, May 1. Field events begin at 2 p.m., with preliminary races on the track set to start at 3 p.m.
Weather Forces Change in Gopher Schedule
The Golden Gophers made a quick schedule change early this week deciding to travel to the Iowa Musco Twilight instead of dodging inclement wintery weather expected at BYU’s Robinson Invitational in Provo, Utah.
Big Ten Network Airs Musco on Tape Delay
The Big Ten Network will televise the Musco Twilight on a tape-delayed basis, with its debut on Sunday, May 16, at 5 p.m. CT. The production gives BTN the chance to work from the facility that will host the 2011 Big Ten Outdoor Championships.
Tri-State Challenge at Musco Twilight
The Musco Twilight will feature a tri-state challenge between Big Ten rivals: Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Completing the field of teams is Northern Iowa and Drake.
Events to Watch at the Musco
Minnesota will compete a full squad at the Musco, but glaringly absent will be a good share of the Golden Gophers’ top middle distance and distance performers, taking the week off after a highly-successful Drake Relays performance. The Gophers still have plenty of talent to highlight this weekend.
100 meters – Kylie Peterson leads the way for the Gophers and has been lowering her time each time on the track. Her season-best of 11.76 seconds ranks seventh in the Big Ten. Peterson will also run the 200 meters.
400-meter hurdles – Kelly Stalpes ran a career-best time of 59.62 at the Drake Relays last weekend to move up to the No. 4 ranking in the Big Ten.
800 meters – Alena Brooks will run her first career outdoor open 800 meters. Earlier this month the Gopher rookie did run a time of 2:08.97 to earn the silver medal at the 2010 Carifta Games. Joining Brooks in the Musco field is Jamie Dittmar, who is ranked currently ranked third in the Big Ten with a time of 2:08;86. Despite the graduation of perennial 800-meter All-American Heather Dorniden, the Gophers are still loaded in the event. Two Gophers, who are not running this week, are also ranked in the top six of the Big Ten - No. 2 Nikki Swenson and No. 6 Gabriele Anderson.
The pole vault – Senior All-American Alicia Rue has struggled this outdoor season but she still leads a trio of Gophers ranked in the top eight of the Big Ten. Rue is ranked third with a best of 13-7 3/4, followed by junior Samantha Sonnenberg in fourth (13-6 1/4) and sophomore Becca Pilkerton in eighth (12-7 1/2).
The hammer and discus – Sophomore DeAnne Hahn leads the Big Ten in the hammer with a throw of 189-7. Freshman Jessica Cagle is fourth in the discus (167-1) and junior Nikki Tzanakis is sixth (166-8).
Gophers Continue Drake Relays Success
Minnesota continued its dominance of the 4x800-meter relay at the Drake Relays cruising to its fourth consecutive title at “America’s Athletic Classic” in Des Moines, Iowa, on Friday, April 23 The Golden Gopher foursome of Nikki Swenson, Alena Brooks, Jamie Dittmar and Gabriele Anderson captured the victory in a time of 8 minutes, 33.98 seconds over nine seconds faster than runner-up Nebraska. Swenson and Anderson won their third Drake Relays crown in the event.
Minnesota won its second title of the 2010 Drake Relays on Saturday, April 24, defending its title in the4x1,600-meter relay. The Gopher foursome of Nikki Swenson, Elizabeth Yetzer, Megan Duwell and Gabriele Anderson clocked a Drake Relays record time of 18 minutes, 58.82 seconds. The title is Minnesota’s 22nd at the annual relays dubbed, “America’s Athletic Classic.”
Swenson and Anderson were members of the Gophers’ winning 4x800-meter and 4x1,600-meter relays. Anderson finished her Gopher career with five Drake Relays title. Swenson, a junior, has four. Yetzer added her fourth career Drake Relays title as well.
Other Drake Relays Results
Friday, April 23 - The Gopher distance medley relay of Elizabeth Yetzer, Rikita Butler, Brooks and Megan Duwell finished third with a time of 11:19.59. Minnesota’s 4x200-meter relay of Adrienne Thomas, Chioma Omeoga, Kelly Stalpes and Linnea Johnson placed fourth in a school-record time of 1:36.50. The Gophers’ 4x100-meter relay of Chimerem Okoroji, Omeoga, Todea-Kay Willis and Kylie Peterson finished second in their heat with a time of 46.39 seconds, but fell one spot short of qualifying of Saturday’s final.
