University of Minnesota Athletics
Sunday, May 16
Champaign, IL
11:00 AM
University of Minnesota
at
Big Ten Outdoor Championships
Players Mentioned
Multi/Javelin
/ Women's Track & Field
Throws
/ Men's Track & Field
Distance
/ Men's Track & Field
Sprints
/ Men's Track & Field
Pole Vault
/ Women's Track & Field
Throws
/ Women's Track & Field
Sprints/Hurdles
/ Men's Track & Field
Sprints/Jumps
/ Women's Track & Field
Sprints
/ Men's Track & Field
Throws
/ Women's Track & Field
Throws
/ Women's Track & Field
Multi-Events
/ Men's Track & Field
Multi/Jumps
/ Women's Track & Field
Sprints
/ Women's Track & Field
Distance
/ Women's Track & Field
Pole Vault
/ Men's Track & Field
Distance
/ Men's Track & Field
Sprints
/ Women's Track & Field
Throws
/ Women's Track & Field
Mid-Distance
/ Women's Track & Field
Distance
/ Women's Track & Field
Sprints/Hurdles
/ Women's Track & Field
Long Jump
/ Women's Track & Field
Javelin
/ Women's Track & Field
Sprints
/ Men's Track & Field
Sprints/Jumps
/ Women's Track & Field
Sprints
/ Women's Track & Field
Sprints/Hurdles
/ Women's Track & Field
Sprints/Hurdles
/ Men's Track & Field
Hurdles
/ Men's Track & Field
Throws
/ Men's Track & Field
Pole Vault
/ Men's Track & Field
Sprints
/ Men's Track & Field
Sprints
/ Women's Track & Field
Throws
/ Men's Track & Field
Gophers Place Third in Big Ten
5/16/2021 4:30:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Men's Track & Field, Women's Cross Country, Women's Track & Field
The Minnesota men and women both finished third in the team standings at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships.
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The Golden Gophers closed out the Big Ten Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships with a pair of top-three team finishes. The University of Minnesota was led by event titles from Kion Benjamin in the men's 100 meters, Abigail Schaaffe in the women's 400-meter hurdles, and Jayla Campbell, Val Larson, Janielle Josephs, and Schaaffe in the women's 4x400-meter relay on the third and final day of competition in Champaign, Ill., on Sunday.
Minnesota finished third in both the men's and women's team competitions. After winning the 2021 B1G indoor team title, the Gopher women scored 106 points for third place behind B1G champion Ohio State (117 points) and runner-up Indiana (109 points). The Minnesota men earned the program's best B1G finish since finishing second in 2013 as the Maroon & Gold scored 88.33 points for third place behind B1G champion Iowa (127.5 points) and runner-up Michigan (94.5 points).
"Obviously, we are super excited that we're the only team in the Big Ten with both programs in the top three," director of track & field and cross country Matt Bingle said. "It felt like from beginning to end, the student-athletes and staff did a great job of fighting for each another and picking each other up. I'm excited about how they've handled everything that has come at them this year, and I'm super thankful for the staff, student-athletes, alumni, families, and everyone who has supported the team this whole year."
The Gophers totaled seven event titles over the three-day competition as Alec Basten (men's 3,000-meter steeplechase), Abby Kohut-Jackson (women's 3,000-meter steeplechase), Bethany Hasz (women's 10,000 meters), and Kostas Zaltos (men's hammer throw) also won their events earlier in the meet.
"There were a lot of solid performances and great attitudes from our team," Bingle said. "We had some stellar performances from people like Kion, Abigail, Abby, Alec, and the 4x400-meter relay, everyone who won their events, but also everyone who PR'd. We had a great team atmosphere this whole weekend with great team energy. I'm proud of how our team showed up."
On Sunday, Benjamin became just the third Gopher to win the B1G men's 100-meter title and added a third-place finish in the 200 meters, where he ran a Minnesota program record time of 20.62 seconds to improve on the previous record of 20.78 set by Tom Gerding in 2001. On the women's side, Amira Young finished fourth in both the 100 meters (11.60 seconds) and 200 meters (23.27 seconds) while Lexi Romero added a seventh-place showing in the 100 meters in 11.82 seconds.
Schaaffe won the women's 400-meter hurdles in a career-best 57.25 seconds to move into second in Minnesota history. On the men's side, the Gophers picked up seven points in the team race behind scoring finishes from Noah Burton and Collin Sieffert. Burton ran a career-best time of 50.95 seconds for fifth place and improved his time at third on the Gophers' all-time list while Sieffert ran a career-best 51.70 seconds in sixth place and moved into fourth in Minnesota history.
