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Sprints/Mid-Distance
/ Women's Track & Field
Gopher Women Announce Incoming Class
1/27/2020 9:15:00 AM | Men's Cross Country, Men's Track & Field, Women's Cross Country, Women's Track & Field
Director of track & field Matt Bingle has announced the first half of the newest class of Gophers set to join the program for 2020-21.
MINNEAPOLIS -- University of Minnesota director of track & field and cross country Matt Bingle is pleased to announce the addition of 17 women who have signed with the Golden Gophers.
On the women's side, the newest class of Gophers set to join the team for the 2020-21 season includes Emma Atkinson, Brianne Brewster, Hannah Constable, Dalayni Etienne, Shelby Frank, Ava Hill, Claire Howell, Ceci Howes, Carley Kremer, Kaylah McCall, Liesl Paulsen, Mara Pletcher, Erin Reidy, Tierra Robinson-Jones, Abigail Schaaffe, and Sam Spencer. In addition, Octavia Cato has joined the team for the 2020 season.
Emma Atkinson, Plymouth, Minn. (Distance)
A standout distance runner from Plymouth, Minn., Emma Atkinson joins the Gophers from Wayzata High School. She has personal bests of 2:11.91 for 800 meters, 17:15.11 for 5K, and 4:56.97 for the 1,600 meters. Atkinson finished as state runner-up in the 1,600-meter run along with earning a fifth-place showing in the 800 meters at the Minnesota Class AA State Championships last spring.
Hopkins on Atkinson: I have been watching Emma compete for a long time, and I have been crossing my fingers she would pick Minnesota since the first time I watched her compete. She is a feisty competitor with great range to run 2:11 in the 800 meters and 17:15 for the 5K. Coming from a soccer background, she has all the tools to be a superstar in college. We are so excited she chose to stay in Minnesota and be a Gopher!
Brianne Brewster, Burnsville, Minn. (Distance)
Brianne Brewster joins the Gophers as a distance runner from Burnsville, Minn., and Lakeville South High School. As a junior on the track last spring, Brewster anchored Lakeville South's 12th-place 4x800-meter relay team at the Minnesota Class AA State Championships.
Hopkins on Brewster: Bri is the definition of a cross country runner. She is gritty and tough as nails and will fight for every point, both for herself and for the team. One of the best cross country runners in the state for her whole career, Bri was 11th at Footlocker Midwest last year and top 10 at Nike Heartland in 2018 as well. I am so excited to get Bri into our team fabric and into the longer events on the track. She has all the qualities to be a great Golden Gopher throughout her career!
Octavia Cato, St. Louis, Mo. (Sprints)
Octavia Cato is set to join the Gophers in January 2020 for her junior season. She began her collegiate career at New Mexico Junior College in Hobbs, N.M., where she placed 10th in the 60-meters at the NJCAA Indoor Championships and won a national title in the 4x100-meter relay at the NJCAA DI Outdoor Championships. She then competed for Butler Community College in El Dorado, Kan., as a sophomore, placing third in the 60-meters and sixth in the 200-meters at the 2019 NJCAA Indoor Championships and finishing sixth in the 100-meters and ninth in the 200-meters at the 2019 NJCAA DI Outdoor Championships. Cato has personal-best marks of 7.40 seconds for 60 meters, 11.44 seconds for 100 meters, and 23.82 seconds for 200 meters. She is a 2017 graduate of McCluer South-Berkeley High School in Ferguson, Mo.
Bingle on Cato: Octavia has a great attitude, and I can't wait to get her on campus. We expect her to have an immediate impact in our program for the 2020 season. She has had a great college and high school career and competed at a high level. She fits in with the people we have here, and she will help us build the sprint strength that we want.
Hannah Constable, Johnson Creek, Wis. (Mid-Distance)
Hannah Constable joins the Gophers as a mid-distance runner from Johnson Creek High School. Most recently, she placed ninth at the 2019 WIAA Division 3 Cross Country State Championships as the top senior at the meet, running 19:46.4 for 5K. On the track, Constable enters her senior season with personal-best marks of 2:14.84 for 800 meters and 56.5 for 400 meters.
