University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Add 15 Recruits
12/10/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
Dec. 10, 2015
MINNEAPOLIS – The University of Minnesota women’s track & field and cross country program is pleased to announce the addition of 15 student-athletes who will compete for the Golden Gophers. The group includes four sprinters, six distance runners, three multi-event athletes, one thrower, and one hurdler.
Hannah Arason, Meleah Biermaier, Jenna Conzemius, Carissa Dock, Delaney Eigenberger, Alyssa Faucett, Maddie Gourley, Lindsey Greenlund, Bethany Hasz, Megan Hasz, Brieasha Hunter, Natalie Manders, Elyse Prescott, and Ashley Ramacher will join the Gophers as freshmen for the 2016-17 season.
Meanwhile, Sofie Albrechtsen has also signed with the team and will join the Gophers to compete in the multi-events as a freshman in January 2016.
The group of new Gophers includes 10 local Minnesota athletes.
“We’re very excited about the new additions to our program and especially pleased to have signed the Minnesota talent that wanted to be here and represent their home state and the University of Minnesota,” director of women’s track & field and cross country Matt Bingle said. “The goal is always to keep athletes from Minnesota here, and I feel like we did a good job of that with this class.
“We feel like we’re putting together good class after good class. We’re building for the future while simultaneously building for immediate success. We’re really excited about the future of the program.”
Sofie Albrechtsen, Esbjerg, Denmark (Marselisborg Gymnasium)
Sofie Albrechtsen joins the Gophers from Esbjerg, Denmark. Albrechtsen is a standout high-jumper and multi-event competitor. She represented Denmark at the 2011 7th IAAF World Youth Championships, placing 25th with 4,576 points in the heptathlon.
Matt Bingle on Albrechtsen: “Sofie has scored over 5,200 in the heptathlon. She’s high jumped over 5-8 a couple times. We’re excited that she’s coming in January. She’ll help us bridge that gap with the four multis graduating this year. She’ll be a true freshman. She has a great personality and is a great fit for what we’re trying to do currently and long term with that group. We think she has a high ceiling. We’re really excited to have her here.”
Hannah Arason, Grand Forks, N.D. (Red River HS)
Hannah Arason joins the Gophers from Red River High School in Grand Forks, N.D. Arason will bolster Minnesota’s multi-event corps along with specializing in the javelin. She placed third in the javelin and tied for seventh in the high jump at the 2015 North Dakota Class A state meet as a junior after battling injuries throughout the season. As a sophomore in 2014, Arason was the North Dakota Class A state champion in both the high jump (5-3) and javelin (139-8), and she won the javelin state title (139-03) as a freshman as well. Arason placed 16th in the javelin at the 2013 USA Junior Outdoor Track & Field Championships as well. A three-sport athlete for the Roughriders, Arason is also a standout basketball and volleyball player.
Peter Miller on Arason: “I’ve known Hannah for a long time. She won state as a freshman when I was still coaching at UND. She competed at the US junior meet that summer as a 14-year-old, which is just crazy. I’ve seen her compete a bunch of times. She’s a great athlete who is hopefully going to help us in a lot of areas. Looking at the multis and then she’s going to be a javelin thrower for us immediately. She has a great range, and we’re excited to see what she can do when she gets into track & field all year around.”
Meleah Biermaier, Thief River Falls, Minn. (Thief River Falls HS)
Meleah Biermaier joins Minnesota as the all-time MSHSL record-holder in the 300-meter hurdles. A Thief River Fall, Minn., native, Biermaier was the 2015 Minnesota Class AA state champion with a record-breaking time of 42.13 seconds, breaking the Class AA record she set in the preliminary race at 42.87. Entering her senior season, Biermaier owns four top-two state finishes in the 300m hurdles, winning the event as an eighth grader in 43.48 in 2012 and finishing as state runner-up as both a freshman and sophomore before regaining the title as a junior. Biermaier is also a four-time state meet qualifier in the 100-meter hurdles, placing sixth as a sophomore, 10th as a junior and an eighth grader, and 13th as a freshman. A three-sport athlete for the Prowlers, Biermaier is a standout volleyball and basketball player as well.
