University of Minnesota Athletics
5K Races Up First for Gophers
8/30/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
| Intrasquad 5K | |||||||||||
| Date & Time | 7 p.m. CT | Friday, Sept. 1, 2017 | ||||||||||
| Location | Les Bolstad Course, Falcon Heights, Minn. | ||||||||||
| Coverage | @GopherWCCTF | #Gophers | ||||||||||
| Indiana Open | |||||||||||
| Date & Time | 8:20 a.m. CT | Saturday, Sept. 2, 2017 | ||||||||||
| Location | IU Championships CC Course, Bloomington, Ind. | ||||||||||
| Coverage | @GopherWCCTF | @IndianaXCTF | #Gophers | ||||||||||
MINNEAPOLIS - The No. 24 Golden Gopher women's cross country team is set to open its 2017 campaign with a pair of five-kilometer races this weekend. Members of the team unofficially open the season at the annual Intrasquad 5K on Friday evening before the top 12 runners head to the Indiana Open on Saturday.
About the Intrasquad 5K
The Gophers will split into three teams for their annual Intrasquad 5K at 7 p.m. CT at Les Bolstad Course in Falcon Heights, Minn.
About the Indiana Open
Minnesota will send 12 runners to Bloomington, Ind., for the Indiana Open 5K on Saturday morning. The Gophers are one of six teams set to race, joining Indiana, Illinois, Miami (Ohio), Ohio State, and Wisconsin in a meet previewing the 2017 Big Ten Conference Championship course. The women's 5K race will begin at 8:20 a.m. CT with a men's 8K race starting at 9:10 a.m. CT at IU Championship Cross Country Course in Bloomington, Ind.
2016 Intrasquad Rewind
Last year's Intrasquad saw Madeline Strandemo (18:27.11), Megan Hasz (18:32.59), Bethany Hasz (18:36.01), Bailey Ness (18:36.26), and Danielle Anderson (18:50.37) lead the team. Elyse Prescott (18:54.79, seventh) is the top finisher from last year's Intrasquad returning to the meet this season.
Gophers Rank No. 24 in USTFCCCA Preseason Poll
The Gophers open the season ranked No. 24 in the nation according to the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) NCAA Division I Women's Cross Country Preseason National Coaches' Poll.
The Big Ten Conference has five of the nation's top 25 teams to start the 2017 season in No. 3 Michigan, No. 11 Penn State, No. 14 Wisconsin, No. 16 Michigan State, and the No. 24 Gophers. Indiana is also among those teams receiving votes with two votes. No. 1 Colorado (355), No. 2 Oregon (331), No. 3 Michigan (330), No. 4 New Mexico (323), and No. 5 Stanford (313) make up the nation's top five teams in the preseason poll.
Minnesota is one of three teams to make the preseason top 25 after not qualifying for the 2016 NCAA national championship, joining No. 19 Boise State and No. 26 (tied) Georgetown.
Who's Back?
Minnesota returns all top nine runners from last year's postseason roster led by individual NCAA qualifier Madeline Strandemo. Bethany Hasz and Megan Hasz join Strandemo as returning NCAA all-region performers.
Gophers Name Captain Quintet
Minnesota will be lead by first-year captains Amelia Barczi, Bailey Ness, Patty O'Brien, and Paige Peschel and returning captain Madeline Strandemo this season.
Up Next: Oz Memorial
The Gophers return to Les Bolstad Course for the team's official home-opener next Friday, Sept. 8 when they host the annual Oz Memorial Run.
###
Players Mentioned
