University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Add Five More for 2017-18
4/25/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
MINNEAPOLIS - The University of Minnesota women's track & field and cross country program is pleased to announce the addition of five student-athletes for next season, bringing its 2017-18 incoming class to 15 newcomers.
Ayesha Champagnie, Karlie Place, Hailey Poole, Molly Roach, and Tate Sweeney join early signees Nayoka Clunis, Erin Dunning, Allison Gerads, Alexis Hurst, Tess Keyzers, Elizabeth Klecker, Anastasia Korzenowski, Lorean Murray, Sophie Schmitz, and Jaycie Thomsen to make up the newest Gophers.
"We're super excited about this class and where they're at both as people and athletes," director of women's track & field and cross country Matt Bingle said. "Some of them have the ability to come in and help us right away. We feel good, looking back at our last few recruiting classes, with what we've built for both the present and the future. We want to be able to sustain a high level; that's the expectation, and these newcomers will help us do that at both the Big Ten and national levels."
Ayesha Champagnie, Barton County Community College (Kingston, Jamaica)
Ayesha Champagnie will begin her career at the University of Minnesota as a junior next season after competing for Barton County Community College in Great Bend, Kan., for two seasons. She is the two-time defending NJCAA national champion in the pentathlon, where she set a NJCAA national record with a career-best mark of 4,003 points. She was also the NJCAA heptathlon and javelin national champion last season. An eight-time NJCAA All-American, Champagnie has a heptathlon PR of 5,397 points along with a javelin PR of 47.99m (157-05) and a shot put PR of 14.23m (46-08). She will bolster Minnesota's lineup in both the multi-events and the throws. A native of Kingston, Jamaica, Champagnie attended St. Andrews Technical high school.
Matt Bingle on Champagnie: "Ayesha is a great person. I've really enjoyed getting to know her and her family - she comes from a great family. She's an awesome young woman; being around her makes you feel good. She has a big vision for what she wants to do and the things she wants to accomplish. She's a very talented young woman who's already had a great track & field career. We see Ayesha competing in the heptathlon and the javelin for us. She fits into the mold of the type of person and athlete we want on the team, and I'm very excited to coach her."
Karlie Place, UW-Milwaukee (River Falls, Wis.)
Karlie Place will join the Gophers as a transfer after beginning her collegiate career at UW-Milwaukee where she competed for the Panthers in the 2016 and 2017 indoor season and the 2016 outdoor season; she will have one year of indoor eligibility and two years of outdoor eligibility remaining. With the Panthers, Place was a two-time Horizon League pole vault champion, winning both indoor and outdoor in 2016, and she went on to qualify for the 2016 NCAA West Prelim in pole vault. A 2014 graduate of River Falls High School, Place was a 2014 WIAA State Division 1 Championship qualifier in the long jump, triple jump, pole vault, and 4x100-meter relay, and she was a member of River Falls' state championship gymnastics team. Place has a career-best mark of 4.06m (13-03.50) in pole vault.
Peter Miller on Place: "Karlie is an athlete I have known about for a while, but she was not quite at the Big Ten level out of high school. She has developed quite a bit during her time at UW-Milwaukee and will come to Minnesota ready to make an immediate impact. Karlie is a creative young woman, who is very excited about all of the opportunities that the University of Minnesota has to offer both inside and outside of athletics. We are very much looking forward to seeing her continue to develop as an athlete and a person within our program. Welcome to Minnesota, Karlie."
Hailey Poole, Huntley Project High School (Worden, Mont.)
Hailey Poole comes to the University of Minnesota from Worden, Mont., where she currently attends Huntley Project High School; she moved this year after beginning her high school career at Coldstrip High School. Poole was the 2016 Montana Class B Track & Field State Champion in the discus and javelin as a junior, and she took third in the state in the javelin in 2015 as a sophomore. Poole holds the state javelin record at 46.53m (152-08) for both the state of Montana and the state championship meet. Last year, Poole ranked 13th in the nation in the javelin; this season she ranks fourth in the country. She is also a two-time Texas Relays javelin champion. She is interested in studying nursing/medical sciences.
Peter Miller on Poole: "Hailey is a perfect fit for our team and our culture. A super positive young woman, who is a self-proclaimed gym rat, she will be a great addition to our talented throws group. She is a great student in the classroom and of her event. Hailey will help push our group to the next level through her passion and work ethic. I can't wait to work with her and build off a great foundation set up by her father and coach, John Poole. Welcome to the Gophers, Hailey."
Molly Roach, Jefferson High School (Bloomington, Minn.)
Molly Roach joins the Gophers from Jefferson High School where she is a standout three-sport athlete competing in soccer, cross country, and track & field. She is an 11-time letterwinner for the Jaguars. A two-time captain of the track & field team, Roach served as captain this past fall with the soccer program as well. Additionally, she earned 10 conference awards, five section awards and four state awards. Entering her senior year, Roach is a six time Minnesota Class AA Track & Field State Championship qualifier; she also helped Jefferson HS to a 16th-place team finish at the 2016 Minnesota Class AA Cross Country State Championship. She also received Jefferson's received the 2016 Athena Award.
Sarah Hopkins on Roach: "Molly comes to us as one of the best middle distance runners in the state for the last several years. During that time she was splitting time between soccer, cross country, and track. A great all-around athlete, we are excited to see what she can do with a sole focus on running. She adds great depth to the middle distance group. With 57 second 400-meter speed and cross country range, it will be fun to see where she excels at the college level."
Tate Sweeney, Edina High School (Edina, Minn.)
Tate Sweeney joins the Gophers from Edina, Minn., where she attends Edina High School. She helped the Hornets to back-to-back state titles at the Minnesota Class AA State Cross Country Championships as a senior and junior after the team finished as state runners-up her sophomore year in 2014. On the track, Sweeney was the 800-meter runner up along with setting a Class AA record with Edina's state champion 4x800-meter relay team as a junior in 2016. She also qualified for the Minnesota Class AA State Track & Field Championship with Edina's 4x800m relay team as a sophomore in 2015.
Sarah Hopkins on Sweeney: "Tate is a perfect fit for Minnesota and for this class, another speed-sided middle-distance runner who made huge breakthroughs last year as the runner-up at the state meet in the 800m. She is also a solid cross country runner and a natural-born leader. We are excited to add Tate to this group of incoming freshmen."
These five newcomers join Minnesota's previously announced signees for the 2017-18 season. Those 10 student-athletes have seen considerable success since announcing their commitments to attend the University of Minnesota.
Lorean Murray set a new career-best mark in high jump when she cleared 1.73m (5-08.00) to earn bronze in the Girls Under-20 Championships at the Carifta Games. She jumped 5.77m (18-11.25) for fifth place, and she has posted a new PR of 12.61m (41-04.50) in the triple jump.
Tess Keyzers has set career-best marks in both the shot put (47-05) and discus (106-07) this outdoor season.
Most recently, Nayoka Clunis competed alongside current Gophers at the Kansas Relays, setting new PRs in the discus (47.34m, 155-03) and the hammer (54.38m, 178-05), and sha also posted a season-best in the shot put at 14.47m (47-05.75).
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Players Mentioned
