University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Set for SDSU Holiday Open
11/29/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
| SDSU Holiday Open & Multi | |||||||||||
| Date | Friday-Saturday, Dec. 2-3, 2016 | ||||||||||
| Location | Sanford-Jackrabbit Athletic Complex, Brookings, S.D. | ||||||||||
| Meet Info | Meet Info | Schedule | Open Heat Sheets | Multi Heat Sheets | ||||||||||
| Time | 1 p.m. Friday | 11 a.m. Saturday | ||||||||||
| Coverage | Results | @GopherWCCTF | @GoJacksTFXC | ||||||||||
Nov. 29, 2016
MINNEAPOLIS - Fourteen Golden Gophers are slated to get an early start to the 2017 season as the University of Minnesota women's track & field team competes at the SDSU Holiday Open & Multi this Friday and Saturday in Brookings, S.D.
About the SDSU Holiday Open & Multi
The SDSU Holiday Open & Multi will be hosted by South Dakota State University at the Sanford-Jackrabbit Athletic Complex in Brookings, S.D., this Friday and Saturday. Friday's competition begins with the men's heptathlon (1 p.m. CT) and the women's pentathlon (1:15 p.m. CT). Field events and running events get underway Friday evening with the men's weight throw, women's shot put, men's and women's long jump, men's pole vault, and the women's 60-meter hurdles preliminary heats all scheduled for 5 p.m. CT. The heptathlon concludes Saturday morning at 11 a.m. CT.
Fourteen Gophers to Kick Off 2017
Gophers Sofie Albrechtsen, Kayla Nelson, Kimberly Golding, Tayler Whittler, Erin Hawkins, Kat Keller, Emerald Egwim, Shanique Wright, Lindsey Smits, Bolade Jinadu, Cami Gilson, Lexi Kiefer, Rachel Schow, and Emma Spagnola are set to make their season debut at the SDSU Holiday Open & Multi.
Gophers Welcome 23 Newcomers
The Gophers' 2017 roster includes 23 newcomers. Freshmen Hannah Arason, Jane Baude, Meleah Biermaier, Jenna Conzemius, Ryan Crotty, Carissa Dock, Delaney Eigenberger, Alyssa Faucett, Maddie Gourley, Lindsey Greenlund, Bethany Hasz, Megan Hasz, Brieasha Hobbs, Abby Kohut-Jackson, Val Larson, Natalie Manders, Zetta Mason, Elyse Prescott, Ashley Ramacher, Kelli Schmidt, Rebekah Walter, and Sarah Werking join the Minnesota family while senior sprinter Tayler Whittler comes to Minnesota as a transfer from DePaul University. The Gophers' roster also includes 18 redshirt freshmen set to make their official collegiate debuts this year.
Gophers Name Captains
Seven Gophers will lead the defending Big Ten Outdoor Track & Field co-champions: Cami Gilson, Kimberly Golding, Angie Guenther, Erin Hawkins, Titania Markland, Nicolle Murphy, and Madeline Strandemo. Markland and Murphy return to the Gophers' leadership group after serving as captains last season while Strandemo served as a co-captain for Minnesota's cross country team this fall. The remaining four Gophers enter their first seasons as captains.
Who's Back?
The Gophers return 11 of 19 point scorers from last year's B1G championship team. Among those returners are six Minnesota program record-holders in Emerald Egwim (indoor 400m, indoor 4x400m, outdoor 4x400m), Agnes Esser (discus), Kimberly Golding (indoor 60m hurdles, outdoor 100m hurdles), Erin Hawkins (indoor 4x400m, outdoor 4x400m), Kat Keller (indoor 4x400m, outdoor 4x400m), and Titania Markland (indoor 4x400m, outdoor 4x400m).
Minnesota's returners also include five all-time No. 2 performers in program history in Titania Markland (indoor 400m), Nicolle Murphy (outdoor javelin), Emma Spagnola (indoor 60m hurdles, outdoor 100m hurdles), Madeline Strandemo (outdoor 3,000m steeplechase), and Heta Tuuri (outdoor high jump).