Bingle on Biermaier: “We’re excited about Meleah’s future as a Gopher. She ran the 400-meter hurdles once last summer and went 60-point in the first time she ever ran it. We’re excited about her potential there. She could compete at the college level in volleyball and basketball, too. We’re looking forward to getting her into our system. She’s going to have a great group to train with, so we’re excited about her ability to keep developing.”
Jenna Conzemius, Hastings, Minn. (Cretin-Derham Hall)
Jenna Conzemius joins the Gophers from Cretin-Derham Hall. As a junior, she ran on Cretin-Derham Hall’s eighth-place 4x400m relay team at the 2015 Minnesota Class AA State Championship with fellow incoming Gopher Brieasha Hunter. She has run the 300m hurdles, 400m, and 800m on the track. Conzemius was also a member of the Raiders’ soccer team where she played forward.
Bingle on Conzemius: “We’re intrigued about Jenna’s development. She’ll have a chance to continue improving while training with a great group. She’s just getting to the point where she’s getting excited about the sport. She was a soccer player, and she’s run 58.0 in the 400m and 2:17 in the 800m. She fits the mold of our program and is a hard-worker with a good attitude. We’re looking forward to seeing what she can do.”
Carissa Dock, Waconia, Minn. (Waconia HS)
Carissa Dock joins the Gophers from Waconia High School in Waconia, Minn. Dock placed 15th in the 800m in the 2015 Minnesota Class AA State Championship as a junior, running 2:18.07. She also competed and trained with Track Minnesota Elite. At the 2015 USATF National Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships in Jacksonville, Fla., Dock placed seventh in the women age 17-18 800m run with a time of 2:18.56.
Sarah Hopkins on Dock: “Carissa is more of an 800-meter runner, but she’s kind of untapped. She started running with a track club last summer and set a PR of 2:16 after running around 2:20 during the high school season. I think that has helped her development. She’s pretty undeveloped in cross country to this point, but she’ll be more of a middle-distance kid for us, starting off with our 800m group. I think she has the potential to run really well in cross country. She’s a solid Minnesota runner who’s staying home, and we’re excited to see what she’s capable of once she gets in a good training group. She has a good foundation, so it’s just a matter of seeing where we can go.”
Delaney Eigenberger, Madison, Wis. (Madison Memorial HS)
Delaney Eigenberger joins the Gophers as a distance runner from Madison Memorial High School in Madison, Wis. Eigenberger finished 32nd at the 2015 WIAA Cross Country Division 1 State Championship to lead Madison Memorial to a 12th-place team finish. As a junior, Eigenberger led the Spartans to their first cross country state championship appearance since 2003 with a first-place individual finish at the 2014 WIAA Division 1 Sectional Championship. She went on to lead Madision Memorial at the state meet, placing sixth overall in 18:34.08. On the track, Eigenberger placed fourth in the 3,200-meter run at the 2015 WIAA Division 1 Sectional Championship.
Hopkins on Eigenberger: “Delaney placed sixth at the Wisconsin state cross country meet as a junior. She’s had a little bit of injury history, so we’re going to work through that and get her healthy. I think she has a huge upside because she really only started running cross country as a junior and is pretty under-trained in a lot of ways. She has always been on a good team and really has that team mentality. Getting her a few more miles and a few years under her belt, I think long term she’ll be a really solid runner for us both in cross country and on the track.”
Alyssa Faucett, Wausau, Wis. (Wausau West HS)
Alyssa Faucett joins the Gophers as a nine-time state-qualifying sprinter from Wausau, Wis., and Wausau West High School. Faucett placed fourth in the 200-meter dash (25.47) and fifth in the long jump (18-00.50) along with placing 12th in the 4x200m relay and 19th in the 4x100m relay at the 2015 WIAA Track & Field Division 1 State Championship as a junior. As a sophomore, Faucett was a member of Wausau West’s fourth-place 4x200m relay and sixth-place 4x100m relay teams at the state championship along with finishing 14th in the 200m dash and 20th in long jump at the state meet. She led off the Warriors’ fifth-place 4x200m relay team as a freshman as well.
Bingle on Faucett: “We’re happy to have Alyssa joining the program. She really wanted to be here, and we loved her enthusiasm. She has good speed, and we’re excited about her potential. She is from the same high school as Jessica Waldvogel, and we know the success Jess had as a Gopher. Alyssa has also long jumped over 18 feet quite a few times.”
