University of Minnesota Athletics
2016 Cross Country Season in Review
11/23/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Golden Gopher women's cross country team wrapped up the 2016 season with three NCAA All-Midwest Region honorees, two All-Big Ten Conference honorees, and one NCAA individual national qualifier.
Strandemo Represents Gophers at National Meet
Madeline Strandemo placed 51st of 250 runners in 20:31.5 while representing the University of Minnesota at the 2016 NCAA Cross Country Championship as an at-large individual qualifier. The Gophers saw a streak of 11-straight NCAA team appearances come to an end after a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Midwest Regional.
Strandemo improved on her 2015 NCAA finish by nearly 100 places, moving from 147th overall to 51st overall. Her six-kilometer time of 20:31.5 was her second-fastest 6K of her Gophers career, just seven seconds off her PR set last the week before at the Midwest Regional (20:23.7). Strandemo's NCAA berth marked her second appearance racing at the NCAA meet after finishing third on the team in 2015; she served as an alternate for Minnesota at the 2014 NCAA Championship as well.
About the 2016 NCAA Championship
Indiana State hosted the 2016 NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships, at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Ind. Missouri's Karissa Schweizer won the individual title in 19:41.6, edging runner-up Erin Finn of Michigan (19:44.2) and Anna Rohrer of Notre Dame (19:44.6) over the final stretch. Oregon took the team title with a one-point win over Michigan, 125-126. Colorado came in third with 134 points.
Gophers at the NCAA Championship
Minnesota's all-time 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.
Madeline Strandemo's 51st-place finish this season marks the 19th-highest individual showing by a Gopher at the NCAA Championship in program history. In the last six seasons, only Liz Berkholtz (44th, 2015) has placed higher than Strandemo.
Young Gophers Make NCAA Debuts
Gophers rookies Bethany Hasz and Megan Hasz joined redshirt freshman Abby Kargol in making their NCAA debuts at this year's 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.
Trio Picks Up All-Region Accolades
Madeline Strandemo, Megan Hasz, and Bethany Hasz led Minnesota with all-region showings at the NCAA Midwest Regional. Strandemo finished seventh, clocking nearly a 20-second PR of 20:23.7. M. Hasz ran 20:27.7 for ninth with twin sister B. Hasz close behind in 20:32.6 for 12th place.
Gopher Duo Earns All-Big Ten Honors
Madeline Strandemo and Megan Hasz were named to the All-Big Ten Second Team, placing eighth and 11th, respectively, at the 2016 Big Ten Championship. The duo led Minnesota to a fourth-place team finish as the Gophers hosted the B1G meet at Les Bolstad Course for the first time since 2005.
O'Brien Honored as B1G Sportsmanship Award Recipient
Minnesota redshirt sophomore Patty O'Brien was named Minnesota's 2016 Big Ten Women's Cross Country Sportsmanship Award recipient. One member of each of the conference's 14 women's cross country programs receives the annual award from the B1G. The student-athletes who receive the award have distinguished themselves by demonstrating sportsmanship and ethical behavior. They must also be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of a sports setting.
Career-Best Marks
Thirty Gophers recorded career-best 6K times this season, and Madeline Strandemo clocked the fastest time on the team at 20:23.7. Twelve Gophers recorded 5K personal records as well. Strandemo's 20:23.7 ranks 13th among Minnesota's all-time top 6K times and places her seventh on the Gophers' all-time 6K performers list.
Eastman Earns B1G Athlete of the Week Honors
Redshirt sophomore Molly Eastman was selected as the Big Ten Conference Athlete of the Week for the week of Oct. 26 after winning the individual crown at Jack's Twilight Run in a career-best six-kilometer time of 21:32.6. With her winning time, Eastman improved on her previous 6K PR by 13.2 seconds, which she set the previous week at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational (21:51.7). Eastman edged Courtney Alama (21:38.5) for the top spot at Jack's Run. Eastman's B1G weekly award was the first for a Gopher since Stephanie Price earned weekly accolades on Oct. 18, 2011.
