University of Minnesota Athletics
Sunday, October 28
Lincoln, Neb.
10:45 AM
University of Minnesota
at
Big Ten Championship
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B1G Championship Up Next for No. 21 Minnesota
10/22/2018 4:02:00 PM | Women's Cross Country
The Golden Gophers bring an experienced squad to the Big Ten Cross Country Championship in Lincoln, Neb., this Sunday.
MINNEAPOLIS – Championship season begins for the No. 21 University of Minnesota women's cross country team this weekend when the Golden Gophers travel to Lincoln, Neb., for the 2018 Big Ten Conference Cross Country Championship on Sunday.
About the Big Ten Championship
The 2018 Big Ten Conference Cross Country Championships will take place on Sunday, Oct. 28, at the Mahoney Golf Course in Lincoln, Neb., hosted by Nebraska. The women's race will begin at 10:45 a.m. CT, while the men's race will start at 11:45 a.m. CT. Admission is free; parking is $5 per car. The championships will be televised live on BTN Plus (available on the BTN2Go digital platform and through the FOX Sports app) and will air on BTN on a tape-delayed basis (date and time TBD).
2017 B1G Championship Rewind
Minnesota placed second in the team standings behind Madeline Strandemo's individual runner-up finish at the 2017 Big Ten Championship. Strandemo led the Gophers with a career-best 6K time of 20:13.5 while Megan Hasz (fifth) and Bethany Hasz (10th) also earned top-10 finishes to lead Minnesota. Strandemo and M. Hasz both gained ground over the final 1,000 meters as Strandemo surged to second after running in fourth place and M. Hasz improved from eighth to fifth over the final kilometer. Bailey Ness (career-best 21:15.1) and Abby Kohut-Jackson (career-best 21:26.2) completed Minnesota's scoring finishes in 30th and 39th, respectively. Minnesota scored 86 points to edge third-place Wisconsin with 100 points. Michigan placed all five of its scoring runners among the top 17 individuals to score 55 points for the team title. Penn State (107 points) and Michigan State (119 points) rounded out the top five teams.
Gophers at the B1G Championship
Minnesota's Big Ten roster already has significant B1G Championship experience led by Patty O'Brien, now a four-time B1G Cross Country Championship participant. O'Brien placed 56th in 2017, 61st in 2016, and 63rd in 2015. Bethany Hasz and Megan Hasz both have two top-20 finishes to their names led by M. Hasz's fifth-place showing a year ago after placing 11th as a true freshman in 2016. B. Hasz took 20th in 2016 and improved by 10 places for 10th last season. Elyse Prescott (54th in 2017), Abby Kohut-Jackson (39th in 2017), and Molly Eastman (72nd in 2016) all return to the B1G Cross Country Championship as well. Three Gophers are set to make their B1G Championship debuts in Olivia Hummel, Anastasia Korzenowski, and Jaycie Thomsen.
Gophers' B1G Roster
Patty O'Brien (56th, 21:45.1, 2017; 61st, 22:45.3, 2016; 63rd, 21:39.2, 2015)
Bethany Hasz (20th, 21:41.5, 2016; 10th, 20:34.4, 2017)
Megan Hasz (11th, 21:24.9, 2016; 5th, 20:23.5, 2017)
Elyse Prescott (54th, 21:43.5, 2017; Alternate, 2016)
Molly Eastman (72nd, 22:58.4, 2016)
Abby Kohut-Jackson (39th, 21:26.2, 2017)
Olivia Hummel (debut)
Anastasia Korzenowski (debut)
Jaycie Thomsen (debut)
Last Time Out: Jack's Twilight Run
Tate Sweeney led the Gophers as the female runner-up when Minnesota hosted Jack's Twilight Run last Friday. In a field of 50 total finishers in the open 6K race, Sweeney ran a career-best 21:33.3 for eighth place overall as the second female. Libby Halbmaier finished third while racing unattached, also clocking at PR of 21:36.4, while Lindsey Greenlund (21:40.0) and Sarah Werking (21:55.5) rounded out Minnesota's top three attached athletes with career-best times of their own.
Gophers Remain No. 21 in USTFCCCA Poll
The Gophers remained No. 21 in the nation according to the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) NCAA Division I Women's Cross Country Week Five National Coaches' Poll. The Big Ten Conference has six teams ranked among the nation's top 30 in No. 7 Michigan, No. 10 Indiana, No. 11 Wisconsin, No. 13 Penn State, No. 14 Michigan State, and No. 21 Minnesota. Iowa State remains the top team in the Midwest Region, followed by Minnesota, Oklahoma State, South Dakota, and Northwestern. The week six national poll is set to be released following conference championship weekend on Tuesday, Oct. 30.