Maddie Gourley, Eagan, Minn. (Eagan HS)
Maddie Gourley joins the Gophers as a sprinter from Eagan High School. Gourley finished third in the 200m dash (25.55) and ninth in the 400m dash (59.66) along with anchoring Eagan’s state runner-up 4x400m relay team at the 2015 Minnesota Class AA State Championship as a junior. She also ran all three sprint events at the state meet as a freshman, placing third in the 200m dash (25.26), eighth in the 100m (12.74) and ninth in the 400m (58.39) in 2013.
Bingle on Gourley: “Maddie has run 56 flat in the 400m. She is really excited about becoming a Gopher, and we’re thrilled she decided to come to the U. She and Alyssa Faucett will fit in well together with our current sprints group and add some great depth there.”
Lindsey Greenlund, Rochester, Minn. (Rochester Mayo HS)
Lindsey Greenlund joins the Gophers as a mid-distance runner from Rochester, Minn. A two-time state meet participant, Greenlund took 17th in the 800m run at the 2015 Minnesota Class AA State Championship as a junior after placing 19th in the 800m as a sophomore. She was also a standout soccer player at Rochester Mayo, leading the Spartans to an 8-4-4 overall record and a number two seed in the Section 1AA tournament as a senior in 2015.
Hopkins on Greenlund: “Lindsey is a mid-distance runner who played soccer all through high school. She’s never run cross country, but we’ve had some pretty good luck with kids like that with a soccer background. She doesn’t have a lot of distance running experience, but she is athletic and tough. She has a great personality, and she’s very, very smart. I think she has a really fun up-side here once she starts focusing on track and cross country full time versus splitting her attention with soccer. She’s a great leader, and I could see her being a captain for us down the road.”
Bethany Hasz, Alexandria, Minn. (Alexandria HS)
Bethany Hasz comes to the University of Minnesota as a two-time state champion both in cross country and on the track. She won the 2015 Minnesota Class AA State Cross Country title in 17:32.2 for 5K, leading Alexandria to a ninth-place team finish. As a junior in 2014, Bethany Hasz finished second behind her twin sister Megan Hasz, clocking 13:44.4 for 4K. Bethany Hasz was the 2013 state champion as well with a winning time of 13:53.1 for 4K. She is a four-time Nike Cross Nationals participant, including top-15 finishes each of the last three years. She placed fifth in 2015 in 17:17.1, improving on her ninth place finish as a junior and 13th-place showing as a sophomore. On the track. Bethany Hasz was the 2015 Minnesota Class AA state champion in both the 1,600m run in 4:47.57 and the 3,200m run in 10:26.40 as a junior after taking third in both events as a sophomore in 2014.
Hopkins on Bethany Hasz: “Bethany is probably one of the best distance runners ever to come out of the state of Minnesota. She’s not only one of the best in the state, but one of the best in the country. She’s run at a high level and has some great national experience in some big fields and understands how to race from the front but also within a pack. We’re super excited to have her and her twin sister Megan. They’re both great students and going to be awesome here at the U, not just athletically but academically as well.”
Megan Hasz, Alexandria, Minn. (Alexandria HS)
Megan Hasz joins the Gophers from Alexandria, Minn. Most recently, she placed second at the 2015 Minnesota Class AA State Cross Country Championship in 17:38.9 for 5K, second to her twin sister Bethany Hasz and helping Alexandria to a ninth-place team finish. She won the 2014 state title in 13:40.9 for 4K. Megan Hasz was the state runner-up as a sophomore in 2013, finishing in 14:13.9 for 4K, as well. In 2014, she finished fifth at Nike Cross Nationals in 17:40. On the track, she battled injuries during the 2015 track & field season but was the Minnesota Class AA state runner-up in the 1,600m run (4:53.36) and took fourth in the 3,200m run (10:32.75) as a sophomore in 2014. Megan Hasz also placed 11th in the 3,200m run as a freshman.
Hopkins on Megan Hasz: “Megan is very, very talented, one of the best distance runners we’ve ever had coming out of high school. She and her twin sister Bethany have run side by side and kind of switched back and forth some. They’re built in training partners for each other, and it’ll be fun to get them within a team that can push them. The two of them have shown that the sky is the limit for where their talent level can take them. We’re thrilled they decided to stay in state and be two of the top talents we’ve ever had.”
