University of Minnesota Athletics
Esser Set for NACAC U23 Championships
7/12/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
MINNEAPOLIS - National and international competition continues for members of the Golden Gopher women's track & field team as Agnes Esser heads to San Salvador, El Salvador, for the 2016 NACAC U23 Championships Friday.
About the 2016 NACAC U23 Championships
The 2016 NACAC U23 Championships will be held at the athletic track of the National Stadium "Jorge Magico Gonzalez" in San Salvador, El Salvador, this Friday through Sunday. The event is put on by the North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletics Association. Esser was selected to represent her native Canada in two events on Friday; the hammer throw final is set for 3 p.m. CT with the discus final to follow at 5:05 p.m. CT.
Esser enters this week's competition after competing at the Canadian Championships and Rio Selection Trials in Edmonton, Alberta, last week. Esser won the discus national title with a winning mark of 50.32m (165-01). She also placed fifth in the hammer throw (59.11m, 193-11).
Wright to Compete at IAAF World U20 Championships
Shanique Wright was named to the Jamaican team for the upcoming IAAF World U20 Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland, July 19-24. Wright is scheduled to compete in the triple jump qualifying round at 4:50 p.m. CT on Friday, July 22 with the final to follow at 3:40 p.m. CT on Saturday, July 23. Earlier this summer, Wright finished as triple jump runner-up at the 2016 JAAA National Junior Championships with a jump of 12.83m (42-01.25); she wrapped up the NCAA season as a Second Team All-American honoree with a 12th in triple jump (12.99m, 42-07.50) at the NCAA Championship.
Lehman Named to U.S. Team for Thorpe Cup
Following a 12th-place finish in the heptathlon (5,806 points) at the U.S. Olympic Trials, Jess Lehman has been named to the U.S. team for the 2016 Thorpe Cup, set for July 29-30 in Fayetteville, Ark. The Thorpe Cup is an international competition between the United States and Germany. Teams are composed of up to seven men and seven women who compete in the decathlon and heptathlon. The top five men's and top three women's scores are added together to determine the overall men's and women's team winners.
Gophers at the U.S. Olympic Trials
Six current and former Gophers competed at the U.S. Olympic Trials at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., last week. Two throwers earned top-five finishes as alum Liz Podominick finished fourth in the discus (60.07m, 197-1) and Nicolle Murphy took fifth in the javelin (career-best 56.35m, 184-10).
Jess Lehman scored 5,806 points to place 12th in the heptathlon, and Gopher alum Gabriele Grunewald took 12th in the 1,500-meter run (4:18.73) and 20th in the 5,000-meter run (15:58.72). Fellow alums Heather Kampf (15th in the 1,500m, 4:13.28) and Jamie Cheever (24th in 3,000-meter steeplechase, 10:01.46 ) also competed.
Alum Albertson-Junkans Excels in Mountain Running
University of Minnesota alum Ladia Albertson-Junkans ('07) finished second at the 13th NACAC Mountain Running Championships last weekend, representing Team USA in her first international mountain competition. Albertson-Junkans covered the nine-kilometer course in 51:57, just nine seconds behind her teammate Megan Roche in first place (51:48). The race took place in Tepatitlán, Jalisco, Mexico on a course ascending over rocky and craggy terrain to the summit of Cerro Gordo. The starting elevation was approximately 2,100 meters while the finish line reached just over 2,600 meters. The Team USA women defended their gold medal from a year ago with three points, defeating Team Canada (10 points) and Team Mexico (11).
Alum Spotakova Takes Fifth at European Athletics Championship
Barbora Spotakova, who was an All-American for the Gophers during her one season with the team in 2001-02, placed fifth in the javelin with a throw of 62.66m (205-07) at the European Athletics Championship in Amsterdam last weekend. Spotakova led in the qualifying round with a throw of 63.73m (209-01) and went on to throw 62.66m in the final. Spotakova owns the best women's throw this year, set last month at the Czech Athletic Championship at 66.87m (219-04); she has held the world record in the javelin since 2008 (72.28m, 237-01).
Alum Brooks Competes for Trinidad & Tobago
Gophers alum Alena Brooks ('14) was set to compete with Trinidad & Tobago's 4x400-meter relay team had the relay team qualified for the 2016 Olympic Games, but the country narrowly missed qualifying in the 4x400m relay.
At the Blue Marlin Track & Field Classic in the Bahamas last week, Trinidad & Tobago's team of Janeil Bellille, Kai Selvon, Sparkle McKnight, and Domonique Williams finished second (3:30.37) behind the Bahamas (3:30.34), and Jamaica took third (3:39.66). Trinidad & Tobago's season-best time of 3:30.37 ranks 32nd on the IAAF World Ranking List. Trinidad and Tobago's 4x400m relay team of Bellille, Magnolia Howell, Romona Modeste, and Brooks finished 13th (3:36.69) at the IAAF World Relays Bahamas 2015.
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