University of Minnesota Athletics
Gopher Throwers Set for 2015 Campaign
12/23/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
MINNEAPOLIS - Golden Gophers women's track & field throwing coach Peter Miller is excited to kick off the spring 2015 season with a talented and deep group of returning and new throwers.
Minnesota returns all of its throwers from the 2014 season, including five who competed at the NCAA West Prelim a year ago. The young group is led by captains Rachel Melum and Devin Stanford, a 2014 All-American in the hammer throw, and fellow senior Megan Petermann. Juniors Lyndsey Thorpe and transfer Ke-ke Burks round out the upperclassmen.
Sophomores Kailee Kamps, Angie Guenther and Nicolle Murphy join Stanford and Thorpe as returning NCAA West Prelim competitors from last season.
"I think our group is super talented, despite being fairly young," Miller said. "There is still a lot of development that needs to happen, but I think we have one of the deepest, and hopefully most talented, groups in the NCAA."
A deep roster is certainly not a problem, and the depth will force this year's Gophers to compete for positions on the team's travel roster. The group did not graduate anyone from the 2014 throws group, and all 12 Gopher throwers are coming off a strong fall season of training.
"Everybody is making progress, and the challenge with our roster is that we are pretty deep," Miller said. "We only get to take four people to the Big Ten meet. I don't know that our roster will look a whole lot different than last year, but there are definitely some people fighting for their chance."
Miller expects the upperclassmen to lead the throws group but also hopes the younger student-athletes can build on progress made last season and have breakout performances this year.
"I think Devin has been a great vocal leader and a great leader by example," Miller said. "I don't think there is a ton of pressure on her because she is enjoying it so much. She has expectations, obviously, but she loves her teammates, training and throwing.
"Rachel Melum is ready to have a big breakthrough year in the javelin after being ninth in the Big Ten last year."
Miller expects Burks, a transfer from North Dakota, to be in the mix to battle for a chance to compete at the Big Ten meet this year as well. Guenther finished 10th in the discus and 11th in the hammer throw at Big Tens last year, and Miller feels she is ready to place much higher this year. He also expects that Kamps and Murphy will contribute even more this season.
"There's a ton of young talent on our roster," Miller continued. "Nicolle Murphy had a great freshman year, and we think she can build off that this year. Agnes Esser is a true freshmen who was ninth in qualifying at the world under-20 championships in the discus."
Across all of the throwing events, the Gophers' deep roster will decrease pressure and provide support.
"We know if one person has a bad event, there are three more people there to step up, have a good event and make up for it," Miller said. "I don't think there should be pressure on anybody. I think we have a chance to be a really good team, but we're only going to get there if people are having fun and doing what they need to do."
The Gophers' main team goal is to score in every throwing event at the Big Ten championships this year, beginning with the weight throw and the shot put indoors.
Miller expects the weight throw to be a huge event for the Gophers, noting that big throws can build momentum and change the atmosphere at indoor meets.He explained that the team's shot put throwers are still relatively young but still hopes to have people competing for finals spots in both events at the Big Ten meet.
Looking ahead to the outdoor season, Miller feels that the team is again stronger in the longer throws. Last year, the Gopher throwers scored five points at the indoor B1G meet and posted 24 points at the outdoor championship.
Miller predicts that the discus and hammer throw will be the Gophers' deepest events this year, led by Stanford as the top returner in both events. There have been three 60-meter hammer throwers in program history, including Stanford, and Miller thinks that Minnesota could have four on the roster this year.
In the javelin, the Gophers return Jess Herauf along with Murphy and Melum. Murphy was the Big Ten runner-up as a freshman last season, and Herauf took seventh followed by Melum in ninth. Meanwhile, Kamps will lead a young Gopher corps in the shot put.
"Last year we were the underdogs going into the year," Miller said. "Throughout the season, everyone worked hard and performed well at the right time. Now other schools are going to expect us to be there. I'm excited about that."
The Gophers still have over three weeks until hosting the season-opening Minnesota Open at the University of Minnesota Fieldhouse on Saturday, Jan. 17, but Miller was impressed by what he saw from the throwers at the team's annual intrasquad meet, including a lifetime-best mark by Thorpe in the weight throw.
"It's been a pretty great fall," Miller said. "To compete as well as they did at the intrasquad was pretty awesome. We had some great performances, and I'm excited to see what that means come the end of February and the middle of May.
"It's a super exciting time. I could mention every name and how excited I am about where they are at. I'm just excited to see what we can do as a team. I think our throws group is very special this year."
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