University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers to Host Parents Day Invite
2/17/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
| Parents Day Invite | |||||||||||
| Date | Saturday, Feb. 20, 2016 | ||||||||||
| Location | Minnesota Fieldhouse, Minneapolis, Minn. | ||||||||||
| Meet Info | Home Meet Info | Schedule | Heat Sheets | ||||||||||
| Time | 10 a.m. Field events | 11 a.m. Running events | ||||||||||
| Coverage | Live Results | ||||||||||
Feb. 17, 2016
MINNEAPOLIS - The University of Minnesota women's track & field team returns home to the Minnesota Fieldhouse this Saturday for the final home meet of the season, hosting the Parents Day Invite.
About the Parents Day Invite
Minnesota's annual Parents Day Invite is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. with the weight throw. The 5,000-meter run is the first running event at 11 a.m. Fans can also follow live results throughout the day through Wayzata Results.
Minnesota will honor its 18 seniors at the Parents Day Invite: 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.
Last Time Out: Gophers Compete at Iowa State, St. Thomas
At the Iowa State Classic, Sofie Albrechtsen took home Minnesota's lone event title, winning the high jump at 1.76 meters (5-09.25). Several Gophers climbed in Minnesota's all-time ranks in their respective events.
Titania Markland clocked an indoor career-best time of 54.34 seconds, to break the Gophers' program record in the 400-meter dash. She finished just 0.01 seconds ahead of the previous program record held by Rikita Butler at 54.35 since 2010. Emerald Egwim also moved up Minnesota's all-time ranks with a personal-best 54.56 for third at the meet and fifth in Gopher history.
Meanwhile, Liz Berkholtz ran the second-fastest 3,000m run in Gophers' history, clocking a personal best 9:19.79, and Madeline Strandemo moved into fourth among all-time Gophers with a career-best of 9:21.81. Emma Spagnola's career-best time of 24.48 in the 200m moved her into ninth in Gophers' history.
At the St. Thomas Showcase, Lindsey Smits won the 600-meter run (career-best 1:38.99), and unattached Gophers tRachel Schow (60m hurdles, career-best 8.78 seconds), Emily Betz (mile, career-best 5:08.11), and Lexi Kiefer (pole vault, 3.75m, 12-3.50) took home titles as well.
2015 Parents Day Rewind
The Gophers won three titles in the field events at last year's Parents Day Invite as Audra Winter won the high jump (1.62 meters), Devin Stanford won the weight throw (20.29 meters) and Agnes Esser won the shot put (14.31 meters). On the track, Anne Ferguson won the 600-meter run in 1:34.63, followed by Andie Zeman in second (1:36.48) and Kate Shelerud (1:36.87) in third as the Gophers took the top three spots. Minnesota also took the top three places in the weight throw as Lyndsey Thorpe (18.79 meters) and Ke-ke Burks (17.05 meters) rounded out the top three behind Stanford. Thorpe finished second in the shot put as well (13.03 meters).
USTFCCCA Releases Week Three Rankings
Florida, Oregon, Georgia, Arkansas, and Texas make up the top five teams in the nation according to the week four rankings released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
Three Big Ten Conference teams are ranked in the week three rankings in No. 9 Michigan, No. 21 Purdue, and No. 24 Wisconsin. The Gophers come in 52nd of 135 women's teams in the complete rankings, which are complied by mathematical formulae based on national descending order lists. The next rankings will be released on Feb. 22.
Six Gophers Serving as Captains
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: Big Ten Championship
The Gophers travel to the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio, for the 2016 Big Ten Indoor Track & Field Championships on Friday, Feb. 26 and Saturday, Feb. 27. Tickets are available online until Feb. 22.
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Players Mentioned