Gophers Make Debuts
Gophers Maria Eastman and Olivia Hummel made their debuts for the Maroon & Gold this season, and redshirt freshmen Bit Klecker, Anastasia Korzenowski, Molly Roach, Sophie Schmitz, Tate Sweeney, and Jaycie Thomsen have all competed in uniform for the first time in their careers. Gopher rookies Libby Halbmaier, Elena Hayday, Taylor Krone, Becca Langer, and Courtney West have all raced unattached as well.
Gophers Celebrate Track & Field Stadium Grand Opening
The University of Minnesota and Gopher Athletics celebrated a new era of track and field with the grand opening of the University of Minnesota Track and Field Stadium on Monday, Sept. 17. Located in the heart of the new Athletes Village area, this facility will become synonymous with track & field excellence in the Midwest. It will not only provide a first-class experience for the Gophers, but it will also provide a wonderful venue for the state's largest amateur meets and a Minnesota option for USA Track & Field to place its marquee events in the Upper Midwest.
The University of Minnesota Track and Field Stadium gives Minnesota its first opportunity in more than 15 years to host home outdoor meets, including Big Ten and NCAA competition. The facility features a nine-lane track with the Beynon 2000 surface, full-field event hosting capabilities, versatile configuration, fully enclosed, heated warm-up and cool down areas, and grandstands with the capacity to host major competitions.
Who is Back?
The Gophers return four of their seven runners from the 2017 NCAA Championship in Megan Hasz, Abby Kohut-Jackson, Bethany Hasz, and Elyse Prescott along with alternates Patty O'Brien and Zetta Mason. Bethany Hasz and Megan Hasz return after earning NCAA all-region and All-Big Ten honors last season.
Who is New?
Five rookies joined the Gophers this season in Libby Halbmaier (Minnetonka, Minn.), Elena Hayday (Bloomington, Minn.), Taylor Krone (Anoka, Minn.), Becca Langer (Waukesha, Wis.), and Courtney West (Dodge Center, Minn.). Junior Maria Berg (New Prague, Minn.) is another newcomer for the Maroon & Gold after she transferred to the University of Minnesota after competing for Minnesota Duluth in both cross country and track & field as a freshman during the 2016-17 season and competing in cross country during the 2017 season.
Seven redshirt freshmen are making their debuts racing in uniform for the Gophers after competing unattached last fall: Sam Baer (St. Louis Park, Minn.), Bit Klecker (Hopkins, Minn.), Anastasia Korzenowski (Chanhassen, Minn.), Molly Roach (Bloomington, Minn.), Sophie Schmitz (Willmar, Minn.), Tate Sweeney (Edina, Minn.), and Jaycie Thomsen (Maple Grove, Minn.). Redshirt sophomores Kayla Baker (Cloquet, Minn.), Maria Eastman (Victoria Minn.), and Olivia Hummel (Woodbury, Minn.) are also making their debuts for the Maroon & Gold this fall.
Six Gophers Serving as Captains
Molly Eastman, Abby Lange, Patty O'Brien, Paige Peschel, Elyse Prescott, and Kelsey Sather are leading the Gophers as captains this fall. O'Brien and Peschel return to Minnesota's leadership group as fifth-year seniors and second-year captains joined by fellow fifth-year senior Eastman. Lange and Sather are both redshirt juniors for the Gophers, and Prescott rounds out Minnesota's six captains as she enters her junior season.
Home Meets
Minnesota hosts six home meets at Les Bolstad Course this fall: Intrasquad 5K (Aug. 31), Oz Memorial Run (Sept. 7), 33rd annual Roy Griak Invitational (Sept. 29), Jack's Twilight Run (Oct. 19), and Rocky's Run (Nov. 4).
Up Next: Rocky's Run
Minnesota wraps up the regular season by hosting Rocky's Run at Les Bolstad Course next Sunday, Nov. 4. The open 6K race begins at 10:30 a.m. CT. The race is open to the public with a registration fee of $10 and online registration is available now.
