University of Minnesota Athletics
Six Gophers to Compete at Minnesota Open
1/5/2018 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
| 2018 Minnesota Open | |||||||||||
| Date | Saturday, Jan. 6, 2018 | ||||||||||
| Location | University of Minnesota Fieldhouse | Minneapolis, Minn. | ||||||||||
| Meet Info | Meet Info/Schedule | Heat Sheets | ||||||||||
| Coverage | Live Results | ||||||||||
| Social | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | #Gophers | ||||||||||
Jan. 5, 2018
MINNEAPOLIS -- Six members of the University of Minnesota women's track & field program are scheduled to get an early start to the 2018 season when the Gopher men's track & field team hosts its season-opening Minnesota Open at the University of Minnesota Fieldhouse on Saturday.
Both running events and field events kick off at 1 p.m. CT.
Gopher Women at the Minnesota Open
Bethany Hasz; Megan Hasz, and Madeline Strandemo are entered in the 5,000-meter run, and Nayoka Clunis is entered in the weight throw and shot put. Rookies Erin Dunning and Tess Keyzers are scheduled to compete unattached in both the weight throw and the shot put as well.
'U' Breaks Ground on T&F Facility
The University of Minnesota officially broke ground on a new outdoor track & field venue on Friday, Oct. 20. The new stadium will feature a nine-lane track with three chutes, full field event hosting capabilities, and a design to allow sprints and certain field events to be held in multiple directions to take advantage of wind conditions on competition days. These features, along with permanent and event-based seating, provide the flexibility and the amenities to host a wide variety of meets.
Gophers Welcome 19 Newcomers
The Gophers' 2018 roster includes 19 newcomers. Freshmen Sam Baer, Erin Dunning, Allison Gerads, Tess Keyzers, Bit Klecker, Anastasia Korzenowski, Lorean Murray, Hailey Poole, Molly Roach, Sophie Schmitz, Tate Sweeney, and Jaycie Thomsen have joined the Gophers this season along with seven transfers in sophomore Olivia Hummel, sophomore Maria Eastman, junior Ayesha Champagnie, junior Nayoka Clunis, senior Karlie Place, senior Delaney FitzPatrick, and senior Kaitlyn Long.
Meanwhile, Hannah Arason, Meleah Biermaier, Jenna Conzemius, Ryan Crotty, Carissa Dock, Alyssa Faucett, Maddie Gourley, Lindsey Greenlund, Bethany Hasz, Megan Hasz, Abby Kohut-Jackson, Val Larson, Zetta Mason, Elyse Prescott, Ashley Ramacher, Kelli Schmidt, Rebekah Walter, and Sarah Werking will make their official collegiate debuts this year after redshirting the 2017 season.
Gophers Name Captains
Four Gophers will lead the Maroon & Gold in search of the program's sixth Big Ten track & field title this season in Titania Markland, Temi Ogunrinde, Emma Spagnola, and Madeline Strandemo. Markland and Strandemo return as captains while Ogunrinde and Spagnola are first-year captains for Minnesota.
2017-18 Track & Field Schedule
Under the direction of Matt Bingle for the seventh season, the Gophers' 2017-18 schedule includes nine weeks of indoor meets and nine weeks of outdoor meets with competitions in 12 different states. Highlighting the indoor slate are three home meets, beginning with the Minnesota vs. Wisconsin Dual which returns to the University of Minnesota Fieldhouse on Saturday, Jan. 13, the Jack Johnson Classic (Jan. 26-27) and the Parents Day Invite (Feb. 17). The outdoor season includes nine weeks of competition, and the Gophers will compete in Texas, Mississippi, North Carolina, Minnesota, California, Iowa, Kentucky, Indiana, and Oregon.
2017 Cross Country Season Rewind
The Gophers wrapped up the 2017 season with three NCAA All-Midwest Region honorees, three All-Big Ten Conference awards, B1G team and individual runner-up showings, and a top-20 NCAA Championship finish.
Madeline Strandemo finished as B1G runner-up to lead Minnesota to a runner-up team showing while Megan Hasz and Bethany Hasz joined Strandemo as All-Big Ten and All-Midwest Region honorees. The Gophers closed out the season with a 19th-place team finish at the NCAA Championship.
Program Records Fall in 2017
The Gophers broke three Minnesota indoor program records last season, including Kiley Sabin's record-breaking performance in the shot put (17.17m, 56-04.00). Emerald Egwim improved on her own program record in the 400m dash (52.73), and Kimberly Golding and Emma Spagnola tied for the top 60m hurdles time in program history at 8.13 seconds.
Outdoors, six Gophers set new program records last spring in Emerald Egwim (400m, 51.99), Kimberly Golding (100m hurdles, 12.98) Madeline Strandemo (3,000m steeplechase, 9:51.83), Kiley Sabin (shot put, 16.65m, 54-07.50), Temi Ogunrinde (hammer throw, 64.01m, 210-00), and Taylor Wiebke (high jump, 1.85m, 6-00.75). Sixteen Gophers and two relay teams made improvements to the program's top-10 list in 12 different events.
Up Next: Minnesota vs. Wisconsin Dual and UST Opener
The Minnesota vs. Wisconsin Dual is set for Saturday, Jan. 13 at the University of Minnesota Fieldhouse. Members of the team will also compete at the UST Opener hosted by St. Thomas on Friday, Jan. 12.
Sign Up for Gophers News & Notes
Stay up-to-date with daily Minnesota Golden Gophers news and highlights, receive exclusive behind-the-scenes content, and get special ticket offers and promotions from Gopher Athletics delivered to your inbox. Sign up for emails today!
Follow the Gophers Online
GopherSports.com is your home for all Minnesota Women's Track & Field news. Be sure to follow Gopher Women's Track & Field and Cross Country on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for behind the scenes info and the latest updates on the program.
###
Players Mentioned
