University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Big Ten Championships
Gophers Take Fourth at Big Tens
10/30/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn. - Behind top-20 finishes from Madeline Strandemo, Megan Hasz, and Bethany Hasz, the Golden Gopher women's cross country team earned a fourth-place team finish at the 2016 Big Ten Cross Country Championship at Minnesota's Les Bolstad Course Sunday morning.
Strandemo led the Gophers in eighth place, clocking a time of 21:10.2. Rookies Megan Hasz and Bethany Hasz each earned top-20 finishes in their B1G debuts with M. Hasz taking 11th in 21:24.9 and B. Hasz coming in 20th in 21:41.5.
Redshirt freshman Abby Kargol also made her Big Ten debut as the fourth Gopher finisher in 41st place overall, recording a time of 22:19.3, and Bailey Ness rounded out Minnesota's scoring finishers right behind Kargol in 42nd place (22:20.7).
"It was a really solid day out there," head coach Sarah Hopkins said. "I told the girls in our team meeting, to host is great, but it's hard. It's hard to go out there and try to put on a good show. There's a little more pressure because you know everyone out there knows you. There's a lot of real positives that come out of hosting, but it is also an extra challenge.
"I told the team that we were probably a third to sixth place team on any given day, so to be fourth, I'm really pleased with that. We're right where we should be right now. We were fourth last year as a team, we replaced four of our top five, and we were fourth again. There are not a lot of teams in the country that could do that. It speaks to the girls and their belief in themselves, the depth of this team, and just how committed they are to the process. It's very impressive."
On the rolling hills of Les Bolstad Course, Michigan took home the B1G team title with 63 points, edging team runner-up Penn State (70 points) and third-place finisher Michigan State (80). Minnesota scored 120 points in fourth, followed by Ohio state in fifth (130). The Wolverines claimed their first Big Ten team title since 2012.
Michigan's Erin Finn cruised to her second-straight (and third overall) individual title in 20:37.3, earning a 25.5 second victory over runner-up Katherina Receveur of Indiana. Finn also won individual Big Ten titles in 2013 and 2015. Penn State's Tessa Barrett (21:04.8), Michigan's Gina Sereno (21:07.3), and Michigan State's Alexis Wiersma (21:07.9) made up the top five individuals.
Gophers Emily Betz (22:31.3) and Patty O'Brien (22:45.3) finished sixth and seventh for Minnesota in 48th and 61st, respectively. Molly Eastman (22:58.4) came in 72nd overall, and Courtney Alama (23:13.6) was 83rd.
The meet marked the first time Minnesota has hosted the Big Ten Cross Country Championship since 2005.
The Gophers' fourth-place finish marked a repeat from their B1G showing a year ago, and Strandemo's eighth-place finish is the highest by a Gopher since Laura Docherty took third in 2013.
"Overall, I thought it was a good day for our team," Strandemo said. "We didn't get beat by any bad teams. Obviously, those are three really good teams. I'm happy, I improved from my 20th-place finish last year. My goal was top seven this year, but eighth is good, too. I'm happy to be in the All-Big Ten world. I felt really good after tapering, too, so I'm happy with the outcome. I think we're ready for regionals, and hopefully nationals, too."
With their top-14 finishes, Strandemo and M. Hasz earned All-Big Ten second team honors. The top seven finishers at the Big Ten Championships earn first-team All-Big Ten honors, while the eighth through 14th place finishers are named second-team All-Big Ten. The B1G Athlete, Freshman, and Coach of the Year award recipients will be announced on Tuesday, Nov. 1.
Minnesota hosts Rocky's Run next Sunday, Oct. 6 before traveling to Iowa City, Iowa, for the NCAA Midwest Regional on Friday, Nov. 11, where the Gophers will look to secure a 12th-straight bid to the NCAA Championships.
Gophers' Big Ten Finishes
8. Madeline Strandemo, 21:10.2
11. Megan Hasz, 21:24.9
20. Bethany Hasz, 21:41.5
41. Abby Kargol, 22:19.3
42. Bailey Ness, 22:20.7
48. Emily Betz, 22:31.3
61. Patty O'Brien, 22:45.3
72. Molly Eastman, 22:58.4
83. Courtney Alama, 23:13.6
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Players Mentioned