Brieasha Hunter, St. Paul, Minn. (Cretin-Derham Hall)
A two-time state champion and nine-time state meet qualifier on the track, Brieasha Hunter joins the Gophers from Cretin-Derham Hall. Hunter placed fourth in the 100m dash and fifth in the 400m dash along with anchoring Cretin-Derham Hall’s eighth-place 4x400m relay team as a junior at the 2015 Minnesota Class AA State Championship. A year earlier, she won state titles in the 100m dash (12.28) and 400m dash (55.12) and finished as runner-up in the 200m dash (24.82) at the 2014 state meet as a sophomore. She also placed third in the 400m, ninth in the 200m, and 16th in the 100m as a freshman.
Bingle on Hunter: “Brieasha is another standout sprinter who has been one of the best sprinters in the state of Minnesota over the last few years. She has great range and can run the 100m, the 200m, and the 400m. We’re excited about that. She fits in nicely and fills a need of our program.”
Natalie Manders, Apple Valley, Minn. (Eastview HS)
Natalie Manders joins the Gophers from Eastview High School. The 2015 Minnesota Class AA state champion in the discus (153-03), Manders is a six-time state meet qualifier entering her senior season. Along with her discus crown, she placed sixth in the shot put (41-10.50) at the state meet as a junior. Manders was the state runner-up in the discus and placed 10th in the shot put as a sophomore in 2014. She took fourth in the discus and 16th in the shot put as a freshman as well.
Miller on Manders: “Natalie is a very talented young woman who comes from a great family. Her dad was a great thrower; he was the Division III national record-holder in both the shot and the disc. He was an Olympic Trials qualifier in the 1980s, and he’s trained with Lynne Anderson. Natalie has great genes, but she’s also a great kid and a great competitor. She was passed in the last round of the state meet last year but came back and won on her very last throw, which was super impressive. She has the second best discus PR in the history of Minnesota. She ranked sixth in the world for under-18s last year. We’re super excited to add her into the mix and keep one of the best throwers in Minnesota history home.”
Elyse Prescott, Urbandale, Iowa (Urbandale HS)
Elyse Prescott joins the Gophers from Urbandale High School in Urbandale, Iowa. A four-year letterwinner in cross country, Prescott earned back-to-back top-five finishes at the Iowa Class 4A State Championship, finishing fourth as a senior and fifth as a junior in 2014. She led Urbandale to the 2015 IHSAA Girls Cross Country Class 4A State Championship team title, the school’s first in girls cross country. On the track, Prescott is a three-year letterwinner, entering her senior season after finishing 10th in the 3,000-meter run at the 2015 IHSAA Girls Track & Field 4A State Championship.
Hopkins on Prescott: “Elyse has a great middle-distance background. As a sophomore, she ran 2:15 and 4:38. She was hurt last year as a junior but came back and was fourth in the state meet in cross country this past fall. She’s a wonderful kid with a great head on her shoulders and a great personality. I’m very excited to work with her and see where her middle-distance roots can take her. I think she’ll end up being a really good miler long term with good wheels but also strong endurance who can succeed in both cross and track.”
Ashley Ramacher, Eden Prairie, Minn. (Eden Prairie HS)
Ashley Ramacher joins the Gophers as a high jump/hurdles specialist from Eden Prairie, Minn. A six-time state meet qualifier, Ramacher was the Minnesota Class AA state champion in the high jump with a leap of 5-7 as a junior in 2015. She also placed sixth in the 100m hurdles and 11th in the 300m hurdles along with being the second runner on Eden Prairie’s fourth-place 4x100m relay team at the 2015 Minnesota Class AA State Championship. She placed fourth in the state in high jump as a sophomore and finished 12th as a freshman.
Bingle on Ramacher: “We’re super excited about Ashley. She had a few programs that were really interested in her, so we’re thrilled she decided to become a Gopher. She high jumped 5-9 over the summer. We’re looking at developing her as a high jump/multi-athlete. She really wants to be here and is another good Minnesota athlete. We’ve totally upgraded our high jump corps over the last year and a half, and she’ll fit in really well with the others and have a great group to train with every day.”
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Hannah Arason, Meleah Biermaier, Jenna Conzemius, Carissa Dock, Delaney Eigenberger, Alyssa Faucett, Maddie Gourley, Lindsey Greenlund, Bethany Hasz, Megan Hasz, Brieasha Hunter, Natalie Manders, Elyse Prescott, and Ashley Ramacher will join the Gophers as freshmen for the 2016-17 season.
