University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Enjoy Depth in Throwing Events
1/5/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
Jan. 5, 2016
MINNEAPOLIS - The Golden Gopher women's track & field throws group is poised for another record-breaking season, returning six throwers who scored points a year ago at the Big Ten Conference Championships and five throwers who qualified for the NCAA West Prelim in seven events.
"The whole group is super talented, and we have great young kids coming up," assistant coach Peter Miller said. "The best part is, just like last year, the whole group will be singing and dancing and cheering each other on, and having fun doing it.
"That's the best part about this group, good days and bad, they love each other and they want each other to be successful."
Among Minnesota's most experienced returners are fifth-year senior Lyndsey Thorpe and junior Nicolle Murphy. The duo is among Minnesota's six overall track & field team captains for the 2016 campaign. Miller sees redshirt junior Angie Guenther as another leader among the throwing corps. All three are returning Big Ten scorers and qualified for the NCAA West Prelim a year ago.
"Those three are great leaders because of their ability, but also great leaders vocally and by action, leaders by example," Miller said. "It's great to have three of them because we have a bigger group this year and a pretty talented group at that. It's nice that two of them will be back again next year and we'll be able to build off that as well."
Thorpe, a Stanley, Wis., native, enters her fifth season ranked fourth among all-time Gopher throwers in both the weight throw (19.41m, 63-08.25) and the hammer throw (59.78m, 196-1.75). Meanwhile, Murphy became Minnesota's first All-American in the javelin since 2008 by earning a sixth-place finish at the 2015 NCAA Championship. She was also the Big Ten runner-up in the javelin for the second-straight season as a sophomore in 2015.
Guenther, Ke-ke Burks, and Kailee Kamps are fellow upperclassmen Miller will rely on to help lead the throws.
"Angie is going to take a huge stride forward this year," Miller said. "She had a breakout meet at the Big Ten meet last season, placing sixth in the hammer and ninth in the discus. Ke-ke Burks is another one who had an awesome Big Ten meet last year and is just scratching the surface on what she's capable of. I'm super excited to see what they can do."
Guenther went on to compete in the hammer at the NCAA West Prelim along with Burks, who competed in both the discus and the hammer after scoring points in the hammer at the B1G meet last season. Meanwhile, Kamps is healthy and enters her redshirt junior season as the Gophers' top returner in the shot put.
The Gophers are without 2015 Big Ten hammer throw runner-up Devin Stanford, who also took third in the discus at the conference meet as a senior last season, and Rachel Melum, who placed third in the B1G in the javelin as a senior in 2015.
"You can't replace Devin Stanford and Rachel Melum," Miller said. "I do think that because of what they did and how they led the group, we're at a different level as a group starting out this year. I think that we're going to be a better team than we were last year and that's partially because of those two."
Sophomore Agnes Esser is poised for another standout season after placing fourth in the B1G discus throw and qualifying for the NCAA West Prelim in the hammer and the discus as a true freshman last season, and redshirt sophomore Allie Heifort and redshirt freshmen Kiley Sabin and Temi Ogunrinde will help fill the void left by Stanford and Melum as well.
Sophomore transfer Nina Horvath of Stevens Point, Wis., and freshmen Veronica Rasmussen of Shoreview, Minn., and Shay Nielsen of Detroit Lakes, Minn., further bolster Minnesota's lineup.
"Indoors is always a challenge for us," Miller said. "Obviously, we're an outdoor team. We showed that last year when we multiplied our Big Ten points by six when we got outdoors. I think weight throw will be a strong event for us, just like the hammer is outdoors."
A year ago, the Gophers had two competitors in the B1G weight throw final in what Miller called the best weight competition the Big Ten has ever seen. Thorpe placed seventh behind Stanford in third along with Guenther and Burks in the lineup.
"Lyndsey is back and in great shape, and she is doing better things technically than she was at this point last year," Miller said. "I think it will take her a little bit longer to throw far because we've been trying to train a little bit differently this year. I think Angie and Ke-ke are both ready to have break out years as well."
Miller expects Esser, Sabin, and Heifort to battle for that fourth Big Ten spot in the weight and noted that Ogunrinde is also someone who will surprise some people.
"Temi was a late addition to the group last year, so she didn't spend a ton of time on weight," Miller said. "She's got an ability to go fast like nobody else on the team, so if she can line it up, she can be great for us, too. We're going be super deep in the weight."
Indoors in the shot put, Miller looks to Kamps as the Gophers' top and most consistent returner. He also expects Sabin to vie for a place in the lineup after placing seventh in the shot at the 2015 USATF Junior Outdoor Championships.
"Kiley Sabin is one who had a great summer for us," Miller said. "She red-shirted last year and is training awesome right now. She's working super hard, and it's great to see. Agnes and Lyndsey are both talented enough to be in the mix and compete in that event in the Big Ten, and then we've got Shay Nielson, who's a young kid for us who could be pretty good, too."
Moving into the outdoor season, the Gopher throws group can further showcase its depth.
"As crazy as it sounds, we might be better than we were last year," Miller said. "I don't know what that's going to mean at the Big Ten meet, but I do think that we can be pretty special if we're blessed with health and everybody's ready to go on the day."
In the javelin, Minnesota returns Murphy, an All-American and two-time All-Big Ten honoree, along with Jess Lehman, who placed fourth in the B1G javelin competition last season. Both already rank among the top-10 all-time javelin throwers in program history.
Likewise, Thorpe (fourth), Guenther (fifth), Burks (seventh), and Esser (ninth) already rank among Minnesota's all-time top 10 performers in the hammer throw.
"I think the hammer again will be a great event for us, Miller said. "We have four of the top eight returners in the conference in the hammer, which is crazy to think about."
Behind Stanford, who graduated as Minnesota's program record-holder in the hammer throw and placed second in the B1G last season, the Gophers scored nine additional points in the event at the conference championship with Thorpe in fifth, Guenther in sixth, and Burks in seventh. Entering this season, Thorpe, Guenther, Burks, and Esser rank fourth, fifth, sixth, and eighth, respectively, among returning Big Ten hammer throwers.
"It will be the same group outdoors for the shot put as indoors, but I think just more and more throws for that group will be great and pay off," Miller said.
Esser led the Gophers indoors in the shot put, ranking 10th in program history with a throw of 49-11 (15.21m), while Kamps recorded Minnesota's top outdoor shot put mark (48-11.75, 14.93m) with Sabin on her heels competing unattached. Thorpe led the Gophers at the B1G meet in 17th place last season.
In the discus, Esser enters her sophomore season ranked fifth in Minnesota program history at 178-5 (54.38m), and Miller expects Sabin to step up after she took 11th (45.85m, 150-5) at the 2015 USATF Junior Outdoor Championships.
"We have a chance to do something special again, but it's going to take a lot of hard work and some luck at the same time," Miller said. "But I think we have the right culture established, I think we have the right leaders in the program."
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