University of Minnesota Athletics
NCAA Championship Up Next
11/15/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
| 2016 NCAA Cross Country Championship | |||||||||||
| Date | Saturday, Nov. 19, 2016 | ||||||||||
| Location | LaVern Gibson Championship Course | Terre Haute, Ind. | ||||||||||
| Meet Info | Host Info | XC Town USA | Course Map | ||||||||||
| Time | 10 a.m. CT Women's 6K | 11 a.m. CT Men's 10K | ||||||||||
| Coverage | Live Results | FloTrack Stream | @GopherWCCTF | @XCTownUSA | #NCAAXC | ||||||||||
Nov. 15, 2016
MINNEAPOLIS -- Redshirt junior Madeline Strandemo will represent the University of Minnesota women's cross country team at the 2016 NCAA Cross Country Championship as an individual at-large qualifier this Saturday.
About the 2016 NCAA Championship
Indiana State is set to host the NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships, at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Ind., this Saturday. The women's 6K race is scheduled for 10 a.m. CT with the men's 10K to follow at 11 a.m. CT. Tickets will be available at the gate on raceday for $10 per person.
The top two teams from each of nine regional meets automatically advanced to the 2016 NCAA Championships. Thirteen additional teams and 38 additional individuals per gender were selected to round out the national championship field.
Strandemo's Season Rewind
Strandemo led Minnesota at four of six meets this season, including most recently placing seventh in a career-best 6K time of 20:23.7 and earning all-region honors at the NCAA Midwest Regional. Strandemo also picked up All-Big Ten Second Team accolades with an eighth-place finish as the top Gopher at the B1G Championship. Strandemo led Minnesota at its season-opening Oz Memorial as the meet runner-up as well.
The Fargo, N.D. native ran a career-best 5K time of 16:45.7 to lead the Gophers in 18th place overall at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational, bettering not only her previous cross country 5K PR (17:30.46) but also her indoor (17:02.30) and outdoor (16:50.62) track 5K personal records.
Strandemo at the NCAA Cross Country Championship
Strandemo is making her second appearance racing at the NCAA meet after finishing as the third Gopher in 147th place overall in 21:11.5 a year ago; Strandemo served as an alternate for Minnesota at the 2014 NCAA Championship. This year marks Strandemo's first time racing in Terre Haute, Ind., as the national meet was held in Louisville, Ky., last season.
Strandemo on the Track
Strandemo had a breakout season on the track last spring. She scored a team-high 14 points at the Big Ten Championship, finishing second in the 3,000m steeplechase (10:09.78), third in the 1,500m (4:22.50), and 10th in the 5,000m (16:50.62). Strandemo earned All-Big Ten Second Team honors for her runner-up showing in the 3,000m steeplechase. She also placed 13th in the 3,000m steeplechase (10:15.11) at the NCAA West Prelim. Strandemo ended the season ranked second in the 3,000m steeplechase (10:03.52) and eighth in the 1,500m (4:22.50) among all-time Gophers.
The 2016 indoor season saw Strandemo run a career-best 4:42.24 in the mile to place third at the Big Ten Championship and move into sixth in Minnesota history. She also ran the 1,600m leg of the distance medley relay at Big Tens, placing third in 11:13.28 to rank sixth in Minnesota history. Strandemo clocked the fourth-best 3,000m time in program history, finishing seventh at the ISU Classic (9:21.81).
Last Time Out: NCAA Midwest Regional
The Gophers placed fourth in the team standings at the NCAA Midwest Regional behind top-12 finishes from Madeline Strandemo, Megan Hasz, and Bethany Hasz. All five of Minnesota's scoring runners ran career-best 6K times led by Strandemo, clocking nearly a 20-second PR of 20:23.7 for seventh place. M. Hasz ran 20:27.7 for ninth with twin sister B. Hasz close behind in 20:32.6 for 12th. The trio earned All-Midwest Region honors for their top-25 finishes.
