University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers to Face Badgers in Dual Meet
1/20/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
| Minnesota vs. Wisconsin Dual | |||||||||||
| Date | Saturday, Jan. 24, 2015 | ||||||||||
| Location | The Shell, Madison, Wis. | ||||||||||
| Meet Info | Meet Info | Schedule | Heat Sheets | ||||||||||
| Time | 11 a.m. Field events | 12 p.m. Running events | ||||||||||
| Coverage | Live Results | @GopherWCCTF | @Badger_Track | ||||||||||
Jan. 20, 2015
MINNEAPOLIS - The Minnesota women's track & field team faces an early road test this weekend when it travels to Madison, Wis., for the Minnesota-Wisconsin Dual on Saturday. The Gophers and Badgers will meet in the inaugural head-to-head Border Battle track & field showdown at 11 a.m. CT at the Camp Randall Memorial Sports Center ("The Shell") on the UW campus.
About the Minnesota-Wisconsin Dual
This weekend's meet marks the first time since 1978 that the Gophers and Badgers will meet in a dual competition in track & field. Admission is free.
Field events begin at 11 a.m. with the women's weight throw, men's pole vault, women's high jump and men's shot put. The first running event is the women's mile at noon. Each event is limited to four individuals from each school, and each program will run one relay team.
Following the men's and women's 4x400m relay, there will be a trophy presented to the winning men's and women's teams.
Last Time Out: Gopher Earn 12 Titles at Minnesota Open
The Gophers won 12 event titles at the season-opening Minnesota Open at the University of Minnesota Fieldhouse last weekend. Freshman Heta Tuuri broke the Minnesota indoor program record in the high jump with a leap of 1.80 meters (5-10.75).
Along with Tuuri's record-breaking debut, fellow freshman Emma Spagnola won the 60-meter hurdles and clocked the second-fastest time ever by a Gopher in her first collegiate race (8.64).
In addition to Spagnola's 60m hurdle title, Minnesota picked up six more event titles on the track, claiming the 200m (Erin Hawkins, 24.84), 600m (Titania Markland, 1:32.60), 800m (Lauren Domski, 2:16.37), mile (Jamie Piepenburg, 5:02.31), 3,000m (Becca Dyson, 9:38.04) and 4x400-meter relay crowns as well.
Minnesota won five titles in the field events. Along with Tuuri's high jump crown, the Gophers won the pole vault (Cami Gilson, 4.05m), triple jump (Kelly Flynn, 10.40m), shot put (Agnes Esser, 13.97m) and weight throw (Devin Stanford, 19.96m).
USTFCCCA Releases Preseason National Poll
The Florida women are the top-ranked team in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Preseason Division I National Team Computer Rankings as of Jan. 6. Following Florida, No. 2 Texas A&M, No. 3 Oregon, No. 4 Georgia and No. 5 Texas round out the top five.
Three Big Ten Conference teams are ranked in the preseason top 25 with No. 14 Maryland, No. 15 Michigan and No. 22 Wisconsin making the list. The Gophers land 59th among 139 women's teams in the complete rankings, which are compiled by mathematical formulae based on national descending order lists and data taken from previous seasons. For the preseason ranking and early-season rankings, data will be taken from previous seasons as well as the current season. The next rankings will be released on Jan. 26.
Performances Rank Among All-Time Top 10
Six Gophers recorded all-time Minnesota top-10 marks at the season-opening Minnesota Open. Freshman Heta Tuuri broke the indoor Minnesota program record in the high jump with a first-place jump of 1.80m. Fellow freshman Emma Spagnola clocked the second-fastest time ever by a Gopher in her first collegiate 60m hurdle race (8.64), just .06 seconds off the Minnesota program record of 8.58 held by Dawn Solberg. Redshirt junior Cami Gilson moved into fifth all-time among Gopher pole vaulters, clearing a personal-best 4.05m.
