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Four Gophers Earn NCAA Indoor Bids
2/27/2019 12:24:00 PM | Men's Track & Field, Women's Track & Field
MINNEAPOLIS – The University of Minnesota track & field program will send four competitors to the 2019 NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Indoor Track & Field Championships on March 8-9 at the Birmingham CrossPlex in Birmingham, Ala.
Representing the Maroon & Gold will be Kiley Sabin (women's shot put), Obsa Ali (men's 5,000 meters), Kieran McKeag (men's weight throw) and Jonathan Tharaldsen (men's shot put).
Kiley Sabin | Redshirt Senior | Slinger, Wis.
Sabin will make her fourth overall and third indoor NCAA Championship appearance this season as a national qualifier in the shot put. Sabin wrapped up the regular season ranked sixth in the nation in shot put with a career-best mark of 17.47m (57-03.75), a Minnesota program-record mark set at the Parents Day Invite earlier this season. A two-time All-American and a two-time All-Big Ten honoree in the shot put, Sabin placed fifth in the event at the 2018 NCAA Indoor Championship before placing 18th at the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Championship. She made her NCAA Championship debut at the 2017 indoor meet where she finished 15th in shot put. This season, Sabin competed in shot put at six meets and won four titles. A native of Slinger, Wis., Sabin placed sixth in shot put at the 2019 Big Ten Indoor Championship.
Obsa Ali | Redshirt Senior | Richfield, Minn.
The 2018 outdoor NCAA champion in the 3,000 meters steeplechase, Ali will make his first career appearance at the NCAA indoor meet after qualifying in the 5,000 meters. The two-time All-American and two-time All-Big Ten selection enters the field with the eighth-best qualifying time at 13:38.41 – set earlier this year at the Iowa State Classic on Feb. 9. The performance ranks second all-time at Minnesota while Ali, who ran the fastest steeplechase in school history to win last year's national championship, also clocked the fourth fastest indoor 3,000 meters ever at the 'U' earlier this season. Ali finished third in the indoor 5,000 meters at the 2019 Big Ten Men's and Women's Indoor Track & Field Championships.
Kieran McKeag | Redshirt Sophomore | Lakeville, Minn.
McKeag will also make his first career appearance at the NCAA indoor meet after finishing as an Honorable Mention All-American in the hammer throw at last year's outdoor national championships. The redshirt sophomore enters the competition with the 11th best qualifying performance. His personal record of 21.97 meters (72-01.00 ft.) in the weight throw ranks second all-time at the University of Minnesota and was stood as the winning performance at the Snowshoe Open on Feb. 15 – one of three weight throw wins this season for the Lakeville, Minn., native. McKeag is coming off a sixth-place finish in the weight throw at the 2019 Big Ten Men's and Women's Indoor Track & Field Championships.
Jonathan Tharaldsen | Redshirt Junior | Bismarck, N.D.
One of the Gophers captains this season, Tharaldsen will compete for the first time at an NCAA championship event when he enters the shot put field in March. The redshirt junior enters the competition with the 15th-best qualifying performance at 19.50 meters (63-11.75 ft.). The mark, which ranks third all-time at the University of Minnesota, landed Tharaldsen a win at the Jack Johnson Classic on Jan. 26 – one of two wins in the discipline this season for the Maroon & Gold captain. He enters the NCAA meet following a third-place showing at the 2019 Big Ten Men's and Women's Indoor Track & Field Championships.
ESPN3 will stream the 2019 NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Indoor Track & Field Championships live starting at 5:30 p.m. CT on March 8 and starting at 4:00 p.m. CT on March 9. A re-air of the championship will take place starting at 9:00 p.m. CT on Sunday, March 10 on ESPN2 and again Monday, March 11 starting at 9 p.m. CT on ESPNU.
Representing the Maroon & Gold will be Kiley Sabin (women's shot put), Obsa Ali (men's 5,000 meters), Kieran McKeag (men's weight throw) and Jonathan Tharaldsen (men's shot put).
Kiley Sabin | Redshirt Senior | Slinger, Wis.
Sabin will make her fourth overall and third indoor NCAA Championship appearance this season as a national qualifier in the shot put. Sabin wrapped up the regular season ranked sixth in the nation in shot put with a career-best mark of 17.47m (57-03.75), a Minnesota program-record mark set at the Parents Day Invite earlier this season. A two-time All-American and a two-time All-Big Ten honoree in the shot put, Sabin placed fifth in the event at the 2018 NCAA Indoor Championship before placing 18th at the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Championship. She made her NCAA Championship debut at the 2017 indoor meet where she finished 15th in shot put. This season, Sabin competed in shot put at six meets and won four titles. A native of Slinger, Wis., Sabin placed sixth in shot put at the 2019 Big Ten Indoor Championship.
Obsa Ali | Redshirt Senior | Richfield, Minn.
The 2018 outdoor NCAA champion in the 3,000 meters steeplechase, Ali will make his first career appearance at the NCAA indoor meet after qualifying in the 5,000 meters. The two-time All-American and two-time All-Big Ten selection enters the field with the eighth-best qualifying time at 13:38.41 – set earlier this year at the Iowa State Classic on Feb. 9. The performance ranks second all-time at Minnesota while Ali, who ran the fastest steeplechase in school history to win last year's national championship, also clocked the fourth fastest indoor 3,000 meters ever at the 'U' earlier this season. Ali finished third in the indoor 5,000 meters at the 2019 Big Ten Men's and Women's Indoor Track & Field Championships.
Kieran McKeag | Redshirt Sophomore | Lakeville, Minn.
McKeag will also make his first career appearance at the NCAA indoor meet after finishing as an Honorable Mention All-American in the hammer throw at last year's outdoor national championships. The redshirt sophomore enters the competition with the 11th best qualifying performance. His personal record of 21.97 meters (72-01.00 ft.) in the weight throw ranks second all-time at the University of Minnesota and was stood as the winning performance at the Snowshoe Open on Feb. 15 – one of three weight throw wins this season for the Lakeville, Minn., native. McKeag is coming off a sixth-place finish in the weight throw at the 2019 Big Ten Men's and Women's Indoor Track & Field Championships.
Jonathan Tharaldsen | Redshirt Junior | Bismarck, N.D.
One of the Gophers captains this season, Tharaldsen will compete for the first time at an NCAA championship event when he enters the shot put field in March. The redshirt junior enters the competition with the 15th-best qualifying performance at 19.50 meters (63-11.75 ft.). The mark, which ranks third all-time at the University of Minnesota, landed Tharaldsen a win at the Jack Johnson Classic on Jan. 26 – one of two wins in the discipline this season for the Maroon & Gold captain. He enters the NCAA meet following a third-place showing at the 2019 Big Ten Men's and Women's Indoor Track & Field Championships.
ESPN3 will stream the 2019 NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Indoor Track & Field Championships live starting at 5:30 p.m. CT on March 8 and starting at 4:00 p.m. CT on March 9. A re-air of the championship will take place starting at 9:00 p.m. CT on Sunday, March 10 on ESPN2 and again Monday, March 11 starting at 9 p.m. CT on ESPNU.
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