Meanwhile, Sofie Albrechtsen has also signed with the team and will join the Gophers to compete in the multi-events as a freshman in January 2016.
The group of new Gophers includes 10 local Minnesota athletes.
“We’re very excited about the new additions to our program and especially pleased to have signed the Minnesota talent that wanted to be here and represent their home state and the University of Minnesota,” director of women’s track & field and cross country Matt Bingle said. “The goal is always to keep athletes from Minnesota here, and I feel like we did a good job of that with this class.
“We feel like we’re putting together good class after good class. We’re building for the future while simultaneously building for immediate success. We’re really excited about the future of the program.”
Sofie Albrechtsen, Esbjerg, Denmark (Marselisborg Gymnasium)
Sofie Albrechtsen joins the Gophers from Esbjerg, Denmark. Albrechtsen is a standout high-jumper and multi-event competitor. She represented Denmark at the 2011 7th IAAF World Youth Championships, placing 25th with 4,576 points in the heptathlon.
Matt Bingle on Albrechtsen: “Sofie has scored over 5,200 in the heptathlon. She’s high jumped over 5-8 a couple times. We’re excited that she’s coming in January. She’ll help us bridge that gap with the four multis graduating this year. She’ll be a true freshman. She has a great personality and is a great fit for what we’re trying to do currently and long term with that group. We think she has a high ceiling. We’re really excited to have her here.”
Hannah Arason, Grand Forks, N.D. (Red River HS)
Hannah Arason joins the Gophers from Red River High School in Grand Forks, N.D. Arason will bolster Minnesota’s multi-event corps along with specializing in the javelin. She placed third in the javelin and tied for seventh in the high jump at the 2015 North Dakota Class A state meet as a junior after battling injuries throughout the season. As a sophomore in 2014, Arason was the North Dakota Class A state champion in both the high jump (5-3) and javelin (139-8), and she won the javelin state title (139-03) as a freshman as well. Arason placed 16th in the javelin at the 2013 USA Junior Outdoor Track & Field Championships as well. A three-sport athlete for the Roughriders, Arason is also a standout basketball and volleyball player.
Peter Miller on Arason: “I’ve known Hannah for a long time. She won state as a freshman when I was still coaching at UND. She competed at the US junior meet that summer as a 14-year-old, which is just crazy. I’ve seen her compete a bunch of times. She’s a great athlete who is hopefully going to help us in a lot of areas. Looking at the multis and then she’s going to be a javelin thrower for us immediately. She has a great range, and we’re excited to see what she can do when she gets into track & field all year around.”
Meleah Biermaier, Thief River Falls, Minn. (Thief River Falls HS)
Meleah Biermaier joins Minnesota as the all-time MSHSL record-holder in the 300-meter hurdles. A Thief River Fall, Minn., native, Biermaier was the 2015 Minnesota Class AA state champion with a record-breaking time of 42.13 seconds, breaking the Class AA record she set in the preliminary race at 42.87. Entering her senior season, Biermaier owns four top-two state finishes in the 300m hurdles, winning the event as an eighth grader in 43.48 in 2012 and finishing as state runner-up as both a freshman and sophomore before regaining the title as a junior. Biermaier is also a four-time state meet qualifier in the 100-meter hurdles, placing sixth as a sophomore, 10th as a junior and an eighth grader, and 13th as a freshman. A three-sport athlete for the Prowlers, Biermaier is a standout volleyball and basketball player as well.
Bingle on Biermaier: “We’re excited about Meleah’s future as a Gopher. She ran the 400-meter hurdles once last summer and went 60-point in the first time she ever ran it. We’re excited about her potential there. She could compete at the college level in volleyball and basketball, too. We’re looking forward to getting her into our system. She’s going to have a great group to train with, so we’re excited about her ability to keep developing.”
Jenna Conzemius, Hastings, Minn. (Cretin-Derham Hall)
Jenna Conzemius joins the Gophers from Cretin-Derham Hall. As a junior, she ran on Cretin-Derham Hall’s eighth-place 4x400m relay team at the 2015 Minnesota Class AA State Championship with fellow incoming Gopher Brieasha Hunter. She has run the 300m hurdles, 400m, and 800m on the track. Conzemius was also a member of the Raiders’ soccer team where she played forward.