Junior Samantha Sonnenberg added a second-place finish in the rain-soaked pole vault competition. Weather conditions played havoc with the event. Sonnenberg cleared 13 feet, 1 1/2 inches for second place. The champion, Nebraska’s Natalie Willer managed just 13-5 1/4. Minnesota’s Becca Pilkerton was fifth with a vault of 12-7 1/2, a career best and the seventh-best height in Gopher history.
Saturday, April 24 - Kelly Stalpes competed in the 400-meter hurdles placing eighth with a personal-best time of 59.62 seconds. The time ranks as the fifth fastest in school history. The Gophers’ sprint medley relay of Adrienne Thomas, Rikita Butler, Alena Brooks and Kathryn Ritter placed seventh in a Minnesota-record time of 3:54.99.
Hahn Tops Gophers at Hamline Invitational
Sophomore DeAnne Hahn won the hammer throw with a personal best and added a season-best effort in the shot put to lead the Minnesota women’s track & field team at the Hamline Invitational on Wednesday, April 21. In the hammer, Hahn landed a throw of 189 feet, 7 inches to move up to No. 5 on the Gophers’ all-time top-10 list in the event. Her winning throw in the shot put measured 46-3 1/2.
Alicia Rue led the Gophers to a sweep of the top four places in the pole vault. Rue cleared 12-9 1/2, followed by Samantha Sonnenberg in second at 12-3 1/2 and Becca Pilkerton in third with a leap of 12-3 1/2. Freshman Lyndie Bosshart was fourth with a career-best vault of 11-9 3/4; joining the Gophers’ top 10 at No. 10 with the effort.
The Gophers won two events on the track. Freshman Kayla Wagner ran her first collegiate 5,000 meters and came away with the victory in a time of 17 minutes, 11.58 seconds. Paige Orcutt won the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 11:06.22.
Nikki Schultz added the sixth title for the Gophers winning the javelin with a throw of 98-3.
Kathryn Salvatore, Jaclyn Edmonds and Jessica Cagle notched runner-up finishes for the Gophers. Salvatore was second in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:17.49, while Edmonds took second in the 5,000 meters in 18:30.21. Cagle was second in the discus with a throw of 150-11 and third in the shot put at 41-6.
Duwell Breaks Her Own 5K Record at Sun Angel
Senior Megan Duwell broke her own Minnesota school record in the 5,000-meter run at the Sun Angel Classic on April 10. Duwell placed second overall, the first collegian, clocking a time of 16 minutes, 4.55 seconds, over three seconds faster than her previous record time. Duwell’s time currently ranks 13th in the country.
Alena Brooks Earns Two Silver Medals in Caribbean Games
Minnesota freshman Alena Brooks captured two silver medals representing her homeland of Trinidad & Tobago in the 2010 Carifta Games in George Town, Cayman Islands on April 2-3. Brooks ran a time of 2 minutes, 8.97 seconds to finish second in the 800-meter run. She also anchored the 4x400-meter relay (3:37.32) to a gold medal, making up ground on her leg and nearly catching champion Jamaica at the tape. Brooks also competed in the 400-meter dash, finishing fourth in a time of 54.83 seconds.
Gabe Anderson Granted Sixth Season of Outdoor Track Eligibility
Track/cross country standout Gabriele Anderson was honored with the Richard “Pinky” McNamara Student-Athlete Achievement Award at the recent U of M Scholar-Athlete Awards Ceremony. The award is given to a student-athlete who has inspired all by making an extraordinary effort to succeed despite difficult circumstances, persevering during a time of tremendous adversity and/or overcoming a great challenge.
After helping the Gopher cross country team to back-to-back Big Ten titles, Anderson embarked on her senior track season in 2009 with high expectations. She ran a runner-up finish in the mile helping the Gophers win another Big Ten indoor track team title. Then in April, she was diagnosed with adenoid cystic caranoma (a cancer of the neck). With an uncertain future and knowing of her battle ahead, Anderson decided to run one more race before treatment five days ahead of her. She responded by running a career-best time, the seventh-fastest time in school history, in the 1,500-meter run. Anderson underwent surgery and treatment while her team wore “Gabe” patches on their uniforms. She made a successful petition to the NCAA for a sixth season and will complete her Minnesota track career this outdoor season.
The Golden Gopher Coaching Staff
Matt Bingle is in his fourth 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 (25th season, third as an assistant coach after 21 years as head coach) and Lynne Anderson (30th season).
Players Mentioned
