Bingle, Kabia Preview 2020 Season

MINNEAPOLIS -- Director of track & field Matt Bingle and assistant coach Ibrahim Kabia look at the Gophers' sprints, relays, hurdles, multi-events, and horizontal jumps for 2020, looking at key returners and newcomers heading into the indoor track & field season along with looking ahead to the outdoor season.

Women's Sprints and Relays
Key Returners: Val Larson, Amira Young, Lexi Romero
Key Newcomers: Akilah Lewis, Janielle Josephs, Jayla Campbell, Octavia Cato

Bingle: We've kind of changed things in the sprints with our recruiting. We return Val Larson, who was Big Ten runner-up a year ago. She's had a great fall. We're excited about her opportunities. She's focusing more on the 600 meters and moving into the 400-meter hurdles. She's done a good job with that transition. You can tell she's in her fourth year. The sprinters we brought in are Akilah Lewis, Janielle Josephs, and Jayla Campbell, and then Octavia Cato joins us in January, and they change our sprints group quite a bit. We've had great development from Lexi Romero and Amira Young. Amira and Lexi have done a great job of really getting in the weight room. They had a great summer, and they've learned to practice better. That's having a huge payout for us. I like the energy of Janielle, Jayla, and Akilah. They've come in and have been very mature about a lot of things, including training. They're doing a lot of things that we've never had freshmen do before. They're really tough and they grind, and I appreciate that. We're excited about the improvement of our relays, and the whole group is taking control of their day.

Men's Sprints and Relays
Key Returners: Jonathan Webb, Zach Nelson, Ben Psicihulis, Jackson Wellenstein, Elliott Davis, Josh Tracy, Luke Trapp
Key Newcomers: Marquez Clerveaux, Kion Benjamin, Luke Pingel

Kabia: In the short sprints, we've had a really good fall training. Jonathan Webb has been kind of banged up, but he's been training really well. Zach Nelson has taken a step forward from last year, which was kind of a transition year for him. He's grown a lot...he's a lot stronger and he's handling the training a lot better. I expect him to make a huge jump this year -- that's the expectation for both of those guys. Kion Benjamin is transitioning from Trinidad, so a lot of things we are doing are new to him. But's he's doing well, and I expect him to make an impact for us this year, and then keep improving year after year. Marquez Clerveaux is from Rice Lake, and he's just going through the freshman transition right now. But that's a good group, and they are making some strides to be Big Ten-caliber athletes. For the long sprints, we have a really fun group in Ben Psicihulis, Jackson Wellenstein, Elliott Davis, Josh Tracy and Luke Trapp. They've already made huge strides in terms of maturity and understanding what the expectations are. They are highly competitive even in training and are really good about pushing each other. They've had a great fall training, and they are a very confident group heading into the indoor season. I'm really looking forward to seeing them get rolling. For the relays, we have really high expectations to maybe compete at the national meet in the 4x400. That core made the NCAA championships a couple years ago, so the expectations are high, and the training has to meet those expectations. I think we are doing that...we're heading in the right direction. I'm really looking forward to seeing what those guys can do indoor and outdoor.

Women's Hurdles
Key Returner: Rachel Schow

Bingle: In terms of women's hurdles, we return Rachel Schow, who was fourth indoors in the Big Ten last year. This is her fifth year. She's had a good fall, and I think she's ready about the opportunity the team has. She's been a good leader. Her academic schedule will be easier this year, too. I'm excited about her opportunity to focus on track this spring and take herself to another level. She talks about that a lot and is making some technical changes, and I feel like she's in a good spot.

Men's Hurdles
Key Returners: Collin Sieffert, Grant Fuller
Key Newcomer: Luke Pingel

Kabia: Collin Sieffert and Grant Fuller made their Big Ten conference debuts last year, and that was a huge confidence booster for them to see what it takes to compete at that level. They have been completely different this year in a positive way. We have high expectations for what they need to do to make a Big Ten final. I've challenged them, and they've responded. I'm very happy with where their training is. We still need to figure out the indoor season for them, but outdoor they will compete in the 400-meter hurdles. Compared to last year, we are way ahead of where we were. Luke Pingel will redshirt this year, but after a year of developing, I think he'll make a real big impact for us at the Big Ten level. .

Women's Multi-Events
Key Returners: Ayesha Champagnie, Hannah Arason, Monique Felix, Allison Gerads

Bingle: With the multis, we have Ayesha Champagnie, Hannah Arason, Allison Gerads, and Monique Felix, and they've all taken nice steps. Allison is coming off a redshirt freshman year and has matured a lot. You can tell Hannah is in her fourth year. She's taken great steps and had an awesome summer. Ayesha's redshirt year last season helped her become better at practicing. That's had a huge impact on her. She did a great job at SDSU and still has a lot of things to fix.

Women's Horizontal Jumps
Key Returners: Lorean Murray, Hannah Morris

Bingle: The women return Lorean Murray and Hannah Morris, who both scored points in the Big Ten last year and had some pretty good marks throughout the season. They had a great fall. I'm excited about their potential. They have matured, and they spent a lot of time in the weight room over the summer getting stronger. I think they also are more emotionally prepared for the season, and their expectations are high. They've been practicing well. Obviously the Big Ten is good in those areas, so they have to challenge themselves to match that, but we feel positive about who we have in those areas.

Men's Horizontal Jumps
Key Returners: Mason Roomes, Sammie Houston
Key Newcomers: Erik Eckleben

Kabia: I have all fifth-year guys -- that's a group that I really enjoy coaching. They are very coachable, and they respond to what we ask them to do. Sammie Houston has made huge strides from a technical aspect -- I get excited every day at what he is capable of doing. I think we are way ahead of where he was last year. Mason Roomes is very athletic and is capable of hitting a higher personal standard than what he has already. Erik Eckleben has done relatively well already in his career -- we only have him for a year, so we are trying to maximize the limited amount of time we have with him. He can make an immediate impact at the Big Ten level and possibly at the national level.

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Players Mentioned

Hannah Arason

Kion Benjamin

Jayla Campbell

Octavia Cato

Ayesha Champagnie

Marquez Clerveaux

Elliott Davis

Erik Eckleben

Monique Felix

Grant Fuller

Allison Gerads

Sammie Houston

Janielle Josephs

Val Larson

Akilah Lewis

Hannah Morris

Lorean Murray

Zach Nelson

Luke Pingel

Ben Psicihulis

Lexi Romero

Mason Roomes

Rachel Schow

Collin Sieffert

Josh Tracy

Luke Trapp

Jonathan Webb

Jackson Wellenstein

Amira Young