University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Poised for NCAA Championship
11/18/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
| 2014 NCAA Championships | |||||||||||
| Date | Saturday, Nov. 22, 2014 | ||||||||||
| Location | LaVern Gibson Cross Country Course | Terre Haute, Ind. | ||||||||||
| Tickets | $10 | Cash only | ||||||||||
| Distance | Women: 6K, 11 a.m. CT | Men: 10K, 12 p.m. CT | ||||||||||
| Coverage | Meet Central | Live Video | USTFCCCA Meet Central | ||||||||||
Nov. 18, 2014
MINNEAPOLIS - The No. 20 Golden Gopher women's cross country team is set to make its 10th-straight NCAA championship appearance at the 2014 NCAA Championships hosted by Indiana State this Saturday. The women's 6K race begins at 11 a.m. CT with the men's 10K to follow at approximately 12:15 CT in Terre Haute, Ind.
Minnesota is one of five teams to qualify for the last 10-straight NCAA championships; Stanford leads the nation with 22 consecutive appearances while Michigan State (14), Michigan (13), Georgetown (10) and Minnesota (10) all have double-digit streaks going as well.
2013 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP REWIND
Minnesota concluded the 2013 season with a 20th place team finish at the 2013 NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, Ind. All seven Gopher runners finished in the top 180 in a field of more than 250 of the nation's top collegiate runners. Led by Laura Docherty in 61st place, the top five Gophers were in the top 135 overall. Docherty earned the first top-100 NCAA finish of her cross country career to lead the Gophers in 20:58.2. Providence took home the 2013 team title with a total of 141 points, followed by Arizona (197 points) and Butler (200 points) to round out the top three.
ABOUT THE 2014 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP
This year marks the 11th time the nation's top 31 teams will compete for a national title in Terre Haute, Ind. Indiana State will host the championships on Nov. 22, on the LaVern Gibson National Championship Cross Country Course at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center. The women's 6K race will begin at 11 a.m CT with the men's 10K to follow at approximately 12:15 p.m. CT.
The nation's top 31 teams will participate in the men's and women's championships. The top two teams from each region automatically qualified for the national meet, and 13 additional teams and 38 individuals were chosen through an at-large selection process following the regional competition. All individual qualifiers finished in the top 25 in their region.
The automatic qualifying teams for the 2014 NCAA Championship are Arkansas, Baylor, Boise State, Colorado, Florida State, Georgetown, Iona, Iowa State, Michigan State, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon, Providence, Vanderbilt, Virginia, West Virginia, William & Mary and Wisconsin. The following teams received at-large selections: Boston College, Dartmouth, Michigan, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Stanford, Syracuse, Toledo, UCLA, Virginia Tech and Washington.
LAST TIME OUT: GOPHERS TAKE SECOND AT MIDWEST REGIONAL
Behind top-10 finishes from Liz Berkholtz (sixth) and Kaila Urick (eighth), the Gophers earned a runner-up team finish at the Midwest Regional and secured their 10th-straight NCAA Championship berth. Berkholtz (20:16.9) and Urick (20:25.9) each clocked career-best 6K times en route to their top-10 finishes.
Becca Dyson was the third Gopher finisher, earning her second-straight top-20 finish in 17th place (20:43.8). Rounding out Minnesota's scoring finishes were Danielle Anderson in 24th in a career-best 20:53.4 and Haley Johnson in 70th (21:28.7). The Gophers scored 125 points to secure their runner-up showing behind regional favorite Iowa State (66 points) and ahead of third-place Bradley (175) and fourth-place Tulsa (180).
MINNESOTA AGAINST NCAA FIELD
Minnesota has faced 25 of the other 30 teams competing at the NCAA championship this year, including beating UCLA at the BYU Autumn Classic, beating Vanderbilt at the Roy Griak Invitational, and beating Boise State, Toledo, Dartmouth, UCLA, Boston College, William & Mary, Iona, Providence and Notre Dame at the Wisconsin adidas Invitational.
USTFCCCA RANKINGS: GOPHERS MAINTAIN NO. 20 SPOT
The Golden Gophers have maintained their No. 20 ranking in this week's USTFCCCA NCAA Division I National Coaches' Poll (Nov. 17). Following regional championship action, No. 1 Michigan State, No. 2 Georgetown, No. 3 Oregon, No. 4 Arkansas, and No. 5 Iowa State make up the top five.
BALANCE OF VETERANS, ROOKIES MAKE UP NCAA ROSTER
Minnesota's travel roster for the NCAA postseason includes five veterans returning to the national stage and five Gophers making their NCAA debuts. Ashlie Decker (2012, 2011, 2010), Liz Berkholtz (2013, 2012), Becca Dyson (2013, 2012-Alt.), Jamie Piepenburg (2012-Alt.) and Kaila Urick (2013-Alt.) lead the way for the Gophers, while Danielle Anderson, Kate Bucknam, Haley Johnson, Bailey Ness and Madeline Strandemo are set to represent the Maroon & Gold at the NCAA Midwest Regional for the first time in their careers. Decker was the Gophers' second runner at the 2011 and 2010 NCAA Championships.
CAREER-BEST PERFORMANCES
Twenty-one Gophers have recorded career-best 6K times this season, including eight of Minnesota's 10 postseason runners: Danielle Anderson (20:53.3), Liz Berkholtz (20:16.8), Kate Bucknam (21:38.7), Becca Dyson (20:37.5), Haley Johnson (21:14.6), Bailey Ness (21:40), Madeline Strandemo (22:10.1) and Kaila Urick (20:25.8).
MINNESOTA AT THE NATIONAL MEET
The Gophers are making their 10th-straight and 18th overall appearance at the NCAA championships. Minnesota's highest team finish at the NCAA championships came in 2005 when the Gophers finished ninth. All-Americans Ladia Albertson-Junkans and Emily Brown led Minnesota's efforts. The ninth-place showing was the first of five-straight top-12 finishes. Minnesota's most recent All-American is Stephanie Price, who finished 31st in 2010. The Gophers' all-time highest individual finisher at the NCAA championships is Megan Duwell, who took eighth overall in 2009.
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Players Mentioned