Hopkins on Constable: Hannah has been one of the very best middle-distance runners in the state of Wisconsin for her entire high school career. She has great speed at 56 seconds in the 400-meter dash and shows range to be a top-10 runner in cross country as well. She doesn't get the opportunity to race a lot of top-end talent, being in the smallest class in Wisconsin, so I firmly believe when she has daily competition in practice and better competition on race day, she is only just scratching the surface of how good she can be!
Dalayni Etienne, Miami, Fla. (Sprints)
A sprinter from Coral Reef High School in Miami, Fla., Dalayni Etienne joins the Gophers with a high school personal-best mark of 55.61 for 400-meters heading into her senior season. She is a second-generation Gopher as her mother Sascha Ramsey was a four-year letterwinner while running for the Maroon & Gold from 1991-94.
Bingle on Etienne: Dalayni's is an outstanding young lady who really fits well into our team culture. I am excited about her ability as a 400-meter runner. I feel like she has a ton of upside and potential, and I'm looking forward to coaching her.
Shelby Frank, Grand Forks, N.D. (Throws)
A discus specialist, Shelby Frank joins the Gophers throws squad from Grand Forks, N.D., and Red River High School. Entering her senior track & field season, she is already a six-time North Dakota state champion with four discus titles and two shot put titles to her name. She was undefeated in both discus and shot put against high school competition as a junior and went on to win the discus national title at the 2019 New Balance Nationals Outdoor Championships. She also placed fifth in discus as the top high school thrower at the 2019 USATF Under-20 Championships. Frank has a personal-best mark of 169-01 in the discus, which she set as the 2019 Ironwood Throws Classic champion, along with a shot put PR of 42-07.
Miller on Frank: Shelby is an awesome young woman from a very supportive family, whom I have known for a very long time. She joins the Gophers from Red River High School in Grand Forks, North Dakota and has been guided by one of the best throws coaching staffs in the country. Having grown up around the throws, as her mother Stephanie threw at Michigan, Shelby was destined to do great things. Sometimes destiny and expectations come as pressure, but Shelby has worked very hard and exceeded all expectations. She is a great competitor but also a great student and basketball player. I cannot wait to see what she becomes as she focuses on the throws for the next few years! Welcome to the Gopher throws family, Shelby Frank!
Ava Hill, Aurora, Minn. (Mid-Distance)
Ava Hill joins the Gophers as a standout three-sport athlete at Mesabi East High School where she competes in cross country, basketball, and track & field. She has high school personal-best marks of 2:11.91 for the 800-meter and 18:11 for 5K, along with a 400-meter PR of 56.89 seconds. As a junior on the track last spring, Hill won the 800-meter state title and anchored Mesabi East's state runner-up 4x200-meter and fourth-place 4x400-meter relay teams at the Minnesota Class A State Championships.
Hopkins on Hill: Ava has been one of the top all-around athletes in the state for a long time. A D1-caliber basketball player, top-five cross country runner, and a multiple-time state champion in the middle-distance track events, Ava is exactly what we look for when recruiting for our middle-distance group. Ava has the range to run a 56-second 400-meter and an 18:11 5K, all while playing basketball year round. I could not be more excited to get Ava to campus and start working with her!
Claire Howell, Moorhead, Minn. (Sprints)
Claire Howell joins the Gophers as a sprinter and a three-sport athlete from Moorhead, Minn. She enters her senior season with a 400-meter PR of 55.39 seconds. As a junior last spring, Howell was the 400-meter state champion and placed seventh in the 200-meter dash and anchored Moorhead's seventh-place 4x400-meter relay team at the Minnesota Class AA State Championships, where she also tied for eighth in high jump.
Bingle on Howell: Claire will be a 400-meter/600-meter runner for us. She loves to compete and is excited to compete at the Big Ten level. She has a tough, blue-collar attitude about her that I enjoy being around. She will fit in well with the work mentality that our team has.
Ceci Howes, Winnipeg, Manitoba (Distance)
Ceci Howes joins the Maroon & Gold as a distance runner from Winnipeg, Manitoba, where she competes for Winnipeg Optimist Athletics. This fall, Howes finished 13th at the Nike Cross Heartland Regional. She earned silver in the U20 women's 3,000-meter steeplechase at the 2019 Canadian Track & Field Championships with a personal-best time of 10:47.19.
