University of Minnesota Athletics
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/ Women's Track & Field
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/ Women's Track & Field
Mid-Distance
/ Women's Track & Field
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/ Men's Track & Field
Distance
/ Men's Track & Field
Distance
/ Women's Track & Field
Distance
/ Women's Track & Field
Mid-Distance
/ Women's Track & Field
Distance
/ Women's Track & Field
Mid-Distance
/ Women's Track & Field
Mid-Distance
/ Women's Track & Field
Mid-Distance
/ Women's Track & Field
Distance
/ Men's Track & Field
Distance
/ Women's Track & Field
Mid-Distance
/ Women's Track & Field
Distance
/ Women's Track & Field
Mid-Distance
/ Women's Track & Field
Distance
/ Women's Track & Field
Distance
/ Women's Track & Field
Distance
/ Women's Track & Field
Distance
/ Women's Track & Field
Photo by: Scott Thomsen
Gophers Host Time Trials
10/22/2020 4:05:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Men's Track & Field, Women's Cross Country, Women's Track & Field
Without a traditional fall cross country schedule, the Gopher distance corps has staged a series of time trials this fall.
MINNEAPOLIS -- Without a traditional fall cross country competition schedule, the Gopher distance corps has staged a series of time trials this fall. The women's team participated in a 6K last week and has two more time trials planned before shifting gears for the winter season while the men's squad wrapped up its fall slate of time trials this week. Both groups relished the opportunity to compete, even in an atypical environment.
"We were just super excited to get out and actually be able to compete again," Gopher women's cross country head coach Sarah Hopkins said. "We did some things a little differently. We started in waves. We didn't all start together to be cautious of COVID-19, so it was still a little bit of a funky situation but we made the most of it.
"It was a great chance for them, and for me, to see how training has been going. We've done some different things in training than we normally would do during the fall and have used this as an opportunity to experiment with some little tweaks to training. At least from my sense of how people felt and the results, it's going really well. It's always good to see how the experimenting is actually affecting outcomes. That was fun to see."
Led by Bethany Hasz posting a 6K time of 20:14, the top four women broke 21 minutes. Abby Kohut-Jackson, Jaycie Thomsen, Anastasia Korzenowski, and Tate Sweeney rounded out the Gophers' top five runners in the 6K time trial. Some of the newest Gophers had the opportunity to race in the intrasquad environment as well with Emma Atkinson pacing the newcomers for 5K.
"I thought the women did a really nice job of getting their competitive juices going again even though it was just an intrasquad race," Hopkins said. "Obviously it's hard to compete against your teammates in the same way you would compete against someone from a different school, but I thought they really took advantage of the opportunity. They got after it."
The Gopher men have also taken advantage of a different racing environment and the opportunity for extra training this fall.
"As you go through a normal year, practice comes day after day, and there is a certain drudgery that eventually comes along where people are slogging through a week of hard workouts and their studies," men's cross country head coach Steve Plasencia said. "But these guys are really, really happy to be together again this fall. I think there's been a greater appreciation for that. For me, going to practice is the most fun time of the day, and I think the guys feel that way, too."
Like the women, the Gopher men have shown no sign of letting up without a traditional competition schedule. Among the fall's top performances for the men were Alec Basten running 14:05 for 5K on the track and Eli Hoeft running his first 1,500 meters and winning with a nice PR. Most recently, Jordan MacIntosh, Owen Hoeft, Dawson LaRance, and Basten led the way in the team's mile time trial on a paved bike path. Despite chilly temperatures and an October snowfall, all four clocked times between 4:07 and 4:09 led by MacIntosh with the win. Meanwhile, Eli Hoeft won the team's most recent 2K time trial.
"Overall, if you came to our practice and workouts, you'd think the Big Ten Championship was next week," Plasencia said. "The guys have not let up in their focus and intensity at all. I've found that to be really rewarding. I think it represents that they want to be as good as they can be. To do that, through a couple of seasons now where they haven't really had the ultimate racing experience, speaks highly of the group. They have a strong focus in terms of trying to improve as runners and teammates. That's been fun."
On the men's side, the squad will take the traditional end-of-season break between cross country and indoor track & field a bit earlier than normal, easing up now before returning to practice in early November to start a longer build up for the indoor season.
"It always feels a bit rushed with finals when December comes in, and as soon as you get back from that, you're racing in the indoor season. With the hopes of an indoor season going forward in a somewhat normal fashion, we're going to take a little bit longer lead-in length into it," Plasencia said. "You talk about flexibility to do things a little bit differently, and this is a little bit of flexibility that we have. Other programs are doing things differently. It's uncharted waters for everybody. For a guy who has been in the job for 25 years, having a bit of a new challenge is a good thing."
While the Gopher men begin preparations for the indoor season, the women will stick to a more typical cross country season timeline for the next month.
"We have a couple more time trials on tap with one on the track before we go back out to the same course and do another 6K around the weekend that the national meet would normally take place to mimic that meet," Hopkins said. "We'll work on some things over the six weeks between this one and the next one. Hopefully we'll see some even bigger improvements and some fun things as we go forward into this next little cycle of time trials. It's going to be fun. It feels a little bit more normal now, which is nice because we haven't felt normal for a long time now."