Bailey Ness (21:20.6) and Emily Betz (21:20.9) finished 52nd and 53rd overall as Minnesota's fourth and fifth runners, posting personal best times as well. Patty O'Brien and Abby Kargol also made their NCAA debuts for the Gophers. After serving as an alternate at the Midwest Regional a year ago, O'Brien ran a season-best 21:53.5 as Minnesota's sixth runner in 97th place overall. Kargol, a redshirt freshman, clocked a time of 21:57.8 as the seventh Gopher in 107th place of 235 finishers.
The Gophers scored 131 points to come in fourth in the team race. Missouri scored 83 points to take the team title, led by junior Karissa Schweizer's individual crown (19:54.4), and edged team runner-up Oklahoma State by six points (89). Iowa State came in third with 90 points ahead of the fourth-place Gophers and Kansas in fifth (154 points).
Young Gophers Make NCAA Debuts
Gophers rookies Bethany Hasz and Megan Hasz joined redshirt freshman Abby Kargol in making their NCAA debuts at the Midwest Regional. Freshman Elyse Prescott and redshirt sophomores Courtney Alama and Molly Eastman also made their first appearances on Minnesota's NCAA roster in serving as alternates at the regional meet.
2015 NCAA Championship Rewind
Minnesota placed 18th at the 2015 NCAA Cross Country Championships, securing its highest NCAA finish since placing 10th in 2009. Behind top-80 finishes from Liz Berkholtz, who led the Gophers in 44th place, and Haley Johnson in 72nd, Minnesota scored 471 points in the team race.
Berkholtz earned her highest NCAA place of her career, narrowly missing All-American honors (top 40) and finishing in 20:29.1. Her 44th-place finish was the highest by a Gopher since Stephanie Price placed 31st in 2010. Meanwhile, Johnson (20:40.1) also secured the best NCAA finish of her career after placing 219th a year ago.
Madeline Strandemo (147th), Kaila Urick (153rd), and Jamie Piepenburg (200th) rounded out Minnesota's scoring finishes. Strandemo took 144th overall in 21:11.5 in her NCAA debut after serving as an alternate in 2014. Urick, racing in her second national championship meet, improved on her 192nd-place finish a year ago in placing 153rd in 21:13.6. Piepenburg made her NCAA debut in 21:37.9 for 200th place after serving as an alternate in both 2012 and 2014.
Emily Betz (219th) and Tamara Gorman (224th) also represented the Maroon & Gold in the first NCAA Championship appearances of their careers. Betz finished in 21:55.8 while Gorman was close behind in 22:02.9.
Gophers at the NCAA Championship
Minnesota's highest team finish at the NCAA Championship came in 2005 when the Gophers finished ninth. All-Americans Ladia Albertson-Junkans and Emily Brown led Minnesota's efforts. The ninth-place showing was the first of five-straight top-12 finishes. Minnesota's most recent All-American is Stephanie Price, who finished 31st in 2010. The Gophers' all-time highest individual finisher at the NCAA Championship is Megan Duwell, who took eighth overall in 2009.
Career-Best Marks
Thirty Gophers recorded career-best 6K times this season, and Madeline Strandemo owns the fastest time on the team this season at 20:23.7. Twelve Gophers recorded 5K personal records as well.
Gophers Name Captain Quartet
Redshirt juniors Danielle Anderson, Anne Haakenstad, Madeline Strandemo, and Tess Wasowicz served as captains this season.
Newcomers Galore
Minnesota's 2016-17 roster included 11 true freshmen and seven redshirt freshmen. True freshmen Bethany Hasz; Megan Hasz, and Elyse Prescott competed in uniform for the Gophers while fellow rookies Carissa Dock, Lindsey Greenlund, Abby Kohut-Jackson, Zetta Mason, Kelli Schmidt, and Sarah Werking competed unattached. Fellow first-years Jane Baude and Delaney Eigenberger did not compete.
USTFCCCA Rankings Update
The Gophers dropped out of the USTFCCCA National Coaches Poll after their fourth-place showing at the NCAA Midwest Regional. Minnesota was ranked among the nation's top 30 in four of eight national polls this season, including a season-best ranking of No. 25 the week of Sept. 20. The Gophers opened the season at No. 26, slipped to No. 28, climbed to a season-high ranking of No. 25, and then received votes in three-straight polls before getting back into the top 30 in the week six rankings at No. 26.
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Players Mentioned
