University of Minnesota Athletics
Thursday, March 11
Fayetteville, AR
11:00 AM
University of Minnesota
at
NCAA Indoor Championships
Players Mentioned
Distance
/ Men's Track & Field
Multi/Jumps
/ Women's Track & Field
Distance
/ Women's Track & Field
Throws
/ Women's Track & Field
Throws
/ Men's Track & Field
Sprints
/ Women's Track & Field
Siekmeier Leads Gophers on NCAA Day One
3/11/2021 8:29:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Men's Track & Field, Women's Cross Country, Women's Track & Field
Kaleb Siekmeier finished seventh in weight throw to lead the Gophers on day one of the indoor national championships on Thursday.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Kaleb Siekmeier led the University of Minnesota track & field team with a seventh-place finish in weight throw as a trio of Golden Gophers earned All-American status on day one of the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships in Fayetteville, Ark., on Thursday.
Along with Siekmeier's scoring finish and First Team All-American accolades for the Gopher men, Allison Gerads and Tess Keyzers both earned Second Team All-American status for the Minnesota women on Thursday. Gerads placed 10th in the pentathlon, and Keyzers finished 13th in weight throw.
Siekmeier recorded a career-best throw of 22.10m (72-06.25 ft.) on his sixth and final attempt to improve his mark at third on Minnesota's all-time list, locking in his seventh-place finish at the national meet. Siekmeier advanced to the NCAA indoor meet for the second-straight season but got to compete on the national stage for the first time after the 2020 NCAA indoor championships were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I'm excited for Kaleb and proud of his performance today," director of track & field/cross country Matt Bingle said. "He did a great job and executed in a high pressure situation. Kaleb and Coach Miller did a great job working together at the end of the season. It's Kaleb's first time being an All-American -- his mother was an All-American for the Gophers, too, so that is a special achievement for Kaleb and his family."
Gerads made a statement in her NCAA debut as well, recording a national top-10 showing with a score of 4,063 points in the pentathlon -- just 25 points shy of her PR of 4,088 points set at the Big Ten Indoor Championships when she won the B1G title. Gerads tied her career best in the 60-meter hurdles (8.91), cleared 1.69m (5-06.50 ft.) in high jump, set a PR of 13.08m (42-11.00 ft.) to finish second in shot put, jumped 5.94m (19-06.00 ft.) in long jump, and closed out the competition with a time of 2:27.20 in the 800 meters.Â
"Allison did a great job in her first NCAA meet coming off a strong performance at Big Tens," Bingle said. "Today she had her second-best mark of her life, and earned All-American honors. Coach Siegmeier did a great job helping Allison take a giant step forward this year."
Making her first appearance at the national indoor meet and second NCAA appearance overall, Keyzers finished 13th in weight throw with a mark of 20.36m (66-09.75 ft.). The 2021 Big Ten weight throw champion, Keyzers collected her second NCAA All-American award of her career after finishing 15th in shot put at the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Championships.
"Tess had a great indoor season and came through for the team this year," Bingle said. "I'm happy for her making it back to the NCAA meet and earning All-American honors, and I'm excited to watch her continue to grow."
Action continues for the Maroon & Gold at the NCAA championships on Friday and Saturday. Friday's competition begins with Alec Basten in the men's 5,000 meters at 3 p.m. CT, followed by Amira Young racing the 60-meter and 200-meter semifinals and Bethany Hasz in the women's 5,000 meters.
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Along with Siekmeier's scoring finish and First Team All-American accolades for the Gopher men, Allison Gerads and Tess Keyzers both earned Second Team All-American status for the Minnesota women on Thursday. Gerads placed 10th in the pentathlon, and Keyzers finished 13th in weight throw.
Siekmeier recorded a career-best throw of 22.10m (72-06.25 ft.) on his sixth and final attempt to improve his mark at third on Minnesota's all-time list, locking in his seventh-place finish at the national meet. Siekmeier advanced to the NCAA indoor meet for the second-straight season but got to compete on the national stage for the first time after the 2020 NCAA indoor championships were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I'm excited for Kaleb and proud of his performance today," director of track & field/cross country Matt Bingle said. "He did a great job and executed in a high pressure situation. Kaleb and Coach Miller did a great job working together at the end of the season. It's Kaleb's first time being an All-American -- his mother was an All-American for the Gophers, too, so that is a special achievement for Kaleb and his family."
Gerads made a statement in her NCAA debut as well, recording a national top-10 showing with a score of 4,063 points in the pentathlon -- just 25 points shy of her PR of 4,088 points set at the Big Ten Indoor Championships when she won the B1G title. Gerads tied her career best in the 60-meter hurdles (8.91), cleared 1.69m (5-06.50 ft.) in high jump, set a PR of 13.08m (42-11.00 ft.) to finish second in shot put, jumped 5.94m (19-06.00 ft.) in long jump, and closed out the competition with a time of 2:27.20 in the 800 meters.Â
"Allison did a great job in her first NCAA meet coming off a strong performance at Big Tens," Bingle said. "Today she had her second-best mark of her life, and earned All-American honors. Coach Siegmeier did a great job helping Allison take a giant step forward this year."
Making her first appearance at the national indoor meet and second NCAA appearance overall, Keyzers finished 13th in weight throw with a mark of 20.36m (66-09.75 ft.). The 2021 Big Ten weight throw champion, Keyzers collected her second NCAA All-American award of her career after finishing 15th in shot put at the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Championships.
"Tess had a great indoor season and came through for the team this year," Bingle said. "I'm happy for her making it back to the NCAA meet and earning All-American honors, and I'm excited to watch her continue to grow."
Action continues for the Maroon & Gold at the NCAA championships on Friday and Saturday. Friday's competition begins with Alec Basten in the men's 5,000 meters at 3 p.m. CT, followed by Amira Young racing the 60-meter and 200-meter semifinals and Bethany Hasz in the women's 5,000 meters.
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