Women's 6K Results
Bethany Hasz, 20:14
Abby Kohut-Jackson, 20:32
Jaycie Thomsen, 20:41
Anastasia Korzenowski, 20:57
Tate Sweeney, 21:19
Carissa Dock, 21:28
Elena Hayday, 22:06
Sophie Schmitz, 22:09
Bit Klecker, 22:11
Sam Baer, 23:14
Taylor Krone, 23:18
Ananya Vegesna, 23:24
Maria Rickman, 23:27
Molly Roach, 24:37
Women's 5K Results
Emma Atkinson, 18:18
Brianne Brewster, 18:22
Erin Reidy, 18:40
Liesl Paulsen, 19:00
Ceci Howes, 19:41
Sydney Kretlow, 20:03
Carley Kremer, 20:06
Hannah Constable, 20:59
###
"We were just super excited to get out and actually be able to compete again," Gopher women's cross country head coach Sarah Hopkins said. "We did some things a little differently. We started in waves. We didn't all start together to be cautious of COVID-19, so it was still a little bit of a funky situation but we made the most of it.
"It was a great chance for them, and for me, to see how training has been going. We've done some different things in training than we normally would do during the fall and have used this as an opportunity to experiment with some little tweaks to training. At least from my sense of how people felt and the results, it's going really well. It's always good to see how the experimenting is actually affecting outcomes. That was fun to see."
Led by Bethany Hasz posting a 6K time of 20:14, the top four women broke 21 minutes. Abby Kohut-Jackson, Jaycie Thomsen, Anastasia Korzenowski, and Tate Sweeney rounded out the Gophers' top five runners in the 6K time trial. Some of the newest Gophers had the opportunity to race in the intrasquad environment as well with Emma Atkinson pacing the newcomers for 5K.
"I thought the women did a really nice job of getting their competitive juices going again even though it was just an intrasquad race," Hopkins said. "Obviously it's hard to compete against your teammates in the same way you would compete against someone from a different school, but I thought they really took advantage of the opportunity. They got after it."
The Gopher men have also taken advantage of a different racing environment and the opportunity for extra training this fall.
"As you go through a normal year, practice comes day after day, and there is a certain drudgery that eventually comes along where people are slogging through a week of hard workouts and their studies," men's cross country head coach Steve Plasencia said. "But these guys are really, really happy to be together again this fall. I think there's been a greater appreciation for that. For me, going to practice is the most fun time of the day, and I think the guys feel that way, too."
Like the women, the Gopher men have shown no sign of letting up without a traditional competition schedule. Among the fall's top performances for the men were Alec Basten running 14:05 for 5K on the track and Eli Hoeft running his first 1,500 meters and winning with a nice PR. Most recently, Jordan MacIntosh, Owen Hoeft, Dawson LaRance, and Basten led the way in the team's mile time trial on a paved bike path. Despite chilly temperatures and an October snowfall, all four clocked times between 4:07 and 4:09 led by MacIntosh with the win. Meanwhile, Eli Hoeft won the team's most recent 2K time trial.
"Overall, if you came to our practice and workouts, you'd think the Big Ten Championship was next week," Plasencia said. "The guys have not let up in their focus and intensity at all. I've found that to be really rewarding. I think it represents that they want to be as good as they can be. To do that, through a couple of seasons now where they haven't really had the ultimate racing experience, speaks highly of the group. They have a strong focus in terms of trying to improve as runners and teammates. That's been fun."
On the men's side, the squad will take the traditional end-of-season break between cross country and indoor track & field a bit earlier than normal, easing up now before returning to practice in early November to start a longer build up for the indoor season.
"It always feels a bit rushed with finals when December comes in, and as soon as you get back from that, you're racing in the indoor season. With the hopes of an indoor season going forward in a somewhat normal fashion, we're going to take a little bit longer lead-in length into it," Plasencia said. "You talk about flexibility to do things a little bit differently, and this is a little bit of flexibility that we have. Other programs are doing things differently. It's uncharted waters for everybody. For a guy who has been in the job for 25 years, having a bit of a new challenge is a good thing."
While the Gopher men begin preparations for the indoor season, the women will stick to a more typical cross country season timeline for the next month.
"We have a couple more time trials on tap with one on the track before we go back out to the same course and do another 6K around the weekend that the national meet would normally take place to mimic that meet," Hopkins said. "We'll work on some things over the six weeks between this one and the next one. Hopefully we'll see some even bigger improvements and some fun things as we go forward into this next little cycle of time trials. It's going to be fun. It feels a little bit more normal now, which is nice because we haven't felt normal for a long time now."
Women's 6K Results
Bethany Hasz, 20:14
Abby Kohut-Jackson, 20:32
Jaycie Thomsen, 20:41
Anastasia Korzenowski, 20:57
Tate Sweeney, 21:19
Carissa Dock, 21:28
Elena Hayday, 22:06
Sophie Schmitz, 22:09
Bit Klecker, 22:11
Sam Baer, 23:14
Taylor Krone, 23:18
Ananya Vegesna, 23:24
Maria Rickman, 23:27
Molly Roach, 24:37
Women's 5K Results
Emma Atkinson, 18:18
Brianne Brewster, 18:22
Erin Reidy, 18:40
Liesl Paulsen, 19:00
Ceci Howes, 19:41
Sydney Kretlow, 20:03
Carley Kremer, 20:06
Hannah Constable, 20:59
###
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