University of Minnesota Athletics
Players Mentioned
Gophers Honored at Golden Goldys
5/4/2018 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
MINNEAPOLIS – The Minnesota women's track & field and cross country programs were honored earlier this week when Gopher Athletics held its annual Golden Goldys awards ceremony at TCF Bank Stadium. The Golden Goldys recognize both the athletic and academic achievements of Minnesota's student-athletes.
Two Gophers took home individual athletic awards in Kaitlyn Long and Temi Ogunrinde. Lindsey Smits was selected as one of two Big Ten Postgraduate Scholarship recipients, and Abby Kargol and Emily Betz were honored for their impressive grade point averages. The Gopher women's cross country team received two academic awards as well.
Female Athlete of the Year: Kaitlyn Long
Kaitlyn Long was named Minnesota's Female Athlete of the Year for her 2018 indoor track & field season. Long was the 2018 NCAA champion and Big Ten champion in weight throw, earning First Team All-America and First Team All-Big Ten honors. She was also named the Midwest Region Women's Field Athlete of the Year and the Big Ten Women's Field Athlete of the Year.
Long broke Minnesota's program record in the weight throw, a mark of 21.05m (69-00.75) held by Liz Alabi since 2007, and improved on her own program record three times. She also set Big Ten all-time and Big Ten Championship records in the weight throw with her career-best mark of 24.37m (79-11.50). Long also set weight throw facility records at the SPIRE Institute, Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium, University of Iowa Recreation Building, and the Minnesota Fieldhouse.
Long ended her collegiate indoor career with four top-two NCAA finishes in the weight throw: 2018 NCAA Division I national champion, 2015 and 2016 NCAA Division II national champion, and 2017 NCAA Division II national runner-up after beginning her college career at Winona State. She is the No. 3 performer and owns the No. 6 performance in NCAA history in the weight throw and ranks No. 6 in the United States and sixth in the world all-time in the weight throw.
Female Breakthrough Athlete of the Year: Temi Ogunrinde
Fellow Gopher thrower Temi Ogunrinde was named the Female Breakthrough Athlete of the Year for her 2017 outdoor track & field season. Ogunrinde began the 2017 outdoor season with a career-best hammer throw mark of 52.58m (172-06) and improved to 64.01m (210-00) by the end of the season, improving by 11.43m (37-06). She was not ranked in Minnesota's all-time top 10 in the hammer throw at the start of the season and held the program record in the event by the end of the season, improving on Minnesota's previous school record in the hammer throw of 63.30m (207-08) held by Lyndsey Thorpe since 2016.
Ogunrinde was the 2017 Big Ten Conference champion in the hammer throw and earned First Team All-Big Ten accolades with a then-career best throw of 61.44m (201-07), in her Big Ten Championship debut. She was an NCAA West Prelim qualifier in hammer throw, placing eighth with a Minnesota program record throw of 64.01m (210-00) to advance to the NCAA Championship, where she placed 18th with a throw of 60.75m (199-03).
Ogunrinde was also selected as the University of Minnesota's Big Ten Outstanding Sportsmanship Award recipient and earned USTFCCCA All-Academic and Academic All-Big Ten honors last season.
Top-Five Award: Abby Kargol, Emily Betz
The Top-Five Award recognizes the five highest grade point averages by male and female Gopher student-athletes. On the women's side, Abby Kargol and Emily Betz joined Sabrine Garrison (golf), Mariam Khamis (swimming), and Maggie Werba (swimming) in receiving the prestigious award.
Gladys Brooks Commitment to Academic Excellence Award and Outstanding Academic Team Award: Women's Cross Country
The Gopher women's cross country team received two academic awards, accepting the Gladys Brooks Commitment to Academic Excellence Award in addition to receiving one of four Outstanding Academic Team Awards, which are presented annually to one men's and one women's team representing both large (22+ members) and small team categories. The awards are presented based on the team's grade point averages of the past spring and fall semesters. Gopher women's cross country was also honored with a USTFCCCA Academic Team Award for the 2017 season after leading the Big Ten Conference with a 3.60 grade point average as a team.
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