Rocky's Run was founded in 1981 to honor former Gopher runner Rochelle "Rocky" Racette, who died in a car accident that fall at the age of 22. While at the University of Minnesota, Racette was an All-American in track & field and cross country and champion of the Big Ten and Drake Relays 5,000-meter titles. The annual race is staged by the many members of the running community who knew and loved her. Racette's legacy lives on through the memory of those who knew her, and through Rocky's Run and the scholarship for which it raises money.
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About the Big Ten Championship
The 2018 Big Ten Conference Cross Country Championships will take place on Sunday, Oct. 28, at the Mahoney Golf Course in Lincoln, Neb., hosted by Nebraska. The women's race will begin at 10:45 a.m. CT, while the men's race will start at 11:45 a.m. CT. Admission is free; parking is $5 per car. The championships will be televised live on BTN Plus (available on the BTN2Go digital platform and through the FOX Sports app) and will air on BTN on a tape-delayed basis (date and time TBD).
2017 B1G Championship Rewind
Minnesota placed second in the team standings behind Madeline Strandemo's individual runner-up finish at the 2017 Big Ten Championship. Strandemo led the Gophers with a career-best 6K time of 20:13.5 while Megan Hasz (fifth) and Bethany Hasz (10th) also earned top-10 finishes to lead Minnesota. Strandemo and M. Hasz both gained ground over the final 1,000 meters as Strandemo surged to second after running in fourth place and M. Hasz improved from eighth to fifth over the final kilometer. Bailey Ness (career-best 21:15.1) and Abby Kohut-Jackson (career-best 21:26.2) completed Minnesota's scoring finishes in 30th and 39th, respectively. Minnesota scored 86 points to edge third-place Wisconsin with 100 points. Michigan placed all five of its scoring runners among the top 17 individuals to score 55 points for the team title. Penn State (107 points) and Michigan State (119 points) rounded out the top five teams.
Gophers at the B1G Championship
Minnesota's Big Ten roster already has significant B1G Championship experience led by Patty O'Brien, now a four-time B1G Cross Country Championship participant. O'Brien placed 56th in 2017, 61st in 2016, and 63rd in 2015. Bethany Hasz and Megan Hasz both have two top-20 finishes to their names led by M. Hasz's fifth-place showing a year ago after placing 11th as a true freshman in 2016. B. Hasz took 20th in 2016 and improved by 10 places for 10th last season. Elyse Prescott (54th in 2017), Abby Kohut-Jackson (39th in 2017), and Molly Eastman (72nd in 2016) all return to the B1G Cross Country Championship as well. Three Gophers are set to make their B1G Championship debuts in Olivia Hummel, Anastasia Korzenowski, and Jaycie Thomsen.
Gophers' B1G Roster
Patty O'Brien (56th, 21:45.1, 2017; 61st, 22:45.3, 2016; 63rd, 21:39.2, 2015)
Bethany Hasz (20th, 21:41.5, 2016; 10th, 20:34.4, 2017)
Megan Hasz (11th, 21:24.9, 2016; 5th, 20:23.5, 2017)
Elyse Prescott (54th, 21:43.5, 2017; Alternate, 2016)
Molly Eastman (72nd, 22:58.4, 2016)
Abby Kohut-Jackson (39th, 21:26.2, 2017)
Olivia Hummel (debut)
Anastasia Korzenowski (debut)
Jaycie Thomsen (debut)
Last Time Out: Jack's Twilight Run
Tate Sweeney led the Gophers as the female runner-up when Minnesota hosted Jack's Twilight Run last Friday. In a field of 50 total finishers in the open 6K race, Sweeney ran a career-best 21:33.3 for eighth place overall as the second female. Libby Halbmaier finished third while racing unattached, also clocking at PR of 21:36.4, while Lindsey Greenlund (21:40.0) and Sarah Werking (21:55.5) rounded out Minnesota's top three attached athletes with career-best times of their own.
Gophers Remain No. 21 in USTFCCCA Poll
The Gophers remained No. 21 in the nation according to the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) NCAA Division I Women's Cross Country Week Five National Coaches' Poll. The Big Ten Conference has six teams ranked among the nation's top 30 in No. 7 Michigan, No. 10 Indiana, No. 11 Wisconsin, No. 13 Penn State, No. 14 Michigan State, and No. 21 Minnesota. Iowa State remains the top team in the Midwest Region, followed by Minnesota, Oklahoma State, South Dakota, and Northwestern. The week six national poll is set to be released following conference championship weekend on Tuesday, Oct. 30.