Schaaffe also anchored Minnesota's winning 4x400-meter relay team as she teamed with Campbell, Larson, and Josephs to run a season-best 3:33.44 for the win. Their time also moved them into fourth among all-time Gophers. On the men's side, Burton, Sieffert, Elliott Davis, and Ben Psicihulis also ran a season-best time of 3:08.58 for fourth place and locked down Minnesota's third-place team finish.
The Gopher women also secured a pair of runner-up finishes on Sunday. After winning the B1G 10,000 meters title on Friday night, Hasz followed up with a runner-up finish in the 5,000 meters, running 15:50.01 for second place and eight points in the team standings.
Minnesota's 4x100-meter relay team of Tiera Robinson-Jones, Romero, Lauren Hansen, and Young finished second in a season-best time of 44.55 seconds, good for second in the B1G and third in Minnesota history. The Gopher men also scored points in the 4x100-meter relay as Psicihulis, Benjamin, Finn Schirmer, and Aarron Westmoreland finished fourth in a season-best 40.04 seconds, good for third among all-time Gophers.
Three Gophers also ran career-best times in the 400-meter finals. Psicihulis finished third for the men in a career-best 46.37 for eighth in Minnesota history. In the women's race, Larson finished fifth in 53.51 seconds for third among all-time Gophers while Josephs ran a career-best 54.07 seconds for seventh in Minnesota history and ninth in the Big Ten.
Other top finishes for the Maroon & Gold on the track on Sunday saw Anastasia Korzenowski and Basten finish fourth in their respective events as Korzenowski was fourth in the women's 800 meters and Basten finished fourth in the men's 5,000 meters. The Gophers also scored points in the 1,500-meter finals as Owen Hoeft placed sixth in the men's race and Kohut-Jackson was eighth for the women in a career-best 4:19.10 for eighth in Minnesota history.
Shelby Frank, Hailey Poole, and Lexy Berger scored points for the Gopher women in the field events on Sunday as well. Frank used a career-best throw of 54.65m (179-03 ft.) to finish fourth in discus and improve her mark at sixth in Minnesota history, and Poole recorded a career-best throw in javelin where she had a mark of 48.20m (158-02 ft.) for fifth place. Berger also posted a career-best mark, clearing 4.05m (13-03.50 ft.) to place seventh in pole vault and move into ninth among all-time Gophers.
Up next, the Gophers travel to the NCAA West Preliminary in College Station, Texas, on Wednesday, May 26 through Saturday, May 29.
"We're looking forward to the NCAA first round," Bingle said. "We have to regroup and get healthy here and refocus on the next step. We have a lot of kids in a lot of great places. We'll be taking a pretty big group on to the next round, and I'm excited to see what they can do."
Gopher Men's B1G Scoring Finishes
1st - Kion Benjamin, men's 100 meters (10 points)
1st - Alec Basten, men's 3,000-meter steeplechase (10 points)
1st - Kostas Zaltos, men's hammer throw (10 points)
2nd - Kaleb Siekmeier, men's discus (8 points)
3rd - Kion Benjamin, men's 200 meters (6 points)
3rd - Ben Psicihulis, men's 400 meters (6 points)
4th - Ben Psicihulis, Kion Benjamin, Finn Schirmer, Aarron Westmoreland, men's 4x100-meter relay (5 points)
4th - Noah Burton, Collin Sieffert, Elliott Davis, Ben Psicihulis, men's 4x400-meter relay (5 points)
4th - Alec Basten, men's 5,000 meters (5 points)
4th - Phillipe Barnett, men's hammer throw (5 points)
5th - Noah Burton, men's 400-meter hurdles (4 points)
6th - Owen Hoeft, men's 1,500 meters (3 points)
6th - Collin Sieffert, men's 400-meter hurdles (3 points)
6th - Teddy Frid, men's decathlon (3 points)
6th - Ekhardt Van der Watt, men's pole vault (3 points)
7th - Kaleb Siekmeier, men's hammer throw (2 points)
T-8th - Mike Herauf, men's pole vault (0.33 points)
Gopher Women's B1G Scoring Finishes
1st - Abigail Schaaffe, women's 400-meter hurdles (10 points)
1st - Abby Kohut-Jackson, women's 3,000-meter steeplechase (10 points)
1st - Bethany Hasz, women's 10,000 meters (10 points)
1st - Jayla Campbell, Val Larson, Janielle Josephs, Abigail Schaaffe, women's 4x400-meter relay (10 points)
2nd - Tiera Robinson-Jones, Lexi Romero, Lauren Hansen, Amira Young, women's 4x100-meter relay (8 points)
2nd - Bethany Hasz, women's 5,000 meters (8 points)
2nd - Tess Keyzers, women's hammer throw (8 points)
