University of Minnesota Athletics
Gopher Women's Track at Big Tens This Weekend
2/25/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
Big Ten Indoor Track & Field Championships
Saturday-Sunday
Feb. 26-27, 2010
Hosted by Purdue
Lambert Fieldhouse
West Lafayette, Ind.
The Big Ten Championships
The Minnesota women’s track & field team travels to West Lafayette, Ind., this weekend, Feb. 26-27, to compete in the 2011 Big Ten Women’s Indoor Track & Field Championships. Purdue hosts this year’s championships at Lambert Fieldhouse. Action gets underway on Saturday at 8 a.m. CT, with the running of the 60-meter hurdles to kick off the pentathlon competition. A full slate of championship events begins Sunday at 11:30 a.m. CT.
BTN Televises Big Ten Indoor Track Championships
The Big Ten Network will televise a one-hour highlight special of the Big Ten Women’s Indoor Track & Field Championships on Saturday, March 1 at 3 p.m. CT.
Gophers Hope to Find New Scoring
Minnesota will need some new sources of scoring if the Gophers have hopes of contending for the Big Ten team title. The Gophers have only 32 points returning from the fourth-place 82 points (39 percent) scored a year ago.
Runners-Up Chasing Gold This Time
Minnesota has three athletes - Alena Brooks, Nikki Swenson and Samantha Sonnenberg - who captured runner-up finishes in events last season and look chase the gold medal this time around.
Brooks finished second in the 600 meters as a true freshman last year. She will attempt a difficult double this season competing in both the 400 and 600. Brooks is seeded second in the 600 (1:29.83) and fourth in the 400 (54.51).
Swenson could be a contender at either of the 800 meters or mile distances. She will just compete in the mile, where she owns the top time in the Big Ten this season at 4:39.86. Swenson, an NCAA all-region honoree in cross country, will likely also run on the Gophers’ distance medley relay.
Sonnenberg is seeded No. 1 in the pole vault with a height of 13-11 1/4. She was the second place finisher of a Gopher 1-2 finish (Alicia Rue) the last two seasons.
Long Jump Looms Big
The long jump is an event final on the first day that could provide the Gophers with a lot of momentum in the Championships. Minnesota has two of the top five seeded jumpers, including 2010 outdoor long jump champion Todea-Kay Willis. Willis is seeded second coming into the meet with a leap of 20-1, one of just two Conference jumpers with marks over 20 feet this season. She placed fifth in the indoor long jump a year ago. Another Gopher with the talent to contend for the title is Adrienne Thomas. Thomas, a junior, is seeded fifth with a leap of 19-9.
Sam’s Time to Shine
Samantha Sonnenberg has spent the first three years of her career in the shadow of three-time Big Ten indoor pole vault champion Alicia Rue. Last year, however, it was Sonnenberg who earned All-America honors. And, in 2011, it is Sonnenberg who is the Gophers’ top vaulter.
Sonnenberg has a season-best vault of 13-11 1/4 this season, tops in the Big Ten and ninth in the nation.
What hasn’t changed is the Gophers boasting a solid 1-2 punch in the event. Sonnenberg now teams with Becca Pilkerton. A junior, Pilkerton is seeded second in the Big Ten with a height of 13-7 1/4.
Cross Country’s Youthful Talent Takes to the Track
Minnesota’s cross country team that advanced to the NCAA Championships last fall featured Stephanie Price and Missa Varpness as the Gophers’ top two runners. Price, a sophomore on the track, earned All-America honors last fall and placed second in the Big Ten. Varpness, a redshirt freshman, was an all-region cross country honoree. Look for these Gophers to pace the Minnesota distance crew on the track.
Events to Watch for the Gophers
Minnesota needs to score big points in these events to contend for the defense of its Big Ten title.
The pole vault: The Gophers have scored 18 points in this event with first and second-place finishes the last two season and have had the Big Ten champion in the last three. Samantha Sonnenberg and Becca Pilkerton are seeded 1-2 in the Big Ten coming into.
The long jump. Todea-Kay Willis won the title and Adrienne Thomas added a fourth-place finish at last spring’s outdoor Championships giving the Gophers’ its strongest jumps tandem in several years, perhaps ever.
The long sprints. Sophomore Alena Brooks has blossomed into a fine long sprinter for the Gophers. She could score well in both the 400 and 600. Brooks was the 600 runner-up a year ago.
The mile. The Gophers have two veterans who need to step and have great Big Ten meets in Nikki Swenson and fifth-year senior Elizabeth Yetzer. Swenson is the top seed in the Big Ten with a time of 4:39.86, while Yetzer is ranked third with a time of 4:41.03. Both could very well run legs of the distance medley relay as well.
Keep Track of These Gophers Too
Watch for these Golden Gophers to make an impact for Minnesota this weekend. Junior Chimerem Okoroji has enjoyed her best indoor season of her Gopher career. She is ranked fifth in the 60 meters with a time of 7.46 seconds. Nyoka Giles was the Gophers’ freshman sensation in 2009 as a freshman but struggled with injury in 2010. She scored in both the 60 and 200 meters as a rookie.
The Golden Gopher Coaching Staff
Matt Bingle is in his fifth season as the Golden Gophers head women’s track & field coach and his ninth 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 (26th season, third as an assistant coach after 21 years as head coach) and Lynne Anderson (31st season).
Players Mentioned
