University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers to Face B1G Foes at ISU Classic
2/10/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
| ISU Classic | |||||||||||
| Date | Friday-Saturday, Feb. 12-13, 2016 | ||||||||||
| Location | Lied Recreation Athletic Center | Iowa State | Ames, Iowa | ||||||||||
| Meet Info | Meet Info | Schedule | Heat Sheets | ||||||||||
| Time | 11 a.m. Friday | 10 a.m. Saturday | ||||||||||
| Coverage | Live Results | #ISUClassic | ||||||||||
Feb. 10, 2016
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Golden Gopher women's track & field team is split at two meets this weekend, traveling to the Iowa State Classic Friday and Saturday and competing locally at the UST Showcase hosted by St. Thomas on Friday.
About the ISU Classic
The Iowa State Classic is the longest running track and field meet hosted by Iowa State University. Over the past two years, the event has produced ten meet records and seven facility records, as well as numerous NCAA-qualifying marks.
The two-day meet is split into two sections of running events both Friday and Saturday. Action gets underway at 11 a.m. on Friday with men's long jump, followed by the first section of running events at noon; there will be a break on the track after the men's 200m at 4 p.m. until action resumes with the women's 5,000m at 6:30 p.m. Saturday's competition has running events beginning at 10 a.m. and field events starting at noon.
The field for the ISU Classic includes Alabama (M&W), Arizona State (M&W), Arkansas (M), Baylor (W), Bradley (M&W), BYU (M&W), Drake(M&W), Eastern Michigan (M&W), Eastern Kentucky(M&W), Florida(M&W), Furman (M&W), Georgetown (W), Georgia (M&W), Illinois (M&W), Iowa (M&W), Iowa State (M&W), Kansas (M&W), Kentucky (M&W), Louisville (M&W), Loyola (M&W), LSU (M&W), Michigan (M), Minnesota (M&W), Mississippi State (M&W), North Carolina (M&W), Northern Arizona (M&W), Northern Iowa (M&W), Notre Dame (M&W), Oklahoma State (M&W), Ole Miss (M&W), Purdue (M&W), Stanford (M&W), Tulsa (M&W), Virginia Tech (M&W), Wisconsin (M&W), and Wyoming (M&W).
About the UST Showcase
Field events are scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m. Friday with running events slated for 4 p.m. at the University of St. Thomas Anderson Athletic Recreation Complex.
Last Time Out: Gophers Win Two Titles at Meyo Invitational
Liz Berkholtz won the 5,000-meter run in 16:37.77 and Titania Markland ran a career-best 1:28.51 to win the 600-meter run to lead the Gophers at the Meyo Invitational hosted by Notre Dame last weekend. Markland moved into third in Minnesota history in the 600m as well. Shanique Wright recorded a collegiate-best jump of 12.72m (41-08.75) for a runner-up showing and moved into third among all-time Minnesota triple jumpers.
Two other Gophers also improved their ranks in Minnesota history. Emerald Egwim ran a career-best 54.93 in the 400m and climbed to seventh in program history. Minnesota placed two in the top seven of the weight throw final led by Ke-ke Burks with a throw of 19.06m (62-06.50) for fifth (eighth among all-time Gophers) and Lyndsey Thorpe was seventh at 18.85m (61-10.25). In total, Minnesota posted 11 career-best marks at the Meyo Invitational.
2015 ISU Classic Rewind
A year ago at the ISU Classic, the Gophers saw two program records fall. The duo of Emma Spagnola (8.48) and Kimberly Golding (8.50) finished second and third in the 60m hurdles with then the top two times in Gopher history. Erin Hawkins ran then the second-best time in Minnesota history in the 200m (24.14) and clocked a 7.65 for fourth place in the 60m. The Gophers finished the meet with 16 career-best marks, including eight personal-best marks in the mid-distance events.
2015 UST Showcase Rewind
Sara Tseng picked up Minnesota's lone event title at last year's UST Showcase with a win in the pole vault at 3.60m. Chelsea Pettit led a charge of six Gophers in the mile, finishing eighth in a season-best 5:17.08, and Allie Heifort placed seventh in both the shot put (12.44m) and the weight throw (15.85m), setting a then career-best mark in the weight.
Gophers Against the B1G
Several Gophers rank among the Big Ten's top five performers in their respective events so far this season. Titania Markland leads the B1G in the 600m (1:28.51) and is fourth in the 400m (53.91). Also on the track are Liz Berkholtz at fourth in the 5,000m (16:37.77) and Kimberly Golding at fifth in the 60m hurdles (8.32 seconds). Minnesota's distance medley relay team is third in the league at 11:28.26 while the 4x400m relay team is fourth at 3:39.66 as well.
Four Gophers are in the conference's top five in the field events led by Shanique Wright in third in the triple jump (12.72m). Heta Tuuri is ranked fifth in the high jump at 1.79m, and both Jess Lehman (long jump, 6.06m) and Lyndsey Thorpe (weight theor, 19.72m) are tied for fifth in their respective events.
Four Gophers rank in the B1G's top five in the pentathlon led by Jess Lehman coming in second with 4,264 points. Alex Beckman is third (3,771), followed by Sofie Albrechtsen (3,768) and Audra Winter (3,750).
USTFCCCA Releases Week Three Rankings
Arkansas, Georgia, Oregon, Florida, and Texas remained the top five teams in the nation according to the week three rankings released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
Two Big Ten Conference teams are ranked in the week three rankings in No. 10 Wisconsin and No. 11 Michigan. Michigan State and Penn State dropped out of the top 25 this week. The Gophers come in 52nd of 126 women's teams in the complete rankings, which are complied by mathematical formulae based on national descending order lists and data taken from previous seasons. For the preseason ranking and early-season rankings, data will be taken from previous seasons as well as the current season. The next rankings will be released on Feb. 15.
Six Gophers to Captain 2016 Squad
Minnesota has named six captains for the 2015-16 season: Alex Beckman, Jess Lehman, Titania Markland, Nicolle Murphy, Lyndsey Thorpe and Kaila Urick. Beckman and Lehman are in their second seasons as track & field captains, while Urick served as a captain during the 2015 cross country season. Markland, Murphy, and Thorpe are first-year captains for the Gophers this year.
Up Next: Parents Day Invite
The Gophers return to the Minnesota Fieldhouse next weekend for their final home meet of the season, hosting the Parents Day Invite on Saturday, Feb. 20.
Minnesota will honor its 18 seniors at the Parents Day Invite as well: distance runners Liz Berkholtz, Melissa Cabak, Caitlin Dillon, Haley Johnson, Ally McSherry, Taylor Mikkalson, Jamie Piepenburg, Kate Shelerud, Stacey Swatek, Kaila Urick, and Rebecca Wesley; multi-event athletes Alex Beckman, Amanda Beckman, Jess Lehman, and Audra Winter; long jumper Kelly Flynn; and throwers Ke-ke Burks and Lyndsey Thorpe.
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Players Mentioned
