University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Baylor Invite
Stanford Breaks Hammer Throw Record
4/3/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
April 3, 2015
WACO, Texas -- Senior Devin Stanford broke the Minnesota program record in the hammer throw with a toss of 61.76 meters to lead the Gopher women's track & field team at the Baylor Invitational Friday. Minnesota had four program top-10 performances, 20 top-10 places and 12 personal bests.
"I'm really excited for Devin breaking the school record," director of women's track & field and cross country Matt Bingle said. "It's well deserved. She's been putting in a lot of effort to get there, so it was great to see her do it."
Stanford improved upon the previous school record of 60.86m set by Liz Alabi in 2007. She placed third at the meet and improved her personal best by 1.32m. Along with Stanford's new program record, three other Gophers climbed in Minnesota's all-time ranks with their performances in Waco, Texas.
Fellow senior Katie Murgic placed second in the pole vault with an outdoor personal best of 4.10m to move into a tie for fourth all-time.
Two Gopher freshmen also made their mark in Minnesota's all-time ranks. Rookie Emma Spagnola took second in the 100m hurdles to rank second all-time with a time of 13.78 seconds. Spagnola also placed second in the 400m hurdles (1:00.31).
Meanwhile, fellow freshman Agnes Esser took home Minnesota's lone individual event title at the meet with a first-place throw of 52.98m in the discus. Her career-best throw moved her into seventh among all-time Gopher throwers.
"I was excited about Agnes's performance and effort in the discus," Bingle said. "I thought this weekend was a nice step for her."
Behind Esser, Minnesota claimed two more top-five finishes in the discus as Stanford was runner-up with a season-best throw of 51.50m and Ke-ke Burks took fifth with a season-best 50.71m throw.
The Gophers' 4x400m relay team of Jessica Waldvogel, Erin Hawkine, Emerald Egwim and Titania Markland took home Minnesota's second event title of the meet, posting a first-place time of 3:41.28 to edge second-place Kansas State (3:41.81).
Three other Gophers earned individual top-five finishes as Jess Herauf was third in the javelin with a throw of 47.57m in her season debut. Erin Hawkins ran the second-fastest 100m time of her career, posting a time of 11.80 seconds for fifth place, and Titania Markland placed fifth in the 400m in 55.85 seconds.
"Overall, I was pleased with the progress of the whole group this weekend between those competing at Baylor and at Stanford," Bingle said. "It was a good first step for the outdoor season, but there is plenty of work to be done.
"We're looking forward to a good week of training before we take one group to Arkansas this coming weekend. We need to continue working hard and improving each week."
Four Gophers also competed at the Stanford Invitational on Friday. Next weekend, Minnesota heads to the John McDonnell Invitational hosted by the University of Arkansas April 10-11. The Gophers will also send student-athletes to the Hamline Invitational on April 11.
Gopher Top 10 Finishes at Baylor Invitational
1. Agnes Esser, discus, 52.98m
1. Jessica Waldvogel, Erin Hawkins, Emerald Egwim, Titania Markland, 4x400m, 3:41.28
2. Katie Murgic, pole vault, 4.10m
2. Emma Spagnola, 100m hurdles, 13.78
2. Emma Spagnola, 400m hurdles, 1:00.31
2. Devin Stanford, discus, 51.50m
3. Devin Stanford, hammer, 61.76m
3. Jess Herauf, javelin, 47.57m
5. Ke-ke Burks, discus, 50.71m
5. Erin Hawkins, 100m, 11.80
5. Titania Markland, 400m, 55.85
6. Emerald Egwim, 400m, 56.31
6. Ally McSherry, 800m, 2:12.36
6. Kat Keller, Jess Herauf, Emma Spagnola, Lauren Domski, 4x400m, 3:51.50
T-7. Heta Tuuri, high jump, 1.65m
7. Frances Conlin, 400m hurdles, 1:04.84
7. Cami Gilson, pole vault, 3.80m
7. Nicolle Murphy, javelin, 43.94m
8. Anne Ferguson, 800m, 2:12.59
8. Jessica Waldvogel, 400m, 56.65
8. Kailee Kamps, shot put, 14.05m
9. Jamie Piepenburg, 1500m, 4:42.15
10. Ke-ke Burks, hammer, 54.15m
10. Rachel Melum, javelin, 37.08m
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Players Mentioned
