University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Big Ten Indoor Championships
Gophers Take Fourth at B1G Championship
2/27/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
Feb. 27, 2016
GENEVA, Ohio - Titania Markland won the 600-meter run and 13 Golden Gophers scored points on day two of the Big Ten Conference Indoor Track & Field Championship en route to a fourth-place team showing for the Maroon & Gold at the SPIRE Institute on Saturday.
Minnesota scored 89 points to finish fourth, its highest indoor team finish since also placing fourth in 2014. Along with Markland's 600m title in 1:28.59, Jess Lehman won her second-straight B1G pentathlon title on Friday to lead the Gophers. Michigan took home the team title with 109 points, followed by Purdue (102 points) and Penn State (96.50 points) in the top three.
"We had a great day two today," director of women's track & field and cross country Matt Bingle said. "We really over-achieved and competed well as a team. As a group, we had a lot of great things happen with school records, career bests, and all-time top-10 performances. The team did a good job of coming through and competing well.
"We've grown a lot. Today we scored almost 40 points more than last year at this time. Once again, our team is built more for outdoors, so they're excited to see how they can build. It was definitely a great weekend from a performance standpoint. Now they'll rest a little and get back to work, but I'm happy with our overall performance as a team."
The Gophers broke three Minnesota indoor program records on day two of the B1G Championship. Emerald Egwim set a new all-time best mark in the 400-meter dash, bettering her time from Friday's preliminary heat (54.11) and placing sixth in 53.41 seconds. Egwim also joined fellow Gophers Kat Keller, Erin Hawkins, and Titania Markland to set a new Minnesota record in the 4x400-meter relay at 3:35.33 for fourth place.
Kimberly Golding also improved on her own Minnesota program record, clocking a time of 8.18 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles to finishing fourth in the Big Ten. Emma Spagnola was close behind in a career-best 8.33 seconds, good for second in Gophers' history and sixth at the meet.
In the distance events, Madeline Strandemo, Haley Johnson, Liz Berkholtz, Kaila Urick, and Ally McSherry all scored points on day two of the championship.
Strandemo ran a career-best 4:42.24 to place third in the mile and move into sixth in Gophers history, and Johnson was close behind her in 4:47.13 for sixth in the Big Ten. In the preliminary heats, Johnson clocked a personal-best time of 4:45.66.
Likewise, Berkholtz and Urick both recorded career-best times in the 5,000-meter run as Berkholtz placed fifth in 16:16.60 and Urick was eighth in 16:27.73. The duo also climbed in Minnesota's all-time ranks as Berkholtz is now fourth and Urick is sixth .
McSherry finished seventh in the 800-meter run in 2:09.36, a day after running an indoor career-best time of 2:09.23 to move into ninth in Minnesota history.
The Gophers also picked up points in the field events on day two of the Big Ten meet. In her B1G debut, rookie Shanique Wright placed third in the triple jump at 12.64m (41-05.75). Fellow Gophers freshman Taylor Wiebke cleared a collegiate-best 1.78m (5-10) to place sixth in the high jump in her Big Ten debut while sophomore Heta Tuuri cleared 1.74m (5-08.50) for eighth place.
Trials and finals for the weight throw were also held Saturday. Lyndsey Thorpe led Minnesota with a throw of 19.13m (62-09.25) for 10th place, followed by Ke-ke Burks (18.80m, 61-08.25) and Agnes Esser (18.38m, 60-03.75) in 12th and 14th, respectively.
Day one highlights of the B1G Championship included Lehman's Big Ten pentathlon title with a Big Ten/Minnesota record 4,393 points along with four scoring finishes for the Gophers in the pentathlon in Sofie Albrechtsen (3,906, third), Audra Winter (3,802, fourth), and Alex Beckman (3,667, seventh).
In addition, the Gophers picked up points in the distance medley relay, shot put, long jump, and 3,000-meter run on Friday. Minnesota's DMR of Johnson, Hawkins, Stacey Swatek, and Strandemo posted a time of 11:13.28 for third place at the meet and sixth in Minnesota history. Kiley Sabin improved her mark in Gophers' history with a career-best throw of 15.79m (51-09.75) in to place fifth in the shot put in her B1G debut, and Lehman posted a leap of 5.92m (19-05.25) to place sixth in the long jump. Berkholtz picked up one point for the Gophers with an eighth-place finish in the 3,000-meter run in 9:28.93 as well.
The 2016 NCAA Indoor Championships are set for March 11-12, hosted by Samford University in Birmingham, Ala., at the Birmingham CrossPlex.
Minnesota B1G Scoring Finishes
1. Titania Markland, 600m, 1:28.59 (10)
1. Jess Lehman, pentathlon, 4,393 points (10)
3. Madeline Strandemo, mile, 4:42.24 (6)
3. Shanique Wright, triple jump, 12.64m (41-05.75), (6)
3. Sofie Albrechtsen, pentathlon, 3,906 points (6)
3. Johnson, Hawkins, Swatek, Strandemo, DMR, 11:13.28 (6)
4. Kimberly Golding, 60m hurdles, 8.18 (5)
4. Keller, Egwim, Hawkins, Markland, 4x400m relay, 3:35.33 (5)
4. Audra Winter, pentathlon, 3,802 points (5)
5. Liz Berkholtz, 5,000m, 16:16.60 (4)
5. Kiley Sabin, shot put, 15.79m (51-09.75) (4)
6. Emerald Egwim, 400m, 53.61 (3)
6. Haley Johnson, mile, 4:47.13 (3)
6. Emma Spagnola, 60m hurdles, 8.33 (3)
6. Taylor Wiebke, high jump, 1.78m (5-10), (3)
6. Jess Lehman, long jump, 5.92m (19-05.25), (3)
7. Ally McSherry, 800m, 2:09.36 (2)
7. Alex Beckman, pentathlon, 3,667 points (2)
8. Kaila Urick, 5,000m, 16:27.73 (1)
8. Heta Tuuri, high jump, 1.74m (5-8.50), (1)
8. Liz Berkholtz, 3,000m, 9:28.93 (1)
2016 Big Ten Indoor Team Standings
1. Michigan (109 points)
2. Purdue (102)
3. Penn State (96.50)
4. Minnesota (89)
5. Iowa (50)
6. Nebraska (48)
7. Ohio State (45)
8. Wisconsin (38)
9. Maryland (28)
T-10. Indiana (25)
T-10. Rutgers (25)
12. Michigan State (24.50)
13. Illinois (22)
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Players Mentioned
