University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Big Ten Outdoor Championships
Herauf Wins B1G Heptathlon, Gophers Lead
5/16/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Powered by a combined 30 points in the javelin and the discus and Jess Herauf's heptathlon title, the Minnesota women's track & field team leads the Big Ten Championship team race with 71 points through two days of competition.
"Obviously, we saw very good efforts by the throwers today," director of women's track & field and cross country Matt Bingle said. "They're really doing their job up to this point. I'm very proud of them and how they've grown over the last couple years.
"We saw a lot of cool moments with that group today. They love each other to death, and it's awesome to see them fight for each other and the team."
After posting four scoring finishes for 17 points in the hammer on day one of competition, the Gopher throwers continued their dominating performance through day two with 19 points in the javelin and 11 points in the discus.
Nicolle Murphy finished as the B1G javelin runner-up for the second-straight season with a throw of 48.90m (160-5.50), followed by Rachel Melum with a career-best throw of 47.39m (155-6) in third and Herauf in fourth (47.19m, 154-10.25).
Devin Stanford earned her second podium finish of the championship with a third-place showing in the discus at 52.98m (173-10) after taking second in the hammer on Friday. Agnes Esser finished fourth at 52.93m (173-8.25) as well. The duo combined for 11 points in the discus, and Angie Guenther was just out of scoring position in ninth place with a season-best throw of 49.44m (162-2.75).
Herauf and Alex Beckman started the day by securing 15 points in the heptathlon. Herauf added a heptathlon championship to her 2015 B1G pentathlon title with a Minnesota program-record 6,014 points. Beckman scored a career-best 5,088 points for the highest B1G finish of her career in fourth place as well.
"Jess did a great job, breaking the Big Ten and school records," Bingle said. "I don't know how many people in the world have gone over 6,000 points in the heptathlon this year, but that's a pretty special group. It was it was fun to see her come back and overcome the 200 points and then end it with a PR in the 800m."
Herauf used wins in the final three events of the heptathlon to surge past Wisconsin's Deanna Latham and Georgia Ellenwood, who led the heptathlon field after four events and finished second and third. Herauf recorded career bests in both the long jump (6.00m, 19-8.25) and the 800m (2:11.44), winning the 800m by over five seconds.
The Gophers also picked up five points as Kaila Urick secured a fourth-place finish in the 3,000m steeplechase. Urick clocked a career-best 10:18.45 to improve on her fifth-ranked time in Minnesota history.
"I'm happy for Kaila Urick with her lifetime best in the steeple," Bingle said. "She came back and did her job after being a little frustrated with the 1,500m. She fought really hard and did a good job."
Titania Markland advanced to Sunday's 400m final with a Minnesota program record time of 53.53 to win her heat and place third in the preliminary overall. Meanwhile, Emerald Egwim narrowly missed making the final with a ninth-place time of 54.57.
"I'm very excited for Titania breaking the school record," Bingle said. "She ran tough, executed, and did a good job. Emerald did a good job of executing, too. I was happy with her performance.
Likewise, Emma Spagnola earned a place in Sunday's 400m hurdles final. She posted a career-best time of 59.91 to move into seventh in Minnesota history and place fifth in the prelims.
"It was an up and down day, kind of a weird day," Bingle said. "I hoped we would be over 70 points after day two and that's where we are. We have to continue to execute and compete tomorrow, but it was a good team day today with a lot of good performances."
Action at the Big Ten Championship concludes Sunday with the Gophers looking to earn points in the high jump, shot put, 400m, 5,000m, 400m hurdles, 4x100m relay and 4x400m relay.
Gophers' B1G Scoring Finishes
1. Jess Herauf, heptathlon, 6,014, 10 points
2. Devin Stanford, hammer throw, 61.44m (201-7.25), 8 points
2. Nicolle Murphy, javelin, 48.90m (160-5.50), 8 points
3. Rachel Melum, javelin, 47.39m (155-6), 6 points
3. Devin Stanford, discus, 52.98m (173-10), 6 points
4. Jess Herauf, javelin, 47.19m, 154-10.25, 5 points
4. Alex Beckman, heptathlon, 5,088, 5 points
4. Agnes Esser, discus, 52.93m (173-8.25), 5 points
5. Kaila Urick, 3,000m steeplechase, 10:18.45, 5 points
5. Lyndsey Thorpe, hammer throw, 59.78m (196-1.75), 4 points
6. Angie Guenther, hammer throw, 59.38m (194-10), 3 points
6. Katie Murgic, pole vault, 4.02m (13-2.25), 3 points
7. Ke-ke Burks, hammer throw, 58.90m (193-3.25), 2 points
8. Liz Berkholtz, 10,000m, 34:55.80, 1 point
2015 Big Ten Team Standings
1. Minnesota, 71
2. Michigan State, 52
3. Nebraska, 51
4. Wisconsin, 30
5. Penn State, 24
6. Indiana, 20
7. Michigan, 15
8. Illinois, 13.5
9. Iowa, 11
9. Maryland, 11
11. Purdue, 9.5
12. Ohio State, 4
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Players Mentioned