2017 Track & Field Schedule
The Gophers' indoor schedule is made up of 12 meets, including three home meets at the University of Minnesota Fieldhouse: Minnesota Open (Jan. 14), Jack Johnson Classic (Jan. 27-28), and Parents Day Invite (Feb. 18). The outdoor schedule has Minnesota traveling to 18 meets in 10 different states. In total, the team will compete in 15 different states in 2017.
2016 Cross Country Season Rewind
The Gophers wrapped up the 2016 cross country season with three NCAA All-Midwest Region honorees, two All-Big Ten Conference honorees, and one NCAA individual national qualifier. Madeline Strandemo represented Minnesota at the NCAA Championship with a 51st-place showing, running her second fastest 6K time of her career in 20:31.5.
Strandemo, Megan Hasz, and Bethany Hasz led Minnesota with all-region showings at the NCAA Midwest Regional after Strandemo and M. Hasz picked up Second Team All-Big Ten honors. The duo led host Minnesota to a fourth-place team finish at the B1G Championship.
2016 Indoor Season Rewind
The Gophers capped the 2016 indoor track & field season with a fourth-place showing at the Big Ten Conference Indoor Championship led by Titania Markland's 600-meter title and Jess Lehman's pentathlon title. Minnesota scored 89 points to finish fourth, its highest indoor team finish since also placing fourth in 2014. Michigan took home the team title with 109 points, followed by Purdue (102 points) and Penn State (96.50 points) in the top three.
2016 Outdoor Season Rewind
Led by B1G event titles from Jess Lehman (heptathlon) and Nicolle Murphy (javelin) and points from 16 different Gophers, Minnesota secured its second outdoor and fifth overall Big Ten Conference title in program history last spring. The Gophers sealed a share of the B1G title with a fourth-place finish by the 4x400-meter relay team of Erin Hawkins, Kat Keller, Emerald Egwim, and Titania Markland; the Gophers entered the final event trailing Michigan by one point, 102-101, and the 4x400m team finished one place ahead of the Wolverines to finish the meet tied at 106 points each.
Minnesota then finished tied for 22nd place in the team standings at the 2016 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championship, marking the program's highest finish since placing 18th in 2009. Eight Gophers competed at the NCAA Championship, the most since eight also competed at the 2008 national meet. Five Gophers earned All-American honors in Agnes Esser (discus), Jess Lehman (heptathlon), Nicolle Murphy (javelin), Lyndsey Thorpe (hammer throw), and Shanique Wright (triple jump), marking the most individual All-Americans in a single season in program history.
Program Records Fall
The Gophers broke eight program records last season, four indoor and four outdoor. Indoors, Emerald Egwim (53.41) and Titania Markland (54.34) both broke the previous record in the 400m. In the 60m hurdles, Kimberly Golding improved upon her own record (8.18 seconds). Minnesota's 4x400-meter relay team of Kat Keller, Emerald Egwim, Erin Hawkins, and Titania Markland clocked a time of 3:35.33 to improve on the Gophers program record, and Jess Lehman (Herauf) broke her own record in the pentathlon, scoring 4,393 points to win the pentathlon title at the Big Ten Championship.
Outdoors, the Gophers broke four total program records in 2016 and posted all-time top-10 marks in 19 events. Throwers Lyndsey Thorpe (63.30m, 207-08, hammer throw) and Agnes Esser (57.91m, 190-00, discus) set program records. The Gophers' 4x400m relay team of Erin Hawkins, Kat Keller, Emerald Egwim, and Titania Markland broke Minnesota's program record, clocking in at 3:32.50 at the Big Ten Championship. Kimberly Golding broke Minnesota's outdoor program record in the 100m hurdles three times during the season, ending with a record time of 13.11 seconds.
Up Next: Minnesota Open
The Gophers host the Minnesota Open on Saturday, Jan. 14, which marks the team's first meet of the 2017 calendar year. Action gets underway at 11 a.m. CT at the University of Minnesota Fieldhouse.
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Players Mentioned
