University of Minnesota Athletics
Season Recap: A Look Back at 2016
6/21/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
MINNEAPOLIS - The Big Ten champion Golden Gophers wrapped up the collegiate season at the 2016 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. With a handful of Gophers still competing in national and international competitions over the summer, GopherSports.com takes a look back at the 2016 outdoor season.
2016 NCAA Championships Rewind
Minnesota finished tied for 22nd place in the team standings at the 2016 NCAA Championship, marking the program's highest finish since placing 18th in 2009. Eight Gophers competed at the NCAA Championship, the most since eight also competed at the 2008 national meet.
Five Gophers earned All-American honors in Agnes Esser (discus), Jess Lehman (heptathlon), Nicolle Murphy (javelin), Lyndsey Thorpe (hammer throw), and Shanique Wright (triple jump), marking the most individual All-Americans in a single season in program history. A year ago, six Gophers were All-American honorees, including four as part of the 4x400m relay team.
Murphy picked up the second First Team All-American award of her career, using a career-best throw of 55.84m (183-02) to place fourth in the javelin. Thorpe also secured First Team All-American accolades with a sixth-place finish in the hammer as she broke her own school record with a throw of 63.30m (207-08). Lehman also earned First Team accolades with a seventh-place finish in the heptathlon with 5,835 points.
Esser and Wright both collected Second Team All-American honors in their NCAA debuts. Wright placed 12th in the triple jump with a mark of 12.99m (42-07.50), and Esser finished 15th in the discus with a throw of 52.61m (172-07).
Fellow Gophers Liz Berkholtz (10,000m), Kaila Urick (3,000m steeplechase), and Heta Tuuri (high jump) also represented the Maroon & Gold at the NCAA Championship. Urick finished 21st in the 3,000m steeplechase in 10:38.33. Berkholtz ran 34:18.29 to place 22nd in the 10,000m run, marking her second fastest time of the season. Tuuri tied for 17th in the high jump, clearing 1.73m (5-08.00).
Bingle Collects Coach of the Year Honors
Director of women's track & field and cross country Matt Bingle was named the Midwest Region Head Coach of the Year, the USTFCCCA announced this week. Bingle was also selected as Big Ten Coach of the Year following Minnesota's Big Ten Championship performance. Bingle is now a four-time recipient of the Midwest Region Coach of the Year award after earning indoor coach of the year accolades in 2007, 2008, and 2009. This season marks his first outdoor award.
Bingle matched a Minnesota program record in coaching eight Gophers to NCAA Championship berths this season. He was named Big Ten Coach of the Year after Minnesota finished as 2016 Big Ten co-champions tied with Michigan for the team title, led by Jess Lehman's to fourth-straight Big Ten multi-event title. Bingle's 2016 Gophers recorded 28 new program top-10 marks, including 13 under Bingle's direct supervision. He coached Kimberly Golding and Emma Spagnola to the program's top two 100m hurdles times along with overseeing the Gophers' record-breaking 4x400m relay team.
Gophers Share B1G Title with Michigan
Led by event titles from Jess Lehman (heptathlon) and Nicolle Murphy (javelin) and points from 16 different Gophers, Minnesota secured its second outdoor and fifth overall Big Ten Conference title in program history this season. The Gophers sealed a share of the B1G title with a fourth-place finish by the 4x400-meter relay team of Erin Hawkins, Kat Keller, Emerald Egwim, and Titania Markland; the Gophers entered the final event trailing Michigan by one point, 102-101, and the 4x400m team finished one place ahead of the Wolverines to finish the meet tied at 106 points each.
Minnesota scored points in nine of 11 possible events on the final day of competition, including four top-three finishes. Along with Lehman and Murphy picking up First Team All-Big Ten honors, Madeline Strandemo (3,000m steeplechase) and Liz Berkholtz (10,000m) were named Second Team All-Big Ten honorees for recording runner-up finishes in their respective events. Prior to this year's title, the Gophers won the 2006 outdoor crown before winning three-straight indoor conference championships in 2007, 2008, and 2009.
Outdoor Program Records Fall
The Gophers broke four total outdoor program records in 2016 and posted all-time top-10 marks in 19 events. Most recently, Lyndsey Thorpe improved on her own Minnesota program record at the NCAA Championship with a throw of 63.30m (207-08) in the hammer throw. At the NCAA West Prelim, Agnes Esser broke Minnesota's discus record at 57.91m (190-00). The Gophers' 4x400m relay team of Erin Hawkins, Kat Keller, Emerald Egwim, and Titania Markland broke Minnesota's program record, clocking in at 3:32.50 at the Big Ten Championship. Kimberly Golding broke Minnesota's outdoor program record in the 100m hurdles at 13.11 seconds at the Rock Chalk Classic. She broke her own record three times this season.
