University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Intrasquad Meet
Gophers Open 2015 with Intrasquad Meet
9/4/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
MINNEAPOLIS - The No. 27 Minnesota women's cross country team hosted its annual intrasquad exhibition meet to unofficially kick off the 2015 season at Les Bolstad Course Friday evening. Fifth-year senior Liz Berkholtz won the five-kilometer race in 18:28.79.
Twenty-six Gophers completed their first race of the season led by Berkholtz, who defended her 2014 intrasquad individual title and finished nearly 20 seconds faster than a year ago. Fellow team captains Haley Johnson (18:55.69) and Kaila Urick (19:25.52) rounded out the top three with Madeline Strandemo (19:28.26) close behind in fourth.
The next four Gophers finished within less than four seconds of one another as Ally McSherry (19:38.02), Stacey Swatek (19:38.79), Courtney Alama (19:39.57), and Jamie Piepenburg (19:41.90) completed the top eight.
"Overall, we came out of it healthy and in a good spot, and that was the most important thing to do today," head coach Sarah Hopkins said. "We learned some things going into next week and our first real meet. We learned a lot about who we are and saw some things that we can tweak over the next week to race a little bit differently and be ready to get rolling."
Hopkins was encouraged by the performance of the team's veterans and newcomers alike amid warm, humid conditions at the race course.
"I think it was a really solid day, especially on a hot, humid day," Hopkins said. "We didn't want to go to the well too much today since we have another meet in seven days, but I think overall as a group, they looked really strong.
"Liz Berkholtz obviously had a great day," Hopkins said. "She looked really smooth and really under control. Haley Johnson made a really good step today confidence-wise and ran an assertive race, which I was proud of her for. Even Madeline Strandemo and Patty O'Brien, who we knew were good last year, have definitely made another jump this year, so that was fun to see."
The Gophers will work on reducing their spread and tweaking their race plans in preparation for next week's official season-opener, the Oz Memorial. Minnesota hosts Drake, Iowa State, and South Dakota State in the six-kilometer race at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 11 at Les Bolstad Course. The Gopher men's cross country team kicks off the Oz Memorial with an eight-kilometer race at 6 p.m. before the women's race.
2015 Intrasquad Results
1. Liz Berkholtz, 18:28.79
2. Haley Johnson, 18:55.69
3. Kaila Urick, 19:25.52
4. Madeline Strandemo, 19:28.26
5. Ally McSherry, 19:38.02
6. Stacey Swatek, 19:38.79
7. Courtney Alama, 19:39.57
8. Jamie Piepenburg, 19:41.90
9. Patty O'Brien, 19:56.40
10. Abby Kargol, 19:58.98
11. Tess Wasowicz, 20:02.50
12. Emily Betz, 20:11.95
13. Taylor Mikkalson, 20:20.82
14. Megan Flanagan, 20:28.44
15. Violet Weibel, 20:49.80
16. Caitlin Dillon, 21:06.83
17. Melissa Cabak, 21:11.32
18. Nicole Heitzman, 21:17.39
19. Naomi Ollila, 21:23.47
20. Emily Castanias, 21:27.87
21. Ally Smith, 21:30.09
22. Sarah Klecker, 21:38.05
23. Paige D'Heilly, 21:58.38
24. Molly Eastman, 22:08.03
25. Ellen Snyder, 22:26.42
26. Madeline Brighouse Glueck, 22:35.85
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Players Mentioned