Hopkins on Howes: We are so excited to have Ceci join the Gopher family! It is rare to get a freshman that already has steeplechase experience, and that's what we are getting with Ceci. She represented Canada at the 2019 NACAC Championships in the steeple and has been one of the top juniors in Canada over the last several years. A former figure skater, Ceci is just scratching the surface of what she can accomplish as a runner. I'm excited to keep building off what she has already accomplished and continue to help her grow as a runner across all distances.
Carley Kremer, Watkins, Minn. (Mid-Distance)
A mid-distance runner from Watkins, Minn., Carley Kremer joins the Gophers from ROCORI High School. She enters her senior season with an 800-meter PR of 2:14.97 set at the section meet before going on to place ninth in the 800 meters at the Minnesota Class AA State Championships last spring.
Hopkins on Kremer: Carley had a breakout season last spring, running a big PR of 2:14 in the 800 meters. Carley fits the mold of all of the great mid-distance runners we have had in the past, a great all-around athlete who is tough enough to run cross country and has natural speed. She will continue to grow and develop as she focuses on track full time and has a great training group to grow with!
Kaylah McCall, Hazel Crest, Ill. (Sprints/Hurdles)
Kaylah McCall joins the Gophers from Hazel Crest, Ill., where she is a standout sprinter and hurdler for Homewood-Flossmoor High School. She owns high school personal-best marks of 13.56 seconds for the 100-meter hurdles and 8.47 seconds for the 60-meter hurdles along with a PR of 12.00 seconds for the 100-meter dash. She enters her senior year ranked No. 6 in the nation in the 100-meter hurdles according to MileSplit.
Bingle on McCall: Kaylah is a very talented athlete who helped her high school to the state title in 2019. She has a ton of potential and will have an impact at the Big Ten and national levels for us. I'm excited to work with her.
Liesl Paulsen, Eden Prairie, Minn. (Distance)
Liesl Paulsen joins the Gophers as a distance runner from Eden Prairie, Minn. Most recently, Paulson placed seventh at the 2019 Minnesota Class AA Cross Country State Championship as the top senior girl. On the track, she enters her senior season with a pair of top-eight state finishes. Paulsen ran on Eden Prairie's third-place 4x800-meter relay team as a sophomore after placing eighth with the relay team as a freshman. She has a 5K personal-best time of 17:40.30.
Hopkins on Paulsen: Liesl has been one of the top distance runners in the state for her whole high school career. A true cross country runner, Liesl had a breakthrough season as a senior. She was the top senior at the state meet and placed in the top 10 at the Nike Heartland Regional with a huge PR of 17:40 for 5K. Long term, Liesl will be more of a 5K/10K runner on the track, so we are excited to see her development as she grows in to those events!
Mara Pletcher, Mahomet, Ill. (Pole Vault)
Mara Pletcher joins the Maroon & Gold as a pole vaulter from Mahomet-Seymour High School in Mahomet, Ill. A three-time Illinois State Track & Field Championships qualifier, Pletcher placed fourth at the state meet as a sophomore. She enters her senior season with a personal-best mark of 12-00 in pole vault.
Siegmaier on Pletcher: We are happy to add another addition to our pole vault group! Mara comes to us from Mahomet, Illinois. She is a great student and we can't wait to see what she can do here at the University of Minnesota.
Erin Reidy, Downers Grove, Ill. (Mid-Distance)
Erin Reidy joins the Gophers as a mid-distance runner from Downers Grove, Ill., where she attends Downers Grove South High School. She wrapped up her high school cross country career with a sixth-place finish at the Illinois High School Association 3A State Championship last fall and enters her senior season of track & field after finishing third in the 800 meters at the state meet as a junior. Reidy has high school personal-best marks of 2:10.53 for 800 meters, 17:01.70 for three miles, and 4:56.87 for 1,600 meters.
Hopkins on Reidy: Erin has been one of the most fun athletes I have ever recruited. She is passionate about the sport and driven to be great, both for herself and for her team. A theme of this class has been great range, and Erin fits that bill as well. A 2:10 800-meter runner who also finished sixth in the Illinois state meet running 17:01 for three miles, Erin will help us on the track and on the grass. We are thrilled Erin chose to come to Minnesota and be a Gopher!
