University of Minnesota Athletics
Saturday, November 17
Madison, Wis.
10:45 AM
University of Minnesota
at
NCAA Championship
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
Photo by: Doug Hasz
Gophers Place 29th at NCAA Championship
11/17/2018 11:49:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
Bethany Hasz led the Maroon & Gold with a 49th-place individual finish at the national meet on Saturday.
MADISON, Wis. -- The Golden Gopher women's cross country team wrapped up the 2018 season with a 29th-place team finish at the NCAA Cross Country Championship at Wisconsin's Zimmer Championship Course in Madison, Wis., Saturday morning.
"I thought we really did a nice job of moving," head coach Sarah Hopkins said. "We got a little buried early, but everybody moved through the whole race and everybody did a nice job of battling the whole way even when it felt like we were out of it. Nobody hung their heads or gave up on themselves. Everybody kept battling the whole way and that's all you can really ask for."
Bethany Hasz led the Maroon & Gold for the sixth time in as many races this season, finishing just shy of All-America status in 49th overall with a time of 20:43.49.
"Bethany made huge progress from last year to this year, and she's just going to keep getting better as she keeps getting more experience," Hopkins said. "Credit to her to be right up there in the mix. She put her nose in there and gave it a run, so that was awesome.
"She was pretty smart early and was maybe a little too conservative, but she moved really well and was obviously within nine spots of being an All-American. I know her goal was to be an All-American, but anytime you're in that top 50, you're doing something pretty special at this meet. I'm super proud of the way she competed and the way she's competed all year."
Megan Hasz was second for the Gophers in 105th place overall, clocking a time of 21:07.49. After previously serving as an alternate at the national meet, Patty O'Brien made her NCAA Championship debut as Minnesota's third runner in 22:04.66 for 212th place with Abby Kohut-Jackson close behind in 22:07.67 for 215th place.
Anastasia Korzenowski (22:21.15), Jaycie Thomsen (22:26.07), and Molly Eastman (22:32.54) made their NCAA debuts for the Gophers as well.
"I think we learned a lot. We had four people who had never been to a national meet before, and two of those were freshmen. That's how you learn," Hopkins said. "You just have to be at this meet a couple times to figure it out and learn. Hopefully that's what we came away from today with -- it was maybe not the outcome we wanted but in the long run, it may have been the best for this group when you look at a year or two down the road and what we can accomplish. It could all have started today."
The NCAA appearance marked Minnesota's 13th team berth in the last 14 seasons and the program's 24th team appearance since 1974.
Colorado took home the team title with 65 points led by individual champion Dani Jones in 19:42.76. New Mexico (103), Oregon (160), Michigan (213), and Stanford (232) made up the top five teams behind the Buffalos.
With the conclusion of the cross country season, Minnesota now looks ahead to the 2018-19 track & field season, which is scheduled to begin with select student-athletes getting an early start at the South Dakota State Holiday Open in Brookings, S.D., on Friday, Nov. 30 and Saturday, Dec. 1.
Gopher Results at the NCAA Championship
49. Bethany Hasz, 20:43.49
105. Megan Hasz, 21:07.49
212. Patty O'Brien, 22:04.66
215. Abby Kohut-Jackson, 22:07.67
230. Anastasia Korzenowski, 22:21.15
234. Jaycie Thomsen, 22:26.07
238. Molly Eastman, 22:32.54
###
"I thought we really did a nice job of moving," head coach Sarah Hopkins said. "We got a little buried early, but everybody moved through the whole race and everybody did a nice job of battling the whole way even when it felt like we were out of it. Nobody hung their heads or gave up on themselves. Everybody kept battling the whole way and that's all you can really ask for."
Bethany Hasz led the Maroon & Gold for the sixth time in as many races this season, finishing just shy of All-America status in 49th overall with a time of 20:43.49.
"Bethany made huge progress from last year to this year, and she's just going to keep getting better as she keeps getting more experience," Hopkins said. "Credit to her to be right up there in the mix. She put her nose in there and gave it a run, so that was awesome.
"She was pretty smart early and was maybe a little too conservative, but she moved really well and was obviously within nine spots of being an All-American. I know her goal was to be an All-American, but anytime you're in that top 50, you're doing something pretty special at this meet. I'm super proud of the way she competed and the way she's competed all year."
Megan Hasz was second for the Gophers in 105th place overall, clocking a time of 21:07.49. After previously serving as an alternate at the national meet, Patty O'Brien made her NCAA Championship debut as Minnesota's third runner in 22:04.66 for 212th place with Abby Kohut-Jackson close behind in 22:07.67 for 215th place.
Anastasia Korzenowski (22:21.15), Jaycie Thomsen (22:26.07), and Molly Eastman (22:32.54) made their NCAA debuts for the Gophers as well.
"I think we learned a lot. We had four people who had never been to a national meet before, and two of those were freshmen. That's how you learn," Hopkins said. "You just have to be at this meet a couple times to figure it out and learn. Hopefully that's what we came away from today with -- it was maybe not the outcome we wanted but in the long run, it may have been the best for this group when you look at a year or two down the road and what we can accomplish. It could all have started today."
The NCAA appearance marked Minnesota's 13th team berth in the last 14 seasons and the program's 24th team appearance since 1974.
Colorado took home the team title with 65 points led by individual champion Dani Jones in 19:42.76. New Mexico (103), Oregon (160), Michigan (213), and Stanford (232) made up the top five teams behind the Buffalos.
With the conclusion of the cross country season, Minnesota now looks ahead to the 2018-19 track & field season, which is scheduled to begin with select student-athletes getting an early start at the South Dakota State Holiday Open in Brookings, S.D., on Friday, Nov. 30 and Saturday, Dec. 1.
Gopher Results at the NCAA Championship
49. Bethany Hasz, 20:43.49
105. Megan Hasz, 21:07.49
212. Patty O'Brien, 22:04.66
215. Abby Kohut-Jackson, 22:07.67
230. Anastasia Korzenowski, 22:21.15
234. Jaycie Thomsen, 22:26.07
238. Molly Eastman, 22:32.54
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