Four Gophers Serve as Captains
Redshirt juniors Danielle Anderson, Anne Haakenstad, Madeline Strandemo, and Tess Wasowicz served as captains for the 2016 Gophers.
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. First-years Jane Baude and Delaney Eigenberger did not compete.
USTFCCCA Rankings Summary
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.
Up Next: 2016-17 Track & Field Season
With the conclusion of the cross country season, Minnesota looks ahead to the 2016-17 track & field season, which begins with select student-athletes getting an early start at the South Dakota State Holiday Invite in Brookings, S.D., (Dec. 2-3). The Gophers host the Minnesota Open on Saturday, Jan. 14, which marks the team's first meet of the 2017 calendar year.
2016 Gopher Meet Summaries
Sept. 2• INTRASQUAD 5K
Minnesota unofficially opened the season with its annual Intrasquad Meet. Madeline Strandemo ran 18:27.11 to lead 27 Gophers in the 5K race at Les Bolstad Course. True freshmen Megan Hasz (18:32.59) and Bethany Hasz (18:36.01) rounded out the top three finishers in their first collegiate appearance, followed by Bailey Ness in 18:36.26, who returned to the Gophers' lineup after red-shirting the 2015 season. The pack of four led for the entire race.
Sept. 9 • OZ MEMORIAL
The Gophers won the team title at the Oz Memorial Run, finishing with 12 runners in the top 20 at Les Bolstad Course. Madeline Strandemo led the team with a runner-up finish behind Wisconsin's Shaelyn Sorensen, who took home the individual crown in 22:19.1. Strandemo ran 22:26.1 just ahead of fellow Gophers Megan Hasz (22:32.7) and Bailey Ness (22:34.8) in third and fourth place, respectively. All seven of Minnesota's scoring finishers came in inside the top 13. Bethany Hasz (22:37.5) was sixth, and Danielle Anderson also earned a top-10 finish in 10th (22:52.4).
Sept. 24 • Roy Griak INVITATIONAL
Minnesota placed ninth of 35 teams with 262 points at the 31st annual running of the Roy Griak Invitational at Les Bolstad Course. The Gophers were led by Bethany Hasz, who finished 21st overall in 22:21.4. Madeline Strandemo was 33rd overall in 22:32.4, followed by Megan Hasz in 44th (22:39.8) to round out Minnesota's top three. Abby Kargol finished fourth on the team, her highest team finish of her career, in 79th place overall 23:13.7, and Bailey Ness (23:15.4) completed Minnesota's scoring runners in 85th place.
SEPT. 30 • BLUGOLD INVITATIONAL
Ellen Snyder won the individual crown to lead the Gophers to the team title at the Blugold Invitational. Snyder ran a career-best time of 22:34.3 over the 6K course to lead eight Gophers in the top-10. Abby Kohut-Jackson, racing unattached, finished as runner-up in 22:49.7 followed by Carlin Schulz (22:51.2), Emily Castanias (23:01.6), and Samantha Prouty (23:03.5) to make up the top five.
SEPT. 30 • JOE PIANE NOTRE DAME INVITATIONAL
All 12 Gophers recorded 5K PRs as Minnesota placed 10th at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational. Madeline Strandemo (16:45.7), Bethany Hasz (17:01.3), and Megan Hasz (17:01.5) led the way with Strandemo earning a top-20 finish in 18th place. The Hasz twins finished just 0.2 seconds apart in 40th and 42nd. Rounding out the Gophers' top five scoring runners were Patty O'Brien in 17:37.8 for 90th place and Abby Kargol in 17:43.0 for 97th place in a field of 23 teams and nearly 200 runners. Minnesota finished 10th in the team standings among a stacked field featuring six nationally-ranked teams and six more teams receiving votes in this week's national poll.
