University of Minnesota Athletics
No. 13 Gophers Set for Baylor Invite
4/3/2018 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
| 2018 Baylor Invitational | |||||||||||
| Date | Saturday, April 7, 2018 | ||||||||||
| Location | Clyde Hart Track and Field Stadium | Baylor University | Waco, Texas | ||||||||||
| Meet Info | Meet Info | Schedule | Accepted Entries | Heat Sheets | ||||||||||
| Time | 10 a.m. CT Field Events | 3 p.m. CT Running Events | ||||||||||
| Coverage | Live Results | @GopherWCCTF | #Gophers | ||||||||||
April 3, 2018
MINNEAPOLIS - Members of the University of Minnesota women's track & field team are back in action this Saturday as the Gophers compete at the Baylor Invitational in Waco, Texas.
The non-traveling Gophers were originally scheduled to compete locally at the HU Invitational in St. Paul, Minn., at Hamline University's Klas Field on Saturday, but the meet has been canceled.
About the Baylor Invitational
Baylor University will host the 2018 Baylor Invitational on Saturday at the Clyde Hart Track & Field Stadium. The event will feature top men's and women's athletes from Baylor, DePaul, Incarnate Word, Minnesota (women only), Oklahoma Baptist, Oral Roberts, Oregon State, Prairie View A&M, SMU, Texas Southern, UNT, UT-Arlington and UTSA. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for youth, ages 2-17. All tickets are general admission.
Last Time Out: Ole Miss Classic and Raleigh Relays
Minnesota won six titles at the Ole Miss Classic, including both the 4x100m and 4x400m relays. The Gophers' 4x100m relay team of Rachel Schow, Titania Markland, Emma Spagnola, and Emerald Egwim won in 44.84 seconds, moving into fourth in Gophers' history, and the Maroon & Gold 4x400m relay of Egwim, Schow, Markland, and Val Larson ran 3:33.98 to win the meet and rank third in program history. Schow also won the 400m hurdles in a career-best 59.14 seconds, improving on her seventh-ranked time in program history. The Gophers won three titles in the field events as Karlie Place won pole vault by clearing 3.95m (12-11.50) to move into 10th in program history, Nicolle Murphy won javelin with her second-best throw of her career at 56.17m (184-03), and Agnes Esser won discus with a throw of 56.32m (184-09). At the Raleigh Relays, Megan Hasz led the way with a sixth-place finish in the 10,000m where she clocked a time of 34:19.8 to move into eighth place among all-time Gophers in the event.
Gophers Come in at No. 13
Minnesota ranks No. 13 in the nation in the outdoor season's U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Week One National Team Computer Rankings. The Gophers made two appearances among the nation's top 10 during the 2018 indoor season, marking the program's first top-10 rankings since the second week of the 2009 season.
No. 1 Arkansas, No. 2 Oregon, No. 3 Texas A&M, No. 4 USC, and No. 5 LSU make up the nation's top five teams in this week's rankings. No. 11 Purdue leads the Big Ten Conference, followed by the No. 13 Gophers. No. 22 Nebraska rounds out the three B1G teams among the top 25.
In the event squad rankings, Minnesota is among the nation's top eight teams in five events: 10,000m (second), hammer throw (second), 400m hurdles (third), shot put (third), and javelin (eighth).
Indoor Season Wraps Up at NCAA Championship
Five Gophers earned USTFCCCA All-America nods at the NCAA Indoor Championship to cap off the indoor season. NCAA weight throw champion Kaitlyn Long and Kiley Sabin, who placed fifth in the shot put, were named First-Team All-Americans while Agnes Esser, Karlie Place, and Nayoka Clunis earned Second-Team honors. Esser finished 11th in weight throw, Place was 12th in pole vault, and Clunis finished 16th in weight throw at the NCAA Championship. Ayesha Champagnie was recognized as honorable mention after competing in the long jump but fouling all three attempts.
Long Becomes Gophers' Second NCAA Champion
Kaitlyn Long won the weight throw to become the second national champion in University of Minnesota women's track & field history at the 2018 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championship. Long recorded a winning mark of 23.30m (76-05.50) on her sixth and final throw to take the lead after being in fifth place through three rounds of the competition. Long joins Minnesota alumnae Heather Dorniden, the 2006 indoor 800-meter champion, to make up the program's two national champions. A two-time NCAA Division II national champion, Long fouled her first two attempts and moved into fifth place with a throw of 22.15m (72-08.00) on her third throw, securing a place in the event final. She then threw 21.57m (70-09.25) and 21.82m (71-07.25) on her fourth and fifth throws, remaining in fifth place, before moving into the lead on her final attempt. Along with her distinction as national champion, Long was named a First Team All-American and the Big Ten Indoor Field Athlete of the Year as well.
2018 Big Ten Indoor Champions
The Gophers won the program's fourth indoor and sixth overall Big Ten Conference Track & Field Championship this season. Led by Kaitlyn Long's weight throw title and runner-up showings by Titania Markland in the 600m, Madeline Strandemo in the mile, and Karlie Place in pole vault, the Gophers scored 91.50 points in the team race for a convincing team victory to defeat runner-up Purdue by 11.50 points. The Boilermakers recorded 80 points for second place, followed by Ohio State and Indiana tied for third with 75 points apiece while Iowa (74 points) rounded out the top five B1G women's teams.
Program Records Fall in 2018
The Gophers set three new indoor program records this season: 3,000m (Bethany Hasz, 9:13.95), long jump (Ayesha Champagnie, 6.56m, 21-06.25), and weight throw (Kaitlyn Long, 24.37m, 79-11.50).
'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 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 outdoor meets with competitions in 12 different states. The outdoor season has the Gophers competing 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.
Up Next: Four-Meet Week
Minnesota is off from competition next week before resuming its outdoor slate at four meets on Thursday, April 19 through Saturday, April 21 as the team competes at the Brian Clay Invitational hosted by Azusa Pacific in Azusa, Calif., Mt. SAC Relays at El Camino College in Torrance, Calif., Beach Invitational hosted by Long Beach State in Long Beach, Calif., and the Holst Invitational hosted by Concordia-St. Paul in St. Paul, Minn.
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Players Mentioned