4th - Anastasia Korzenowski, women's 800 meters (5 points)
4th - Shelby Frank, women's discus (5 points)
4th - Amira Young, women's 100 meters (5 points)
4th - Amira Young, women's 200 meters (5 points)
5th - Hailey Poole, women's javelin (4 points)
5th - Val Larson, women's 400 meters (4 points)
5th - Hannah Arason, women's heptathlon (4 points)
7th - Lexy Berger, women's pole vault (2 points)
7th - Lexi Romero, women's 200 meters (2 points)
T-7th - Allison Gerads, women's long jump (1.5 points)
T-7th - Hannah Morris, women's long jump (1.5 points)
8th - Abby Kohut-Jackson, 1,500 meters (1 point)
8th - Devia Brown, women's shot put (1 point)
8th - Erin Dunning, women's hammer throw (1 point)
###
Minnesota finished third in both the men's and women's team competitions. After winning the 2021 B1G indoor team title, the Gopher women scored 106 points for third place behind B1G champion Ohio State (117 points) and runner-up Indiana (109 points). The Minnesota men earned the program's best B1G finish since finishing second in 2013 as the Maroon & Gold scored 88.33 points for third place behind B1G champion Iowa (127.5 points) and runner-up Michigan (94.5 points).
"Obviously, we are super excited that we're the only team in the Big Ten with both programs in the top three," director of track & field and cross country Matt Bingle said. "It felt like from beginning to end, the student-athletes and staff did a great job of fighting for each another and picking each other up. I'm excited about how they've handled everything that has come at them this year, and I'm super thankful for the staff, student-athletes, alumni, families, and everyone who has supported the team this whole year."
The Gophers totaled seven event titles over the three-day competition as Alec Basten (men's 3,000-meter steeplechase), Abby Kohut-Jackson (women's 3,000-meter steeplechase), Bethany Hasz (women's 10,000 meters), and Kostas Zaltos (men's hammer throw) also won their events earlier in the meet.
"There were a lot of solid performances and great attitudes from our team," Bingle said. "We had some stellar performances from people like Kion, Abigail, Abby, Alec, and the 4x400-meter relay, everyone who won their events, but also everyone who PR'd. We had a great team atmosphere this whole weekend with great team energy. I'm proud of how our team showed up."
On Sunday, Benjamin became just the third Gopher to win the B1G men's 100-meter title and added a third-place finish in the 200 meters, where he ran a Minnesota program record time of 20.62 seconds to improve on the previous record of 20.78 set by Tom Gerding in 2001. On the women's side, Amira Young finished fourth in both the 100 meters (11.60 seconds) and 200 meters (23.27 seconds) while Lexi Romero added a seventh-place showing in the 100 meters in 11.82 seconds.
Schaaffe won the women's 400-meter hurdles in a career-best 57.25 seconds to move into second in Minnesota history. On the men's side, the Gophers picked up seven points in the team race behind scoring finishes from Noah Burton and Collin Sieffert. Burton ran a career-best time of 50.95 seconds for fifth place and improved his time at third on the Gophers' all-time list while Sieffert ran a career-best 51.70 seconds in sixth place and moved into fourth in Minnesota history.
Schaaffe also anchored Minnesota's winning 4x400-meter relay team as she teamed with Campbell, Larson, and Josephs to run a season-best 3:33.44 for the win. Their time also moved them into fourth among all-time Gophers. On the men's side, Burton, Sieffert, Elliott Davis, and Ben Psicihulis also ran a season-best time of 3:08.58 for fourth place and locked down Minnesota's third-place team finish.
The Gopher women also secured a pair of runner-up finishes on Sunday. After winning the B1G 10,000 meters title on Friday night, Hasz followed up with a runner-up finish in the 5,000 meters, running 15:50.01 for second place and eight points in the team standings.
Minnesota's 4x100-meter relay team of Tiera Robinson-Jones, Romero, Lauren Hansen, and Young finished second in a season-best time of 44.55 seconds, good for second in the B1G and third in Minnesota history. The Gopher men also scored points in the 4x100-meter relay as Psicihulis, Benjamin, Finn Schirmer, and Aarron Westmoreland finished fourth in a season-best 40.04 seconds, good for third among all-time Gophers.
