University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers to Host Minnesota Open
1/11/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
| Minnesota Open | |||||||||||
| Date | Saturday, Jan. 14, 2017 | ||||||||||
| Location | Minnesota Fieldhouse, Minneapolis, Minn. | ||||||||||
| Meet Info | Home Meet Info | Schedule | Heat Sheets | ||||||||||
| Time | 11 a.m. Field events | 12:30 p.m. Running events | ||||||||||
| Coverage | Live Results | @GopherWCCTF | #Gophers | ||||||||||
Jan. 11, 2017
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Open officially kicks off the Golden Gopher women's track & field team's 2017 season at the University of Minnesota Fieldhouse this Saturday.
The field events are scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. CT and running events will begin at 12:30 p.m. CT.
Gophers Get Early Start at December Meet
Fourteen Gophers kicked off the season at the SDSU Holiday Open & Multi in early December 2016: Sofie Albrechtsen, Kayla Nelson, Kimberly Golding, Tayler Whittler, Erin Hawkins, Kat Keller, Emerald Egwim, Shanique Wright, Lindsey Smits, Bolade Jinadu, Cami Gilson, Lexi Kiefer, Rachel Schow, and Emma Spagnola. Fellow Gophers Allison Dugan, Maddy Kammer, Rebekah Walter, Val Larson, Sophia Anderson, Meleah Biermaier, Erin Huls, Ashley Ramacher, and Hannah Arason competed unattached.
Minnesota won three titles in the field events: Shanique Wright won long jump (indoor career-best jump of 5.68m, 18-07.75), Cami Gilson won pole vault (3.65m, 11-11.75), and Sofie Albrechtsen won high jump (1.65m, 5-05.00). On the track, the Gophers won four more events. Kimberly Golding led the way in the 60-meter hurdles (8.46 seconds), and Emerald Egwim won the 200-meter dash in an indoor career-best 24.75 seconds. Minnesota also had the top two 4x400-meter relay teams led by Rachel Schow, Emma Spagnola, Golding, and Egwim won the event in 3:50.17. Freshman Val Larson won the 600-meter run while competing unattached as well.
Minnesota Welcomes 23 Newcomers
The Gophers' 2017 roster includes 23 newcomers. Freshmen Hannah Arason, Jane Baude, Meleah Biermaier, Jenna Conzemius, Ryan Crotty, 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 join the Minnesota family while senior sprinter Tayler Whittler comes to Minnesota as a transfer from DePaul University. The Gophers' roster also includes 18 redshirt freshmen set to make their official collegiate debuts this year.
2017 Track & Field Schedule
The Gophers' indoor schedule is made up of 12 meets, including three home meets at the University of Minnesota Fieldhouse: Minnesota Open (Jan. 14), Jack Johnson Classic (Jan. 27-28), and Parents Day Invite (Feb. 18). The outdoor schedule has Minnesota traveling to 18 meets in 10 different states. In total, the team will compete in 15 different states in 2017.
Who's Back?
The Gophers return 11 of 19 point scorers from last year's B1G championship team. Among those returners are six Minnesota program record-holders in Emerald Egwim (indoor 400m, indoor 4x400m, outdoor 4x400m), Agnes Esser (discus), Kimberly Golding (indoor 60m hurdles, outdoor 100m hurdles), Erin Hawkins (indoor 4x400m, outdoor 4x400m), Kat Keller (indoor 4x400m, outdoor 4x400m), and Titania Markland (indoor 4x400m, outdoor 4x400m).
Minnesota's returners also include five all-time No. 2 performers in program history in Titania Markland (indoor 400m), Nicolle Murphy (outdoor javelin), Emma Spagnola (indoor 60m hurdles, outdoor 100m hurdles), Madeline Strandemo (outdoor 3,000m steeplechase), and Heta Tuuri (outdoor high jump).