Tiera Robinson-Jones, Evergreen Park, Ill. (Sprints/Jumps)
Tiera Robinson-Jones joins the Gophers from Evergreen Park, Ill., and Evergreen Park Community High School. She enters her senior season as a four-time Illinois High School Association 2A State Track & Field Championships qualifier, including a state runner-up finish in triple jump as a sophomore and a third-place showing as a junior along with two appearances in the 200 meters. She owns a personal best of 39-10.25 in triple jump along with a 200-meter PR of 24.34 seconds.
Kabia on Robinson-Jones: We're very excited about Tiera joining our program. With her combination of speed and versatility, she can do a lot for our team and she helps build on the strong contingent of Illinois athletes that we already have here at Minnesota.
Abigail Schaaffe, St. Mary, Jamaica (Sprints)
Abigail Schaaffe joins the Gophers as a sprinter from St. Mary High School in St. Mary, Jamaica. She finished third in the women's U-20 800 meters at the 2019 ISSA/Grace Kennedy Boys and Girls Championships. Schaaffe owns personal-best marks of 2:08.88 for 800 meters along with a 60.02 PR in the 400-meter hurdles.
Bingle on Schaaffe: Abigail joins us from the same high school as Gopher alum Titania Markland. She will be a very versatile athlete for us and can compete in the 400 meters, 800 meters, and 400-meter hurdles. She has a great outgoing personality that will fit well with our team. Abigail comes from a great high school program, and she has high-level experience competing for Jamaica internationally. I can't wait to get her on campus.
Sam Spencer, New Lenox, Ill. (Pole Vault)
Sam Spencer joins the Gophers as a pole vaulter from Providence Catholic High School and New Lenox, Ill. A six-time state qualifier with three appearances each in pole vault and the 200-meter dash, Spencer enters her senior season as Illinois' 2A defending state champion in pole vault. She has three top-seven state finishes in pole vault, placing seventh as a freshman and third as a sophomore before winning as a junior. Spencer has a personal-best height of 13-01.25 in pole vault along with a PR of 7.91 seconds for the 60-meter dash.
Siegmaier on Spencer: We are very excited to welcome Sam to the University of Minnesota! She is a talented pole vaulter from New Lenox, Illinois, and she will be a great addition to our young pole vaulting group.
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On the women's side, the newest class of Gophers set to join the team for the 2020-21 season includes Emma Atkinson, Brianne Brewster, Hannah Constable, Dalayni Etienne, Shelby Frank, Ava Hill, Claire Howell, Ceci Howes, Carley Kremer, Kaylah McCall, Liesl Paulsen, Mara Pletcher, Erin Reidy, Tierra Robinson-Jones, Abigail Schaaffe, and Sam Spencer. In addition, Octavia Cato has joined the team for the 2020 season.
Emma Atkinson, Plymouth, Minn. (Distance)
A standout distance runner from Plymouth, Minn., Emma Atkinson joins the Gophers from Wayzata High School. She has personal bests of 2:11.91 for 800 meters, 17:15.11 for 5K, and 4:56.97 for the 1,600 meters. Atkinson finished as state runner-up in the 1,600-meter run along with earning a fifth-place showing in the 800 meters at the Minnesota Class AA State Championships last spring.
Hopkins on Atkinson: I have been watching Emma compete for a long time, and I have been crossing my fingers she would pick Minnesota since the first time I watched her compete. She is a feisty competitor with great range to run 2:11 in the 800 meters and 17:15 for the 5K. Coming from a soccer background, she has all the tools to be a superstar in college. We are so excited she chose to stay in Minnesota and be a Gopher!
Brianne Brewster, Burnsville, Minn. (Distance)
Brianne Brewster joins the Gophers as a distance runner from Burnsville, Minn., and Lakeville South High School. As a junior on the track last spring, Brewster anchored Lakeville South's 12th-place 4x800-meter relay team at the Minnesota Class AA State Championships.
Hopkins on Brewster: Bri is the definition of a cross country runner. She is gritty and tough as nails and will fight for every point, both for herself and for the team. One of the best cross country runners in the state for her whole career, Bri was 11th at Footlocker Midwest last year and top 10 at Nike Heartland in 2018 as well. I am so excited to get Bri into our team fabric and into the longer events on the track. She has all the qualities to be a great Golden Gopher throughout her career!