Bingle on Conzemius: “We’re intrigued about Jenna’s development. She’ll have a chance to continue improving while training with a great group. She’s just getting to the point where she’s getting excited about the sport. She was a soccer player, and she’s run 58.0 in the 400m and 2:17 in the 800m. She fits the mold of our program and is a hard-worker with a good attitude. We’re looking forward to seeing what she can do.”
Carissa Dock, Waconia, Minn. (Waconia HS)
Carissa Dock joins the Gophers from Waconia High School in Waconia, Minn. Dock placed 15th in the 800m in the 2015 Minnesota Class AA State Championship as a junior, running 2:18.07. She also competed and trained with Track Minnesota Elite. At the 2015 USATF National Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships in Jacksonville, Fla., Dock placed seventh in the women age 17-18 800m run with a time of 2:18.56.
Sarah Hopkins on Dock: “Carissa is more of an 800-meter runner, but she’s kind of untapped. She started running with a track club last summer and set a PR of 2:16 after running around 2:20 during the high school season. I think that has helped her development. She’s pretty undeveloped in cross country to this point, but she’ll be more of a middle-distance kid for us, starting off with our 800m group. I think she has the potential to run really well in cross country. She’s a solid Minnesota runner who’s staying home, and we’re excited to see what she’s capable of once she gets in a good training group. She has a good foundation, so it’s just a matter of seeing where we can go.”
Delaney Eigenberger, Madison, Wis. (Madison Memorial HS)
Delaney Eigenberger joins the Gophers as a distance runner from Madison Memorial High School in Madison, Wis. Eigenberger finished 32nd at the 2015 WIAA Cross Country Division 1 State Championship to lead Madison Memorial to a 12th-place team finish. As a junior, Eigenberger led the Spartans to their first cross country state championship appearance since 2003 with a first-place individual finish at the 2014 WIAA Division 1 Sectional Championship. She went on to lead Madision Memorial at the state meet, placing sixth overall in 18:34.08. On the track, Eigenberger placed fourth in the 3,200-meter run at the 2015 WIAA Division 1 Sectional Championship.
Hopkins on Eigenberger: “Delaney placed sixth at the Wisconsin state cross country meet as a junior. She’s had a little bit of injury history, so we’re going to work through that and get her healthy. I think she has a huge upside because she really only started running cross country as a junior and is pretty under-trained in a lot of ways. She has always been on a good team and really has that team mentality. Getting her a few more miles and a few years under her belt, I think long term she’ll be a really solid runner for us both in cross country and on the track.”
Alyssa Faucett, Wausau, Wis. (Wausau West HS)
Alyssa Faucett joins the Gophers as a nine-time state-qualifying sprinter from Wausau, Wis., and Wausau West High School. Faucett placed fourth in the 200-meter dash (25.47) and fifth in the long jump (18-00.50) along with placing 12th in the 4x200m relay and 19th in the 4x100m relay at the 2015 WIAA Track & Field Division 1 State Championship as a junior. As a sophomore, Faucett was a member of Wausau West’s fourth-place 4x200m relay and sixth-place 4x100m relay teams at the state championship along with finishing 14th in the 200m dash and 20th in long jump at the state meet. She led off the Warriors’ fifth-place 4x200m relay team as a freshman as well.
Bingle on Faucett: “We’re happy to have Alyssa joining the program. She really wanted to be here, and we loved her enthusiasm. She has good speed, and we’re excited about her potential. She is from the same high school as Jessica Waldvogel, and we know the success Jess had as a Gopher. Alyssa has also long jumped over 18 feet quite a few times.”
Maddie Gourley, Eagan, Minn. (Eagan HS)
Maddie Gourley joins the Gophers as a sprinter from Eagan High School. Gourley finished third in the 200m dash (25.55) and ninth in the 400m dash (59.66) along with anchoring Eagan’s state runner-up 4x400m relay team at the 2015 Minnesota Class AA State Championship as a junior. She also ran all three sprint events at the state meet as a freshman, placing third in the 200m dash (25.26), eighth in the 100m (12.74) and ninth in the 400m (58.39) in 2013.
