University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Big Ten Championships
Records Fall on B1G Day One
2/24/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
GENEVA, Ohio - Three Golden Gophers broke two program records as the University of Minnesota women's track & field team compiled 16 points on day one of the Big Ten Conference Indoor Track & Field Championship Friday at the SPIRE Institute.
Emma Spagnola and Kimberly Golding both ran 8.13 seconds in the preliminary heats of the 60-meter hurdles to set a new Minnesota program record, bettering Golding's mark of 8.16 seconds. The duo finished first and second in their heat to move on to Saturday's final.
"It was great to see those two share the school record," director of women's track & field and cross country Matt Bingle said of Spagnola and Golding. "They really care a lot for each other, so it was cool to see them run well and cool to see them tie. They're such good teammates to each other. It was a great moment for them."
Emerald Egwim also broke her own Gopher program record with the fastest preliminary time in the 400-meter dash, clocking in at 52.73 seconds for the ninth fastest time in the NCAA this season. Egwim will race in the 400m final on Saturday. Meanwhile, fellow Gophers Brieasha Hobbs (55.31), Kat Keller (55.97), and Bolade Jinadu (56.00) placed 12th, 15th, and 16th, respectively.
"I didn't really realize how fast she had run at first," Bingle said of Egwim. "It's just a tribute to her; she was so locked in and focused. She's such a great young woman, very strong in her faith and very positive, and it was just great to see."
In Friday's event finals, the Gophers picked up points in the shot put (five), pole vault (five), 3,000m (three), pentathlon (two), and distance medley relay (one). Through six events scored, Minnesota is ninth in the team race; Penn State (30 points), Michigan (29), Wisconsin (27), and Nebraska (27) lead the way, but only nine points separate fifth through ninth place.
"For the team race, we're definitely still fighting," Bingle said. "We need some things to happen Saturday, but we're right where we're supposed to be. It's a 10-point difference from second to eighth, so we just have to execute tomorrow."
Shay Nielsen finished fourth in the shot put in her B1G debut with a throw of 15.85m (52-00.00), setting a new career-best mark and moving into seventh in program history. Meanwhile, Kiley Sabin finished 12th with a throw of 14.80m (48-06.75).
"Shay stepped up in a pressure situation as a freshman, which was great to see," Bingle said. "She's been coming around each week here and has already shown huge improvements from where she was last year, so there is lots to be excited about with her."
Minnesota also picked up points in the pole vault as Cami Gilson finished fourth with a season-best mark of 4.10m (13-05.25), just one half inch shy of her career best. Her performance was her highest B1G finish of her career.
"Cami gid a great job of competing today," Bingle said. "She was so consistent, and she was emotionally locked in and focused. It was nice to see her rewarded for that effort."
On the track, Madeline Strandemo picked up three points for the Gophers in the 3,000-meter run, finishing sixth in 9:18.02. She also earned a place in Saturday's mile final with a preliminary time of 4:46.11.
"Maddie had a good day today," Bingle said. "She did a good job, did what she was supposed to do. She's in a good place for tomorrow. She definitely did her job today. We're excited, and I know she's excited to be able to race tomorrow."
In the pentathlon, Sofie Albrechtsen finished seventh, securing two points for the Gophers in the team race, with 3,657 points, and Kayla Nelson set three career-best marks on the way to her pentathlon PR of 3,413 points in 11th place in her Big Ten debut.
"Sofie had been hurt since January, so for her to come out today and do what she did for the team was great," Bingle said. "Kayla did a nice job with multiple PRs in her Big Ten debut, too."
Albrechtsen's best finish was a runner-up showing in the pentathlon shot put with a throw of 12.94m (42-05.50). She also tied for fifth in the pentathlon high jump (1.65m, 5-05.00). Nelson set PRs in the high jump (1.59m, 5-02.50), long jump (5.23m, 17-02.00), and shot put (10.42m, 34-02.25).
Minnesota also picked up one point with an eighth-place finish in the distance medley relay as the team of Tess Wasowicz, Rachel Schow, Paige Peschel, and Patty O'Brien ran 11:28.58.
"The DMR ran tough," Bingle said. "They put down some good splits, and we saw a lot of tough effort there for the team."
Along with her performance in the DMR, Schow also set a career-best mark in her B1G debut in the 60m hurdles, joining Spagnola and Golding. Schow ran 8.52 seconds for 13th place and moved into third on Minnesota's all-time list as the top three hurdlers in Gopher history competed today.
"They're just a really good group," Bingle said. "They genuinely care about each other, and they feed off each other's success."
Gophers Abby Lange and Samantha Prouty also made their B1G debuts, joining Strandemo in the mile prelims. Lange ran a career-best 4:55.02 for 12th while Prouty was 14th in 4:59.63.
Tayler Whittler improved her seventh-place ranking among all-time Gopher 60-meter dash sprinters, posting a career-best time of 7.50 seconds to finish 11th overall. She also finished 15th in the 200-meter dash in 24.50, her best time as a Gopher.
Action at the Big Ten Championship continues Saturday at 9 a.m. CT. The Gophers will compete in event finals in the triple jump (Shanique Wright), 5,000-meter run (Bailey Ness, O'Brien), mile (Strandemo), weight throw (Agnes Esser, Angie Guenther, Nina Horvath, Temi Ogunrinde), 400m (Egwim), high jump (Taylor Wiebke, Heta Tuuri, Albrechtsen), 60m hurdles (Spagnola, Golding), and 4x400m relay.
Gophers' Scoring Finishes
4. Cami Gilson, pole vault (4.10m) - 5 points
4. Shay Nielsen, shot put (15.85m) - 5 points
6. Madeline Strandemo, 3,000m (9:18.02) - 3 points
7. Sofie Albrechtsen, pentathlon (3,657) - 2 points
8. Tess Wasowicz, Rachel Schow, Paige Peschel, Patty O'Brien, DMR (11:28.58) - 1 point
###
Players Mentioned