Octavia Cato, St. Louis, Mo. (Sprints)
Octavia Cato is set to join the Gophers in January 2020 for her junior season. She began her collegiate career at New Mexico Junior College in Hobbs, N.M., where she placed 10th in the 60-meters at the NJCAA Indoor Championships and won a national title in the 4x100-meter relay at the NJCAA DI Outdoor Championships. She then competed for Butler Community College in El Dorado, Kan., as a sophomore, placing third in the 60-meters and sixth in the 200-meters at the 2019 NJCAA Indoor Championships and finishing sixth in the 100-meters and ninth in the 200-meters at the 2019 NJCAA DI Outdoor Championships. Cato has personal-best marks of 7.40 seconds for 60 meters, 11.44 seconds for 100 meters, and 23.82 seconds for 200 meters. She is a 2017 graduate of McCluer South-Berkeley High School in Ferguson, Mo.
Bingle on Cato: Octavia has a great attitude, and I can't wait to get her on campus. We expect her to have an immediate impact in our program for the 2020 season. She has had a great college and high school career and competed at a high level. She fits in with the people we have here, and she will help us build the sprint strength that we want.
Hannah Constable, Johnson Creek, Wis. (Mid-Distance)
Hannah Constable joins the Gophers as a mid-distance runner from Johnson Creek High School. Most recently, she placed ninth at the 2019 WIAA Division 3 Cross Country State Championships as the top senior at the meet, running 19:46.4 for 5K. On the track, Constable enters her senior season with personal-best marks of 2:14.84 for 800 meters and 56.5 for 400 meters.
Hopkins on Constable: Hannah has been one of the very best middle-distance runners in the state of Wisconsin for her entire high school career. She has great speed at 56 seconds in the 400-meter dash and shows range to be a top-10 runner in cross country as well. She doesn't get the opportunity to race a lot of top-end talent, being in the smallest class in Wisconsin, so I firmly believe when she has daily competition in practice and better competition on race day, she is only just scratching the surface of how good she can be!
Dalayni Etienne, Miami, Fla. (Sprints)
A sprinter from Coral Reef High School in Miami, Fla., Dalayni Etienne joins the Gophers with a high school personal-best mark of 55.61 for 400-meters heading into her senior season. She is a second-generation Gopher as her mother Sascha Ramsey was a four-year letterwinner while running for the Maroon & Gold from 1991-94.
Bingle on Etienne: Dalayni's is an outstanding young lady who really fits well into our team culture. I am excited about her ability as a 400-meter runner. I feel like she has a ton of upside and potential, and I'm looking forward to coaching her.
Shelby Frank, Grand Forks, N.D. (Throws)
A discus specialist, Shelby Frank joins the Gophers throws squad from Grand Forks, N.D., and Red River High School. Entering her senior track & field season, she is already a six-time North Dakota state champion with four discus titles and two shot put titles to her name. She was undefeated in both discus and shot put against high school competition as a junior and went on to win the discus national title at the 2019 New Balance Nationals Outdoor Championships. She also placed fifth in discus as the top high school thrower at the 2019 USATF Under-20 Championships. Frank has a personal-best mark of 169-01 in the discus, which she set as the 2019 Ironwood Throws Classic champion, along with a shot put PR of 42-07.
Miller on Frank: Shelby is an awesome young woman from a very supportive family, whom I have known for a very long time. She joins the Gophers from Red River High School in Grand Forks, North Dakota and has been guided by one of the best throws coaching staffs in the country. Having grown up around the throws, as her mother Stephanie threw at Michigan, Shelby was destined to do great things. Sometimes destiny and expectations come as pressure, but Shelby has worked very hard and exceeded all expectations. She is a great competitor but also a great student and basketball player. I cannot wait to see what she becomes as she focuses on the throws for the next few years! Welcome to the Gopher throws family, Shelby Frank!