Bingle on Gourley: “Maddie has run 56 flat in the 400m. She is really excited about becoming a Gopher, and we’re thrilled she decided to come to the U. She and Alyssa Faucett will fit in well together with our current sprints group and add some great depth there.”
Lindsey Greenlund, Rochester, Minn. (Rochester Mayo HS)
Lindsey Greenlund joins the Gophers as a mid-distance runner from Rochester, Minn. A two-time state meet participant, Greenlund took 17th in the 800m run at the 2015 Minnesota Class AA State Championship as a junior after placing 19th in the 800m as a sophomore. She was also a standout soccer player at Rochester Mayo, leading the Spartans to an 8-4-4 overall record and a number two seed in the Section 1AA tournament as a senior in 2015.
Hopkins on Greenlund: “Lindsey is a mid-distance runner who played soccer all through high school. She’s never run cross country, but we’ve had some pretty good luck with kids like that with a soccer background. She doesn’t have a lot of distance running experience, but she is athletic and tough. She has a great personality, and she’s very, very smart. I think she has a really fun up-side here once she starts focusing on track and cross country full time versus splitting her attention with soccer. She’s a great leader, and I could see her being a captain for us down the road.”
Bethany Hasz, Alexandria, Minn. (Alexandria HS)
Bethany Hasz comes to the University of Minnesota as a two-time state champion both in cross country and on the track. She won the 2015 Minnesota Class AA State Cross Country title in 17:32.2 for 5K, leading Alexandria to a ninth-place team finish. As a junior in 2014, Bethany Hasz finished second behind her twin sister Megan Hasz, clocking 13:44.4 for 4K. Bethany Hasz was the 2013 state champion as well with a winning time of 13:53.1 for 4K. She is a four-time Nike Cross Nationals participant, including top-15 finishes each of the last three years. She placed fifth in 2015 in 17:17.1, improving on her ninth place finish as a junior and 13th-place showing as a sophomore. On the track. Bethany Hasz was the 2015 Minnesota Class AA state champion in both the 1,600m run in 4:47.57 and the 3,200m run in 10:26.40 as a junior after taking third in both events as a sophomore in 2014.
Hopkins on Bethany Hasz: “Bethany is probably one of the best distance runners ever to come out of the state of Minnesota. She’s not only one of the best in the state, but one of the best in the country. She’s run at a high level and has some great national experience in some big fields and understands how to race from the front but also within a pack. We’re super excited to have her and her twin sister Megan. They’re both great students and going to be awesome here at the U, not just athletically but academically as well.”
Megan Hasz, Alexandria, Minn. (Alexandria HS)
Megan Hasz joins the Gophers from Alexandria, Minn. Most recently, she placed second at the 2015 Minnesota Class AA State Cross Country Championship in 17:38.9 for 5K, second to her twin sister Bethany Hasz and helping Alexandria to a ninth-place team finish. She won the 2014 state title in 13:40.9 for 4K. Megan Hasz was the state runner-up as a sophomore in 2013, finishing in 14:13.9 for 4K, as well. In 2014, she finished fifth at Nike Cross Nationals in 17:40. On the track, she battled injuries during the 2015 track & field season but was the Minnesota Class AA state runner-up in the 1,600m run (4:53.36) and took fourth in the 3,200m run (10:32.75) as a sophomore in 2014. Megan Hasz also placed 11th in the 3,200m run as a freshman.
Hopkins on Megan Hasz: “Megan is very, very talented, one of the best distance runners we’ve ever had coming out of high school. She and her twin sister Bethany have run side by side and kind of switched back and forth some. They’re built in training partners for each other, and it’ll be fun to get them within a team that can push them. The two of them have shown that the sky is the limit for where their talent level can take them. We’re thrilled they decided to stay in state and be two of the top talents we’ve ever had.”
Brieasha Hunter, St. Paul, Minn. (Cretin-Derham Hall)
A two-time state champion and nine-time state meet qualifier on the track, Brieasha Hunter joins the Gophers from Cretin-Derham Hall. Hunter placed fourth in the 100m dash and fifth in the 400m dash along with anchoring Cretin-Derham Hall’s eighth-place 4x400m relay team as a junior at the 2015 Minnesota Class AA State Championship. A year earlier, she won state titles in the 100m dash (12.28) and 400m dash (55.12) and finished as runner-up in the 200m dash (24.82) at the 2014 state meet as a sophomore. She also placed third in the 400m, ninth in the 200m, and 16th in the 100m as a freshman.