Gophers Sign 10 for 2017-18
The Minnesota women's track & field and cross country program is pleased to announce the addition of 10 student-athletes who have signed for the 2017-18 season. Erin Dunning (Ashwaubenon, Wis.), Allison Gerads (Champlin, Minn.), Alexis Hurst (Robbinsdale, Minn.), Tess Keyzers (Little Chute, Wis.), Elizabeth "Bit" Klecker (Minneapolis), Anastasia Korzenowski (Chanhassen, Minn.), Lorean Murray (Kingston, Jamaica), Sophie Schmitz (Willmar, Minn.), and Jaycie Thomsen (Plymouth, Minn.) will join the Gophers as freshmen next season while Nayoka Clunis (Kingston, Jamiaca) comes to the University of Minnesota as a junior after competing for Cloud County Community College in Concordia, Kan., for two seasons.
USTFCCCA Releases Preseason National Poll
Oregon, Arkansas, Georgia, USC, and Texas come in as the nation's preseason top five in the NCAA Division I National Team Computer Rankings compiled by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
Two Big Ten Conference teams land among the nation's preseason top-25 in No. 10 Purdue and No. 12 Michigan. The Gophers come in No. 68 among 138 women's teams in the complete rankings, which are complied by mathematical formulae based on national descending order lists and data taken from previous seasons. For the preseason ranking and early-season rankings, data will be taken from previous seasons as well as the current season. The next rankings will be released on Jan. 23.
Seven Gophers to Captain 2017 Squad
The seven Gophers who will lead the defending Big Ten Outdoor Track & Field co-champions are Cami Gilson, Kimberly Golding, Angie Guenther, Erin Hawkins, Titania Markland, Nicolle Murphy, and Madeline Strandemo. Markland and Murphy return to the Gophers' leadership group after serving as captains last season while Strandemo was a captain for Minnesota's cross country team this fall. The remaining four Gophers enter their first seasons as captains.
2016 Minnesota Open Rewind
The Gophers won seven events at last year's Minnesota Open with four titles on the track and three in the field events. Lyndsey Thorpe led eight Gophers in the top eight finishers with a career-best throw of 19.72 meters (64-08.50) to win the weight throw. Kiley Sabin recorded a career-best throw of 14.98m (49-01.75) to win the shot put.
Heta Tuuri (high jump) and Emma Spagnola (60m hurdles) have won back-to-back titles in their respective events and enter the 2017 meet looking for three-straight event crowns. Tuuri cleared 1.79m (5-10.50) to win the event in 2016 while Spagnola clocked a Minnesota Open meet record of 8.54 seconds to win the 60-meter hurdles a year ago.
On the track, the Gophers also won titles in the 200-meter dash (Emerald Egwim, 25.05 seconds), mile (Liz Berkholtz, 4:59.80), and the 4x400-meter relay (3:53.74).
2016 Cross Country Season Rewind
The Gophers wrapped up the 2016 cross country season with three NCAA All-Midwest Region honorees, two All-Big Ten Conference honorees, and one NCAA individual national qualifier. Madeline Strandemo represented Minnesota at the NCAA Championship with a 51st-place showing, running her second fastest 6K time of her career in 20:31.5.
Strandemo, Megan Hasz, and Bethany Hasz led Minnesota with all-region showings at the NCAA Midwest Regional after Strandemo and M. Hasz picked up Second Team All-Big Ten honors. The duo led host Minnesota to a fourth-place team finish at the B1G Championship.
2016 Indoor Season Rewind
The Gophers capped the 2016 indoor track & field 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.
2016 Outdoor Season Rewind
Led by B1G 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 last spring. 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 then finished tied for 22nd place in the team standings at the 2016 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field 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.
Up Next: Minnesota-Wisconsin Dual and St. Thomas Invite
The Gophers travel to Madison, Wis., for the third-annual Minnesota-Wisconsin Dual next Saturday, Jan. 21 while the non-travel group will remain home to compete locally at the St. Thomas Invite on Friday, Jan. 20.
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Players Mentioned