Three Gophers also ran career-best times in the 400-meter finals. Psicihulis finished third for the men in a career-best 46.37 for eighth in Minnesota history. In the women's race, Larson finished fifth in 53.51 seconds for third among all-time Gophers while Josephs ran a career-best 54.07 seconds for seventh in Minnesota history and ninth in the Big Ten.
Other top finishes for the Maroon & Gold on the track on Sunday saw Anastasia Korzenowski and Basten finish fourth in their respective events as Korzenowski was fourth in the women's 800 meters and Basten finished fourth in the men's 5,000 meters. The Gophers also scored points in the 1,500-meter finals as Owen Hoeft placed sixth in the men's race and Kohut-Jackson was eighth for the women in a career-best 4:19.10 for eighth in Minnesota history.
Shelby Frank, Hailey Poole, and Lexy Berger scored points for the Gopher women in the field events on Sunday as well. Frank used a career-best throw of 54.65m (179-03 ft.) to finish fourth in discus and improve her mark at sixth in Minnesota history, and Poole recorded a career-best throw in javelin where she had a mark of 48.20m (158-02 ft.) for fifth place. Berger also posted a career-best mark, clearing 4.05m (13-03.50 ft.) to place seventh in pole vault and move into ninth among all-time Gophers.
Up next, the Gophers travel to the NCAA West Preliminary in College Station, Texas, on Wednesday, May 26 through Saturday, May 29.
"We're looking forward to the NCAA first round," Bingle said. "We have to regroup and get healthy here and refocus on the next step. We have a lot of kids in a lot of great places. We'll be taking a pretty big group on to the next round, and I'm excited to see what they can do."
Gopher Men's B1G Scoring Finishes
1st - Kion Benjamin, men's 100 meters (10 points)
1st - Alec Basten, men's 3,000-meter steeplechase (10 points)
1st - Kostas Zaltos, men's hammer throw (10 points)
2nd - Kaleb Siekmeier, men's discus (8 points)
3rd - Kion Benjamin, men's 200 meters (6 points)
3rd - Ben Psicihulis, men's 400 meters (6 points)
4th - Ben Psicihulis, Kion Benjamin, Finn Schirmer, Aarron Westmoreland, men's 4x100-meter relay (5 points)
4th - Noah Burton, Collin Sieffert, Elliott Davis, Ben Psicihulis, men's 4x400-meter relay (5 points)
4th - Alec Basten, men's 5,000 meters (5 points)
4th - Phillipe Barnett, men's hammer throw (5 points)
5th - Noah Burton, men's 400-meter hurdles (4 points)
6th - Owen Hoeft, men's 1,500 meters (3 points)
6th - Collin Sieffert, men's 400-meter hurdles (3 points)
6th - Teddy Frid, men's decathlon (3 points)
6th - Ekhardt Van der Watt, men's pole vault (3 points)
7th - Kaleb Siekmeier, men's hammer throw (2 points)
T-8th - Mike Herauf, men's pole vault (0.33 points)
Gopher Women's B1G Scoring Finishes
1st - Abigail Schaaffe, women's 400-meter hurdles (10 points)
1st - Abby Kohut-Jackson, women's 3,000-meter steeplechase (10 points)
1st - Bethany Hasz, women's 10,000 meters (10 points)
1st - Jayla Campbell, Val Larson, Janielle Josephs, Abigail Schaaffe, women's 4x400-meter relay (10 points)
2nd - Tiera Robinson-Jones, Lexi Romero, Lauren Hansen, Amira Young, women's 4x100-meter relay (8 points)
2nd - Bethany Hasz, women's 5,000 meters (8 points)
2nd - Tess Keyzers, women's hammer throw (8 points)
4th - Anastasia Korzenowski, women's 800 meters (5 points)
4th - Shelby Frank, women's discus (5 points)
4th - Amira Young, women's 100 meters (5 points)
4th - Amira Young, women's 200 meters (5 points)
5th - Hailey Poole, women's javelin (4 points)
5th - Val Larson, women's 400 meters (4 points)
5th - Hannah Arason, women's heptathlon (4 points)
7th - Lexy Berger, women's pole vault (2 points)
7th - Lexi Romero, women's 200 meters (2 points)
T-7th - Allison Gerads, women's long jump (1.5 points)
T-7th - Hannah Morris, women's long jump (1.5 points)
8th - Abby Kohut-Jackson, 1,500 meters (1 point)
8th - Devia Brown, women's shot put (1 point)
8th - Erin Dunning, women's hammer throw (1 point)
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