University of Minnesota Athletics
Friday, October 29
University Park, PA
9:45 AM
University of Minnesota
vs
Big Ten Championships
Players Mentioned
Distance
/ Women's Track & Field
Distance
/ Men's Track & Field
Distance
/ Women's Track & Field
Distance
/ Men's Track & Field
Distance
/ Men's Track & Field
Distance
/ Women's Track & Field
Distance
/ Men's Track & Field
Distance
/ Women's Track & Field
Distance
/ Women's Track & Field
Distance
/ Men's Track & Field
Distance
/ Men's Track & Field
Distance
/ Men's Track & Field
Distance
/ Women's Track & Field
Distance
/ Women's Track & Field
Distance
/ Men's Track & Field
Distance
/ Men's Track & Field
Distance
/ Women's Track & Field
Distance
/ Women's Track & Field
Distance
/ Men's Track & Field
Preview: Gophers Head to Penn State for Big Tens
10/27/2021 8:32:00 AM | Men's Cross Country, Men's Track & Field, Women's Cross Country, Women's Track & Field
MINNEAPOLIS -- Championship season will officially begin for the University of Minnesota Gophers cross country teams this Friday, Oct. 29, when the Maroon and Gold head to University Park, Pa. for the 2021 Big Ten Conference Championships. The men's 5.2 mile run will start the championships off at 9:45 a.m. CT, followed by the women's 6k race, which is slated to begin at 10:45 a.m. CT.
"We're excited and ready for Big Tens Friday," said head coach Sarah Hopkins. "You know it's going to be a grinder. Every Big Ten team is good, there aren't any soft teams in the bunch, so you know every team is going in trying to win. It's not for the faint of heart, but we're ready for it. We've got the group we want going in, so we just have to go in, give it our best shot and see where it falls."
BIG TEN SQUAD
Both sides of the program will feature a nine-person roster for the Championship meet.
The men's side will consist of Alec Basten, Matt Wilkinson, Jack Manderscheid, Ethan Cannon, Owen Hoeft, Khalid Hussein, Eli Hoeft, Declan Dahlberg and Seth Eliason.
The women will be represented by Bethany Hasz, Megan Hasz, Abby Kohut-Jackson, Anastasia Korzenowski, Jaycie Thomsen, Emma Atkinson, Tate Sweeney, Carissa Dock and Brianne Brewster.
IN THE RANKINGS
Both sides of the program found themselves in the most recent USTFCCCA National Coaches' Poll for the first time this season, with the women holding strong at No. 6 while the men jumped into the poll at No. 29. Regionally, the women remained atop the Midwest region, while the men came in fourth behind three other nationally ranked programs in No. 2 Iowa State, No. 5 Oklahoma State and No. 9 Tulsa.
Friday's meet will feature a plethora of ranked competition for the Maroon and Gold as well. Of the seven nationally ranked teams on the women's side, the Gophers lead the way at No. 6, followed by No. 9 Michigan, No. 20 Michigan State, No. 22 Wisconsin, No. 25 Illinois, RV Indiana and RV Penn State.
The men's side is a bit lighter in terms of nationally ranked teams, with No. 29 Minnesota being only one of three schools to crack the polls. No. 10 Wisconsin and No. 15 Michigan make up the remainder.
LAST TIME OUT
In Minnesota's last time out, both sides of the Gophers program made a statement at the Nuttycombe Invitational.
The men's side, led by a 12th place finish from Alec Basten (23:37.7), finished 15th overall at the invite with 416 team-points and topped five nationally ranked programs in the process. Newcomer and former NCAA DIII Track Athlete of the Year Matt Wilkinson earned the second scoring spot for the Maroon and Gold at 83rd (24:19.9), followed by Jack Manderscheid in 103rd, Ethan Cannon in 109th and Owen Hoeft in 113th.
As the fourth highest ranked team in attendance, the women finished right where they were expected at Nuttycombe, coming in fourth with 188 team-points behind a trio of top-15 finishes from Bethany Hasz (sixth), Abby Kohut-Jackson (10th) and Megan Hasz (14th). Anastasia Korzenowski (48th) and Jaycie Thomsen (112th) rounded out the scoring spots for Minnesota.
BIG TEN HISTORY
Minnesota is coming off of a 2020-21 season that saw the women's program claim it's second individual champion in program history, Bethany Hasz. With the win, Hasz joined Gopher great Eileen Donaghy as the only Gophers to ever secure the individual title at the Big Ten meet, and her time of 20:13.2 bumped her into third on Minnesota's all-time list.
The women would go on to finish second overall in the team standings behind eventual 2020-21 conference champions Michigan State. The team finish marked Minnesota's fourth instance of finishing within the top-three since claiming back-to-back team titles in 2007-08.
The men took home seventh at the 2020-21 conference championships, behind a pair of top-20 finishes from Alec Basten and Jordan MacIntosh. They will enter this season's meet seeking their fifth team-title in program history, as well as their 11th individual champion, the last of whom, Hassan Mead, claimed back-to-back titles in 2008-09.