Bingle on Hunter: “Brieasha is another standout sprinter who has been one of the best sprinters in the state of Minnesota over the last few years. She has great range and can run the 100m, the 200m, and the 400m. We’re excited about that. She fits in nicely and fills a need of our program.”
Natalie Manders, Apple Valley, Minn. (Eastview HS)
Natalie Manders joins the Gophers from Eastview High School. The 2015 Minnesota Class AA state champion in the discus (153-03), Manders is a six-time state meet qualifier entering her senior season. Along with her discus crown, she placed sixth in the shot put (41-10.50) at the state meet as a junior. Manders was the state runner-up in the discus and placed 10th in the shot put as a sophomore in 2014. She took fourth in the discus and 16th in the shot put as a freshman as well.
Miller on Manders: “Natalie is a very talented young woman who comes from a great family. Her dad was a great thrower; he was the Division III national record-holder in both the shot and the disc. He was an Olympic Trials qualifier in the 1980s, and he’s trained with Lynne Anderson. Natalie has great genes, but she’s also a great kid and a great competitor. She was passed in the last round of the state meet last year but came back and won on her very last throw, which was super impressive. She has the second best discus PR in the history of Minnesota. She ranked sixth in the world for under-18s last year. We’re super excited to add her into the mix and keep one of the best throwers in Minnesota history home.”
Elyse Prescott, Urbandale, Iowa (Urbandale HS)
Elyse Prescott joins the Gophers from Urbandale High School in Urbandale, Iowa. A four-year letterwinner in cross country, Prescott earned back-to-back top-five finishes at the Iowa Class 4A State Championship, finishing fourth as a senior and fifth as a junior in 2014. She led Urbandale to the 2015 IHSAA Girls Cross Country Class 4A State Championship team title, the school’s first in girls cross country. On the track, Prescott is a three-year letterwinner, entering her senior season after finishing 10th in the 3,000-meter run at the 2015 IHSAA Girls Track & Field 4A State Championship.
Hopkins on Prescott: “Elyse has a great middle-distance background. As a sophomore, she ran 2:15 and 4:38. She was hurt last year as a junior but came back and was fourth in the state meet in cross country this past fall. She’s a wonderful kid with a great head on her shoulders and a great personality. I’m very excited to work with her and see where her middle-distance roots can take her. I think she’ll end up being a really good miler long term with good wheels but also strong endurance who can succeed in both cross and track.”
Ashley Ramacher, Eden Prairie, Minn. (Eden Prairie HS)
Ashley Ramacher joins the Gophers as a high jump/hurdles specialist from Eden Prairie, Minn. A six-time state meet qualifier, Ramacher was the Minnesota Class AA state champion in the high jump with a leap of 5-7 as a junior in 2015. She also placed sixth in the 100m hurdles and 11th in the 300m hurdles along with being the second runner on Eden Prairie’s fourth-place 4x100m relay team at the 2015 Minnesota Class AA State Championship. She placed fourth in the state in high jump as a sophomore and finished 12th as a freshman.
Bingle on Ramacher: “We’re super excited about Ashley. She had a few programs that were really interested in her, so we’re thrilled she decided to become a Gopher. She high jumped 5-9 over the summer. We’re looking at developing her as a high jump/multi-athlete. She really wants to be here and is another good Minnesota athlete. We’ve totally upgraded our high jump corps over the last year and a half, and she’ll fit in really well with the others and have a great group to train with every day.”
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Players Mentioned
Multi/High Jump
/ Women's Track & Field
Multi/Javelin
/ Women's Track & Field
Hurdles
/ Women's Track & Field
Mid-Distance
/ Women's Track & Field
Mid-Distance
/ Women's Track & Field
Mid-Distance
/ Women's Track & Field
Distance
/ Women's Track & Field
Distance
/ Women's Track & Field
Distance
/ Women's Track & Field
Multi-Events/High Jump
/ Women's Track & Field
Sprints/Hurdles
/ Women's Track & FieldDyandra Gray | 2025 All-American
Sunday, June 15
Ali Weimer Breaks School Record at NCAAs
Sunday, June 15
Ali Weimer Qualifies for NCAAs
Thursday, June 05
Dyandra Gray Qualifies for NCAAs
Thursday, June 05