OCT. 14 • NUTTYCOMBE WISCONSIN INVITATIONAL
The Gophers finished 16th of 31 teams at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational, led by Megan Hasz's 28th place finish in a 6K PR of 20:44.0. Bethany Hasz ran a career-best 20:54.7 for 42nd place, and Madeline Strandemo posted a season-best time of 21:00.9 for 55th place. Abby Kargol ran 21:42.1 as Minnesota's fourth runner in 124th place, followed by Tamara Gorman, who recorded a time of 21:48.9 (136th place) in her first 6K race of the season. Bailey Ness (21:57.7) and Patty O'Brien (22:09.3) also ran season-best times as the sixth and seventh Gophers.
OCT. 15 • TORI NEUBAUER INVITATIONAL
Naomi Ollila, Ally Smith, and Sarah Klecker led the way with top-20 individual finishes at the Tori Neubauer Invitational. All eleven Gophers racing for the University of Minnesota recorded career-best or season-best performances to secure a third-place team finish in a field of 335 individuals from 22 teams.
OCT. 21 • JACK'S TWILIGHT RUN
Molly Eastman (21:32.6) and Courtney Alama (21:38.5) ran 6K PRs to lead 25 Gophers at Jack's Twilight Run. Twenty-one Gophers ran career-best times and the other four ran season bests. Behind Eastman and Alama, Carlin Schulz (21:54.0), Megan Flanagan (22:03.3), Tess Wasowicz (22:11.9), Danielle Anderson (22:12.0), and Elyse Prescott (22:12.5) made up the top seven attached Gopher finishers.
OCT. 30 • BIG TEN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP
Behind top-20 finishes from Madeline Strandemo, Megan Hasz, and Bethany Hasz, the host Gophers earned a fourth-place team finish at the 2016 Big Ten Cross Country Championship. Strandemo led the Gophers in eighth place, clocking a time of 21:10.2. Rookies Megan Hasz (11th, 21:24.9) and Bethany Hasz (20th, 21:41.5) each earned top-20 finishes in their B1G debuts. 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 in 42nd place (22:20.7).
NOV. 6 • ROCKY'S RUN
Carlin Schulz, Tess Wasowicz, and Danielle Anderson led the way as 98 total runners toed the line at Les Bolstad Course for the 36th annual running of Rocky's Run. Schulz ran 23:12.5 to lead 46 female finishers, including 24 Gophers. Wasowicz (23:33.7) and Anderson (23:37.5) completed the top three females, and freshman Abby Kohut-Jackson was fourth in 23:43.8 while racing unattached. Haley Rasmussen (23:46.3), Megan Flanagan (23:55.1), Samantha Prouty, (24:04.9), and Emily Castanias (24:09.9) rounded out Minnesota's top seven attached runners with top-10 overall showings.
NOV. 11 • 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. Patty O'Brien and Abby Kargol also made their NCAA debuts for the Gophers with O'Brien running a season-best 21:53.5 in 97th place overall and Kargol coming in 107th (21:57.8). The Gophers scored 131 points to come in fourth in the team race. Missouri scored 83 points to take the team title.
NOV. 19 • NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP
Madeline Strandemo placed 51st of 250 runners in 20:31.5 while representing Minnesota at the NCAA Cross Country Championship. Strandemo improved on her NCAA finish a year ago by nearly 100 places, moving from 147th overall to 51st overall. Her time of 20:31.5 was her second-fastest 6K of her Gophers career, just seven seconds off her PR set the week before at the Midwest Regional (20:23.7). Missouri's Karissa Schweizer won the individual title in 19:41.6, edging runner-up Erin Finn of Michigan (19:44.2) and Anna Rohrer of Notre Dame (19:44.6) over the final stretch. Oregon took the team title with a one-point win over Michigan, 125-126. Strandemo represented Minnesota as an at-large individual qualifier at the NCAA Championship after the Gophers placed fourth at the NCAA Midwest Regional and saw a streak of 11-straight NCAA appearances come to an end.
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Players Mentioned