In addition, Heta Tuuri (1.80m, 5-10.75, high jump), Emma Spagnola (13.20 seconds, 100m hurdles) and Madeline Strandemo (10:03.52, 3,000m steeple chase), and Nicolle Murphy (55.84m, 183-02, javelin) recorded the second-best marks in program history in their respective events.
Ogunrinde Attends NCAA Forum
Temi Ogunrinde represented the University of Minnesota and the Big Ten Conference at the 2016 NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Forum in Phoenix, Ariz., this spring. A redshirt freshman, Ogunrinde competes in the throwing events for the Gophers and serves as a member of Minnesota's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). The annual NCAA leadership forum provides student-athletes with invaluable leadership skills, the experience of exploring the relationship between personal values, core beliefs and behavioral styles, and a thorough understanding of the NCAA as a whole, the different divisional perspectives, and the valuable role of SAAC.
Twenty-nine Gophers Earn Academic All-Big Ten Honors
A total of 146 University of Minnesota student-athletes were honored by the Big Ten Conference on the Academic All-Big Ten Team for spring and at-large sports, including 29 members of the women's track & field team -- five of whom carried unblemished cumulative grade point averages in their graduate programs (Alex Beckman, Amanda Beckman, Jess Lehman, Lyndsay Thorpe, and Kaila Urick). Fellow Gopher track & field student-athletes Liz Berkholtz, Ke-ke Burks, Melissa Cabak, Caitlin Dillon, Emerald Egwim, Agnes Esser, Kelly Flynn, Kimberly Golding, Angie Guenther, Erin Hawkins, Allie Heifort, Haley Johnson, Kat Keller, Ally McSherry, Taylor Mikkalson, Paige Peschel, Jamie Piepenburg, Kiley Sabin, Kate Shelerud, Emma Spagnola, Madeline Strandemo, Stacey Swatek, Heta Tuuri, and Audra Winter also earned Academic All-Big Ten distinction.
Quartet Named CoSIDA Academic All-District
Alex Beckman, Liz Berkholtz, Jess Lehman, and Lyndsey Thorpe were recognized for their combined performances athletically and in the classroom, receiving distinction at 2016 CoSIDA Academic All-District honorees.
Gophers Add 21 for 2016-17
Director of women's track & field and cross country Matt Bingle has announced the addition of 21 student-athletes to join the program for the 2016-17 season. The Gophers are pleased to welcome Hannah Arason, Jane Baude, Meleah Biermaier, Jenna Conzemius, Carissa Dock, Delaney Eigenberger, Alyssa Faucett, Maddie Gourley, Lindsey Greenlund, Bethany Hasz, Megan Hasz, Brieasha Hobbs, Abby Kohut-Jackson, Val Larson, Natalie Manders, Zetta Mason, Elyse Prescott, Ashley Ramacher, Kelli Schmidt, Rebekah Walter, and Sarah Werking to the Minnesota family.
2016 Indoor Season Ends with B1G Fourth-Place Finish
The Gophers capped the 2016 indoor season with a fourth-place showing at the Big Ten Conference Indoor Championship led by Titania Markland's 600-meter title and Jess Lehman's pentathlon title. Minnesota scored 89 points to finish fourth, its highest indoor team finish since also placing fourth in 2014. Michigan took home the team title with 109 points, followed by Purdue (102 points) and Penn State (96.50 points) in the top three.
Summer Competitions Up Next for Gophers
Several Gophers are slated to continue competing over the summer, including Jess Lehman (heptathlon) and Nicolle Murphy (javelin) at the U.S. Olympic Trials (July 1-10); Titania Markland (400m) and Kimberly Golding (100m hurdles) at the Jamaican National Senior Championship (June 30-July 3); and Agnes Esser (hammer throw, discus) at the Canadian Track & Field Senior National Championships (July 7-10) and the NACAC U23 Championships (July 15-17).
Shanique Wright finished as runner-up in the triple jump with a jump of 12.83m at the Jamaican Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) National Junior Championship in Kingston, Jamaica, last weekend. Wright is also set to compete at the IAAF World Under-20 Championships (July 19-24).
Gopher alums Liz Podominick (discus), Gabe Grunewald (5,000m), Heather Kampf (1,500m), and Jamie Cheever (3,000m steeplechase) are expected to compete in the U.S. Olympic Trials as well. Meanwhile, incoming Gopher freshmen Maleah Biermaier (400m hurdles) and Ashley Ramacher (high jump) are set to compete at the USATF Junior Outdoor Championships (June 24-26).
###
Players Mentioned
