University of Minnesota Athletics
No. 26 Minnesota Set for Midwest Regional
11/8/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
| 2016 NCAA Midwest Regional | |||||||||||
| Date | Friday, Nov. 11, 2016 | ||||||||||
| Location | Ashton Cross Country Course | Iowa City, Iowa | ||||||||||
| Meet Links | Meet Home | Results | ||||||||||
| Coverage | @GopherWCCTF | Meet Notes  | Performance List | ||||||||||
Nov. 8, 2016
MINNEAPOLIS -- The No. 26 Golden Gopher women's cross country team enters the 2016 Midwest Regional in search of its 12th-straight NCAA Championship bid. The women's 6K race begins at 11 a.m. CT this Friday at Ashton Cross Country Course in Iowa City, Iowa.
2015 Midwest Regional Rewind
Liz Berkholtz and Haley Johnson earned All-Midwest Region honors to lead the Gophers to a third-place team finish at last year's NCAA Midwest Regional. Berkholtz picked up all-region honors for the second-straight year, pacing the Gophers in 11th overall in 20:36.9. Meanwhile, Johnson earned the first all-region award of her career with a career-best 20:38.3 for 13th place overall as Minnesota's second runner. All five scoring Gophers finished among the top 40 as Kaila Urick took 23rd in 21:03.7, followed by Madeline Strandemo in 34th (21:15.2) and Jamie Piepenburg in 40th (21:23.8).
About the 2016 Midwest Regional
The University of Iowa is set to hose the 2016 Midwest Regional at Ashton Cross Country Course in Iowa City, Iowa, this Friday. Admission to the event is free, and fan parking will be available free of charge in the Hawkeye Commuter Lot (Lot 85).
The top two teams from each of nine regional meets automatically advance to the 2016 NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, Ind., on Saturday, Nov. 19. Teams receiving at-large bids will fill the remaining 13 spots at the national meet, and the at-large teams will be revealed Saturday, Nov. 12 following the conclusion of the nine regional meets. After teams have been determined, 38 additional individuals per gender are selected to compete at the NCAA Championships.
Young Gophers Set to Make NCAA Debuts
Madeline Strandemo, Emily Betz, Tamara Gorman, Bailey Ness, and Patty O'Brien bring NCAA experience to Minnesota's 2016 postseason roster. Strandemo is the Gophers' top returner from a year ago after finishing 34th overall as the fourth Gopher; she also served as an alternate in 2014. Meanwhile, Betz was the sixth Gopher in 63rd place overall last season, racing as a true freshman, and Gorman was Minnesota's seventh runner in 76th place. O'Brien (2015) and Ness (2014) have each served as alternates for the Gophers in the NCAA postseason.
Gophers rookies Bethany Hasz; Megan Hasz, and Elyse Prescott join redshirt freshman Abby Kargol and redshirt sophomores Courtney Alama and Molly Eastman in making their first appearances on Minnesota's NCAA roster.
Gophers at the Midwest Regional
Minnesota has recorded 11-straight top-three finishes at the NCAA Midwest Regional, most recently placing third a year ago. The Gophers were runners-up at both the 2014 and 2013 NCAA Midwest Regional meets after taking third in three-straight meets (2010, 2011, 2012). Before that, the Gophers won three-straight regional titles (2007, 2008, 2009). Minnesota has finished third or higher in 16 NCAA regional meets since 1982.
Last Time Out: Gophers Host Rocky's Run
Carlin Schulz, Tess Wasowicz, and Danielle Anderson led the way as 98 total runners toed the line at the University of Minnesota's Les Bolstad Course for the 36th annual running of Rocky's Run last weekend. 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.
Career-Best Marks
Twenty-five Gophers have recorded career-best 6K times this season, and freshman Megan Hasz owns the fastest time on the team this season at 20:44.0. Twelve Gophers have recorded 5K personal records as well.
Gophers Name Captain Quartet
Redshirt juniors Danielle Anderson, Anne Haakenstad, Madeline Strandemo, and Tess Wasowicz are serving as captains as Minnesota looks to continue its 11-year streak of NCAA Championship berths.
Newcomers Galore
Minnesota's roster includes 11 true freshmen and seven redshirt freshmen. True freshmen Bethany Hasz; Megan Hasz, and Elyse Prescott are competing in uniform for the Gophers this season; fellow rookies include Jane Baude, Carissa Dock, Delaney Eigenberger, Lindsey Greenlund, Abby Kohut-Jackson, Zetta Mason, Kelli Schmidt, and Sarah Werking.
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.
USTFCCCA Rankings Update
The Gophers remain the third-ranked team in the Midwest Region according to the USTFCCCA regional rankings. Iowa State and Oklahoma are the region's top two ranked teams, respectively, and Missouri and Tulsa round out the top five behind the Gophers in third.
No. 26 Minnesota is back among the nation's top-30 teams following its fourth-place showing at the Big Ten Championship. 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 most recent USTFCCCA National Coaches Poll. No. 1 Colorado, No. 2 NC State, No. 3 Providence, No. 4 Washington, and No. 5 Michigan lead the week six poll.
Up Next: 2016 NCAA Championship
The top 31 teams in the nation will race at the 2016 NCAA Championship at LaVern Gibson Championship Course in Terra Haute, Ind., on Saturday, Nov. 19. The women's 6K race is scheduled for 10 a.m. CT, followed by the men's 10K race at 11 a.m. CT.
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Players Mentioned