Gophers Make Debuts
Gophers Maria Eastman and Olivia Hummel made their debuts for the Maroon & Gold this season, and redshirt freshmen Bit Klecker, Anastasia Korzenowski, Molly Roach, Sophie Schmitz, Tate Sweeney, and Jaycie Thomsen have all competed in uniform for the first time in their careers. Gopher rookies Libby Halbmaier, Elena Hayday, Taylor Krone, Becca Langer, and Courtney West have all raced unattached as well.
Gophers Celebrate Track & Field Stadium Grand Opening
The University of Minnesota and Gopher Athletics celebrated a new era of track and field with the grand opening of the University of Minnesota Track and Field Stadium on Monday, Sept. 17. Located in the heart of the new Athletes Village area, this facility will become synonymous with track & field excellence in the Midwest. It will not only provide a first-class experience for the Gophers, but it will also provide a wonderful venue for the state's largest amateur meets and a Minnesota option for USA Track & Field to place its marquee events in the Upper Midwest.
The University of Minnesota Track and Field Stadium gives Minnesota its first opportunity in more than 15 years to host home outdoor meets, including Big Ten and NCAA competition. The facility features a nine-lane track with the Beynon 2000 surface, full-field event hosting capabilities, versatile configuration, fully enclosed, heated warm-up and cool down areas, and grandstands with the capacity to host major competitions.
Who is Back?
The Gophers return four of their seven runners from the 2017 NCAA Championship in Megan Hasz, Abby Kohut-Jackson, Bethany Hasz, and Elyse Prescott along with alternates Patty O'Brien and Zetta Mason. Bethany Hasz and Megan Hasz return after earning NCAA all-region and All-Big Ten honors last season.
Who is New?
Five rookies joined the Gophers this season in Libby Halbmaier (Minnetonka, Minn.), Elena Hayday (Bloomington, Minn.), Taylor Krone (Anoka, Minn.), Becca Langer (Waukesha, Wis.), and Courtney West (Dodge Center, Minn.). Junior Maria Berg (New Prague, Minn.) is another newcomer for the Maroon & Gold after she transferred to the University of Minnesota after competing for Minnesota Duluth in both cross country and track & field as a freshman during the 2016-17 season and competing in cross country during the 2017 season.
Seven redshirt freshmen are making their debuts racing in uniform for the Gophers after competing unattached last fall: Sam Baer (St. Louis Park, Minn.), Bit Klecker (Hopkins, Minn.), Anastasia Korzenowski (Chanhassen, Minn.), Molly Roach (Bloomington, Minn.), Sophie Schmitz (Willmar, Minn.), Tate Sweeney (Edina, Minn.), and Jaycie Thomsen (Maple Grove, Minn.). Redshirt sophomores Kayla Baker (Cloquet, Minn.), Maria Eastman (Victoria Minn.), and Olivia Hummel (Woodbury, Minn.) are also making their debuts for the Maroon & Gold this fall.
Six Gophers Serving as Captains
Molly Eastman, Abby Lange, Patty O'Brien, Paige Peschel, Elyse Prescott, and Kelsey Sather are leading the Gophers as captains this fall. O'Brien and Peschel return to Minnesota's leadership group as fifth-year seniors and second-year captains joined by fellow fifth-year senior Eastman. Lange and Sather are both redshirt juniors for the Gophers, and Prescott rounds out Minnesota's six captains as she enters her junior season.
Home Meets
Minnesota hosts six home meets at Les Bolstad Course this fall: Intrasquad 5K (Aug. 31), Oz Memorial Run (Sept. 7), 33rd annual Roy Griak Invitational (Sept. 29), Jack's Twilight Run (Oct. 19), and Rocky's Run (Nov. 4).
Up Next: Rocky's Run
Minnesota wraps up the regular season by hosting Rocky's Run at Les Bolstad Course next Sunday, Nov. 4. The open 6K race begins at 10:30 a.m. CT. The race is open to the public with a registration fee of $10 and online registration is available now.
Rocky's Run was founded in 1981 to honor former Gopher runner Rochelle "Rocky" Racette, who died in a car accident that fall at the age of 22. While at the University of Minnesota, Racette was an All-American in track & field and cross country and champion of the Big Ten and Drake Relays 5,000-meter titles. The annual race is staged by the many members of the running community who knew and loved her. Racette's legacy lives on through the memory of those who knew her, and through Rocky's Run and the scholarship for which it raises money.
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