Ava Hill, Aurora, Minn. (Mid-Distance)
Ava Hill joins the Gophers as a standout three-sport athlete at Mesabi East High School where she competes in cross country, basketball, and track & field. She has high school personal-best marks of 2:11.91 for the 800-meter and 18:11 for 5K, along with a 400-meter PR of 56.89 seconds. As a junior on the track last spring, Hill won the 800-meter state title and anchored Mesabi East's state runner-up 4x200-meter and fourth-place 4x400-meter relay teams at the Minnesota Class A State Championships.
Hopkins on Hill: Ava has been one of the top all-around athletes in the state for a long time. A D1-caliber basketball player, top-five cross country runner, and a multiple-time state champion in the middle-distance track events, Ava is exactly what we look for when recruiting for our middle-distance group. Ava has the range to run a 56-second 400-meter and an 18:11 5K, all while playing basketball year round. I could not be more excited to get Ava to campus and start working with her!
Claire Howell, Moorhead, Minn. (Sprints)
Claire Howell joins the Gophers as a sprinter and a three-sport athlete from Moorhead, Minn. She enters her senior season with a 400-meter PR of 55.39 seconds. As a junior last spring, Howell was the 400-meter state champion and placed seventh in the 200-meter dash and anchored Moorhead's seventh-place 4x400-meter relay team at the Minnesota Class AA State Championships, where she also tied for eighth in high jump.
Bingle on Howell: Claire will be a 400-meter/600-meter runner for us. She loves to compete and is excited to compete at the Big Ten level. She has a tough, blue-collar attitude about her that I enjoy being around. She will fit in well with the work mentality that our team has.
Ceci Howes, Winnipeg, Manitoba (Distance)
Ceci Howes joins the Maroon & Gold as a distance runner from Winnipeg, Manitoba, where she competes for Winnipeg Optimist Athletics. This fall, Howes finished 13th at the Nike Cross Heartland Regional. She earned silver in the U20 women's 3,000-meter steeplechase at the 2019 Canadian Track & Field Championships with a personal-best time of 10:47.19.
Hopkins on Howes: We are so excited to have Ceci join the Gopher family! It is rare to get a freshman that already has steeplechase experience, and that's what we are getting with Ceci. She represented Canada at the 2019 NACAC Championships in the steeple and has been one of the top juniors in Canada over the last several years. A former figure skater, Ceci is just scratching the surface of what she can accomplish as a runner. I'm excited to keep building off what she has already accomplished and continue to help her grow as a runner across all distances.
Carley Kremer, Watkins, Minn. (Mid-Distance)
A mid-distance runner from Watkins, Minn., Carley Kremer joins the Gophers from ROCORI High School. She enters her senior season with an 800-meter PR of 2:14.97 set at the section meet before going on to place ninth in the 800 meters at the Minnesota Class AA State Championships last spring.
Hopkins on Kremer: Carley had a breakout season last spring, running a big PR of 2:14 in the 800 meters. Carley fits the mold of all of the great mid-distance runners we have had in the past, a great all-around athlete who is tough enough to run cross country and has natural speed. She will continue to grow and develop as she focuses on track full time and has a great training group to grow with!
Kaylah McCall, Hazel Crest, Ill. (Sprints/Hurdles)
Kaylah McCall joins the Gophers from Hazel Crest, Ill., where she is a standout sprinter and hurdler for Homewood-Flossmoor High School. She owns high school personal-best marks of 13.56 seconds for the 100-meter hurdles and 8.47 seconds for the 60-meter hurdles along with a PR of 12.00 seconds for the 100-meter dash. She enters her senior year ranked No. 6 in the nation in the 100-meter hurdles according to MileSplit.
Bingle on McCall: Kaylah is a very talented athlete who helped her high school to the state title in 2019. She has a ton of potential and will have an impact at the Big Ten and national levels for us. I'm excited to work with her.
Liesl Paulsen, Eden Prairie, Minn. (Distance)
Liesl Paulsen joins the Gophers as a distance runner from Eden Prairie, Minn. Most recently, Paulson placed seventh at the 2019 Minnesota Class AA Cross Country State Championship as the top senior girl. On the track, she enters her senior season with a pair of top-eight state finishes. Paulsen ran on Eden Prairie's third-place 4x800-meter relay team as a sophomore after placing eighth with the relay team as a freshman. She has a 5K personal-best time of 17:40.30.