BIG TEN ACCOLADES
The 2020-21 Big Ten Cross Country Women's Athlete of the Year, Bethany Hasz, had yet another impressive season in terms of Big Ten honors in 2021. Hasz accumulated her fifth and sixth career Big Ten weekly awards following the Harry Groves Spiked Shoe and Joe Piane Invitationals, being named the Big Ten Cross Country Women's Athlete of the Week after posting Big Ten best performances at both events.
She now has six career Big Ten weekly honors to her name, three of which have come in cross country. The remaining three have all come in track & field.
UP NEXT
Following the Big Ten Championships, the Gophers will host their final home event of the season, Rocky's Run, on November 7 at Les Bolstad Golf Course. The event will feature a multi-gender, six-kilometer race following the same course as Jack's Twilight Run earlier in the season, and will be open to public registration with all proceeds going to a scholarship fund in the name of the meet's namesake, Rochelle "Rocky" Racette.
"We're excited and ready for Big Tens Friday," said head coach Sarah Hopkins. "You know it's going to be a grinder. Every Big Ten team is good, there aren't any soft teams in the bunch, so you know every team is going in trying to win. It's not for the faint of heart, but we're ready for it. We've got the group we want going in, so we just have to go in, give it our best shot and see where it falls."
BIG TEN SQUAD
Both sides of the program will feature a nine-person roster for the Championship meet.
The men's side will consist of Alec Basten, Matt Wilkinson, Jack Manderscheid, Ethan Cannon, Owen Hoeft, Khalid Hussein, Eli Hoeft, Declan Dahlberg and Seth Eliason.
The women will be represented by Bethany Hasz, Megan Hasz, Abby Kohut-Jackson, Anastasia Korzenowski, Jaycie Thomsen, Emma Atkinson, Tate Sweeney, Carissa Dock and Brianne Brewster.
IN THE RANKINGS
Both sides of the program found themselves in the most recent USTFCCCA National Coaches' Poll for the first time this season, with the women holding strong at No. 6 while the men jumped into the poll at No. 29. Regionally, the women remained atop the Midwest region, while the men came in fourth behind three other nationally ranked programs in No. 2 Iowa State, No. 5 Oklahoma State and No. 9 Tulsa.
Friday's meet will feature a plethora of ranked competition for the Maroon and Gold as well. Of the seven nationally ranked teams on the women's side, the Gophers lead the way at No. 6, followed by No. 9 Michigan, No. 20 Michigan State, No. 22 Wisconsin, No. 25 Illinois, RV Indiana and RV Penn State.
The men's side is a bit lighter in terms of nationally ranked teams, with No. 29 Minnesota being only one of three schools to crack the polls. No. 10 Wisconsin and No. 15 Michigan make up the remainder.
LAST TIME OUT
In Minnesota's last time out, both sides of the Gophers program made a statement at the Nuttycombe Invitational.
The men's side, led by a 12th place finish from Alec Basten (23:37.7), finished 15th overall at the invite with 416 team-points and topped five nationally ranked programs in the process. Newcomer and former NCAA DIII Track Athlete of the Year Matt Wilkinson earned the second scoring spot for the Maroon and Gold at 83rd (24:19.9), followed by Jack Manderscheid in 103rd, Ethan Cannon in 109th and Owen Hoeft in 113th.
As the fourth highest ranked team in attendance, the women finished right where they were expected at Nuttycombe, coming in fourth with 188 team-points behind a trio of top-15 finishes from Bethany Hasz (sixth), Abby Kohut-Jackson (10th) and Megan Hasz (14th). Anastasia Korzenowski (48th) and Jaycie Thomsen (112th) rounded out the scoring spots for Minnesota.
BIG TEN HISTORY
Minnesota is coming off of a 2020-21 season that saw the women's program claim it's second individual champion in program history, Bethany Hasz. With the win, Hasz joined Gopher great Eileen Donaghy as the only Gophers to ever secure the individual title at the Big Ten meet, and her time of 20:13.2 bumped her into third on Minnesota's all-time list.
The women would go on to finish second overall in the team standings behind eventual 2020-21 conference champions Michigan State. The team finish marked Minnesota's fourth instance of finishing within the top-three since claiming back-to-back team titles in 2007-08.
The men took home seventh at the 2020-21 conference championships, behind a pair of top-20 finishes from Alec Basten and Jordan MacIntosh. They will enter this season's meet seeking their fifth team-title in program history, as well as their 11th individual champion, the last of whom, Hassan Mead, claimed back-to-back titles in 2008-09.
BIG TEN ACCOLADES
The 2020-21 Big Ten Cross Country Women's Athlete of the Year, Bethany Hasz, had yet another impressive season in terms of Big Ten honors in 2021. Hasz accumulated her fifth and sixth career Big Ten weekly awards following the Harry Groves Spiked Shoe and Joe Piane Invitationals, being named the Big Ten Cross Country Women's Athlete of the Week after posting Big Ten best performances at both events.
She now has six career Big Ten weekly honors to her name, three of which have come in cross country. The remaining three have all come in track & field.
UP NEXT
Following the Big Ten Championships, the Gophers will host their final home event of the season, Rocky's Run, on November 7 at Les Bolstad Golf Course. The event will feature a multi-gender, six-kilometer race following the same course as Jack's Twilight Run earlier in the season, and will be open to public registration with all proceeds going to a scholarship fund in the name of the meet's namesake, Rochelle "Rocky" Racette.
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