Three Gophers had record-breaking performances in the weight throw. Devin Stanford moved into second among Gophers all-time with a first-place toss of 19.96m, and Lyndsey Thorpe (19.21m) and Angie Guenther (17.41m) also recorded career-best throws to round out the top three, respectively. Thorpe moved into fifth all-time, and Guenther debuted at eighth in the program's top 10.
Against the Big Ten
Several Gophers rank among the best in the Big Ten Conference so far this season. Becca Dyson's 9:38.04 in the 3,000m is the fastest by a B1G runner in 2015, and Devin Stanford leads the conference in the weight throw at 19.96m. Fellow Gophers Heta Tuuri (third in high jump), Cami Gilson (third in pole vault), Lyndsey Thorpe (fifth in weight throw), Titania Markland (fifth in 600m), Katie Murgic (sixth in pole vault) and Erin Hawkins (seventh in 200m) also rank among the top performers in the Big Ten so far this season.
Seven Gophers to Captain 2015 Squad
Minnesota's captains this season are Alex Beckman, Jess Herauf, Anne Ferguson, Rachel Melum, Nicole Murphey, Devin Stanford and Jessica Waldvogel.
"I'd like to see this group really lead by example," director of women's track & field and cross country Matt Bingle said. "They need to hold their teammates accountable and do what's best for the team 24 hours a day. If we do that, I feel like we're getting good leadership and doing the right things and will be able to deal with the ups and downs of the season."
Bingle on the Minnesota-Wisconsin Dual
Gopher Sports: What do you take away from the Minnesota Open last weekend?
Matt Bingle: We came out healthy, and that was the big goal. I talked to the team about executing and being mentally prepared, and I thought we did that. Those were the big things I took away. We had some good early-season performances, but obviously there's more to be done. It was a good first meet. Everybody took care of business and is in a good spot. A lot of people came out of the meet pretty confident, knowing what they have to do next.
GS: What are you most looking forward to in facing the Badgers?
Bingle: Obviously, Wisconsin is the biggest rival that we have in every sport, whether it's collegiate or professional sports. The rivalry runs deep for many, many people in the state. There's a lot of pride on the line. Since I've been here at the University of Minnesota, I've wanted to have a dual meet with Wisconsin and we agreed upon it this year. It's something that's exciting for the history of the program.
It's obviously something that we want to win. We have a lot of emotion attached to it. It's a fun opportunity to compete. Sometimes in track & field, it's all about a mark or a time, but this is a great opportunity to beat somebody else. The fact that it's Wisconsin makes it run even deeper.
There have been a lot of emails from alumni saying they're excited about the meet. It's important. I told the team yesterday that we're running for the state of Minnesota, and we're running for every alum of our program because they never got the opportunity to do this. Not only are we running for each other, but we're running for a lot of other people. It's exciting. It's fun. There's nothing like running for somebody else.
GS: Why is it important to compete like this early in the season?
Bingle: One of the things that we always work on is becoming competitors. Sometimes it's difficult in collegiate track & field because a lot of meets aren't scored. It makes it more challenging. It's something we try to coach within a practice setting, but there's nothing like in a meet going 'me versus you.' It's like going to war.
The dual will show us where we are as competitors. That's what I want to see right now. Physically, we still have a ways to go before we feel great, but who you are as a competitor is a daily thing. That's what I want to see and what I'm going to evaluate - whether we win or lose, how did we compete?
GS: What are the advantages to traveling early in the season?
Bingle: It's good that it's a short trip. It's an advantage to be on the road and be able to be together, draw the team in closer, especially with such a spirited rivalry. As soon as the meet starts, the whole team will be there. Having everybody there and engaged and involved with it is going to be empowering for our team unity.
On the Horizon: Jack Johnson Classic
Next Friday and Saturday, the Gophers return to the University of Minnesota Fieldhouse to host the Jack Johnson Classic.
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Players Mentioned
