University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Send 20 to NCAA West Prelim
5/19/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
West Prelim Declarations | West Prelim Info | West Prelim Schedule | West Prelim Tickets
MINNEAPOLIS - Twenty Minnesota women's track & field representatives are among the declared competitors for the 2016 NCAA West Prelim hosted by the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kan., May 26-28.
The qualifiers out of the East and West preliminary meets will advance to the NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Outdoor Track & Field Championships held June 8-11 in Eugene, Ore.
At the NCAA West Prelim, Minnesota's 20 representatives will compete in 14 different events with four Gophers competing in multiple events. Agnes Esser and Angie Guenther will both compete in both the hammer throw and the discus, Emma Spagnola is a qualifier in both the 100m hurdles and the 400m hurdles, and Titania Markland is set to anchor the 4x400m relay team along with running the open 400m.
Liz Berkholtz leads the Gophers as a four-time NCAA West Prelim qualifier, set to race the 10,000m run this season after competing in the 5,000m in 2015 and the 10,000m in both 2014 and 2013. Erin Hawkins, Nicolle Murphy, Lyndsey Thorpe, Kaila Urick, Guenther, and Markland are all making their third-straight NCAA preliminary round appearances.
Minnesota's 20 qualifiers this season is the most for the program since sending 24 student-athletes to the preliminary round in 2010. In total, Minnesota's list of qualifiers includes 13 returners and seven first-timers.
The East Preliminary and West Preliminary meets are scheduled for May 26-28 with the West Prelim at Rock Chalk Park in Lawrence, Kan., and the East Prelim set for Hodges Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. The top 12 individual competitors and top 12 relay teams from each preliminary round site advance to the NCAA national championship.
For the heptathlon and decathlon, the top 24 declared student-athletes in each event based on their position on the national descending-order list are accepted into the NCAA Championships. Among declared athletes, Jess Lehman ranks seventh with 5,917 points in the heptathlon heading into the national championship.
The individual event student-athletes and relay teams accepted into the NCAA Championships based on their performance at preliminary round competition will be announced and posted on NCAA.com the week prior to the national meet.
2016 Gopher NCAA West Preliminary Competitors
Liz Berkholtz***, 10,000m
Ke-ke Burks*, hammer throw
Emerald Egwim*, 4x400m relay
Agnes Esser*, discus, hammer throw
Kimberly Golding, 100m hurdles
Angie Guenther**, discus, hammer throw
Erin Hawkins**, 4x400m relay
Haley Johnson, 1,500m
Kat Keller, 4x400m relay
Titania Markland**, 400m, 4x400m relay
Ally McSherry*, 800m
Taylor Mikkalson*, 3,000m steeplechase
Nicolle Murphy**, javelin
Kiley Sabin, shot put
Emma Spagnola*, 100m hurdles, 400m hurdles
Madeline Strandemo, 3,000m steeplechase
Lyndsey Thorpe**, hammer throw
Heta Tuuri, high jump
Kaila Urick**, 3,000m steeplechase
Shanique Wright, triple jump
* Indicates number of previous years appearing at the NCAA West Prelim.
2016 Gopher NCAA West Preliminary Competitors by Event
400m: Markland
800m: McSherry
1,500m: Johnson
10,000m: Berkholtz
4x400m relay: Hawkins, Keller, Egwim, Markland
100m hurdles: Golding, Spagnola
400m hurdles: Spagnola
3,000m steeplechase: Mikkalson, Strandemo, Urick
High jump: Tuuri
Triple jump: Wright
Shot put: Sabin
Discus: Esser, Guenther
Hammer throw: Burks, Esser, Guenther, Thorpe
Javelin: Murphy
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Players Mentioned