Hopkins on Paulsen: Liesl has been one of the top distance runners in the state for her whole high school career. A true cross country runner, Liesl had a breakthrough season as a senior. She was the top senior at the state meet and placed in the top 10 at the Nike Heartland Regional with a huge PR of 17:40 for 5K. Long term, Liesl will be more of a 5K/10K runner on the track, so we are excited to see her development as she grows in to those events!
Mara Pletcher, Mahomet, Ill. (Pole Vault)
Mara Pletcher joins the Maroon & Gold as a pole vaulter from Mahomet-Seymour High School in Mahomet, Ill. A three-time Illinois State Track & Field Championships qualifier, Pletcher placed fourth at the state meet as a sophomore. She enters her senior season with a personal-best mark of 12-00 in pole vault.
Siegmaier on Pletcher: We are happy to add another addition to our pole vault group! Mara comes to us from Mahomet, Illinois. She is a great student and we can't wait to see what she can do here at the University of Minnesota.
Erin Reidy, Downers Grove, Ill. (Mid-Distance)
Erin Reidy joins the Gophers as a mid-distance runner from Downers Grove, Ill., where she attends Downers Grove South High School. She wrapped up her high school cross country career with a sixth-place finish at the Illinois High School Association 3A State Championship last fall and enters her senior season of track & field after finishing third in the 800 meters at the state meet as a junior. Reidy has high school personal-best marks of 2:10.53 for 800 meters, 17:01.70 for three miles, and 4:56.87 for 1,600 meters.
Hopkins on Reidy: Erin has been one of the most fun athletes I have ever recruited. She is passionate about the sport and driven to be great, both for herself and for her team. A theme of this class has been great range, and Erin fits that bill as well. A 2:10 800-meter runner who also finished sixth in the Illinois state meet running 17:01 for three miles, Erin will help us on the track and on the grass. We are thrilled Erin chose to come to Minnesota and be a Gopher!
Tiera Robinson-Jones, Evergreen Park, Ill. (Sprints/Jumps)
Tiera Robinson-Jones joins the Gophers from Evergreen Park, Ill., and Evergreen Park Community High School. She enters her senior season as a four-time Illinois High School Association 2A State Track & Field Championships qualifier, including a state runner-up finish in triple jump as a sophomore and a third-place showing as a junior along with two appearances in the 200 meters. She owns a personal best of 39-10.25 in triple jump along with a 200-meter PR of 24.34 seconds.
Kabia on Robinson-Jones: We're very excited about Tiera joining our program. With her combination of speed and versatility, she can do a lot for our team and she helps build on the strong contingent of Illinois athletes that we already have here at Minnesota.
Abigail Schaaffe, St. Mary, Jamaica (Sprints)
Abigail Schaaffe joins the Gophers as a sprinter from St. Mary High School in St. Mary, Jamaica. She finished third in the women's U-20 800 meters at the 2019 ISSA/Grace Kennedy Boys and Girls Championships. Schaaffe owns personal-best marks of 2:08.88 for 800 meters along with a 60.02 PR in the 400-meter hurdles.
Bingle on Schaaffe: Abigail joins us from the same high school as Gopher alum Titania Markland. She will be a very versatile athlete for us and can compete in the 400 meters, 800 meters, and 400-meter hurdles. She has a great outgoing personality that will fit well with our team. Abigail comes from a great high school program, and she has high-level experience competing for Jamaica internationally. I can't wait to get her on campus.
Sam Spencer, New Lenox, Ill. (Pole Vault)
Sam Spencer joins the Gophers as a pole vaulter from Providence Catholic High School and New Lenox, Ill. A six-time state qualifier with three appearances each in pole vault and the 200-meter dash, Spencer enters her senior season as Illinois' 2A defending state champion in pole vault. She has three top-seven state finishes in pole vault, placing seventh as a freshman and third as a sophomore before winning as a junior. Spencer has a personal-best height of 13-01.25 in pole vault along with a PR of 7.91 seconds for the 60-meter dash.
Siegmaier on Spencer: We are very excited to welcome Sam to the University of Minnesota! She is a talented pole vaulter from New Lenox, Illinois, and she will be a great addition to our young pole vaulting group.
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