University of Minnesota Athletics
Wednesday, May 26
College Station, TX
All Day
University of Minnesota
at
NCAA West Preliminary
Players Mentioned
Throws
/ Men's Track & Field
Throws
/ Men's Track & Field
Sprints
/ Men's Track & Field
Sprints/Hurdles
/ Men's Track & Field
Pole Vault
/ Men's Track & Field
Distance
/ Men's Track & Field
Throws
/ Men's Track & Field
Sprints
/ Men's Track & Field
Throws
/ Men's Track & Field
Hurdles
/ Men's Track & Field
Throws
/ Men's Track & Field
Pole Vault
/ Men's Track & Field
Throws
/ Men's Track & Field
Atkinson and Zaltos Advance to NCAA Championships
5/26/2021 10:30:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Men's Track & Field, Women's Cross Country, Women's Track & Field
The Gopher men competed on the day one of NCAA West Prelim on Wednesday.
COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Kyle Atkinson and Kostas Zaltos punched their tickets to the NCAA Championships to lead the Golden Gophers on day one at the NCAA West Preliminary on Wednesday.
Atkinson placed 11th in shot put with a throw of 19.03m (62-05.25 ft.) to secure one of the top-12 qualifying positions while Zaltos was Minnesota's top finisher of the day. He recorded a career-best mark of 70.99m (232-11 ft.) to place second in hammer throw at the meet and improve on his mark at second in Minnesota history.
On the track, Ben Psicihulis and Noah Burton both advanced to Friday's quarterfinal rounds in their respective events. Psicihulis recorded a time of 46.49 seconds to move on in the 400 meters while Burton clocked a time of 51.25 seconds to advance in the 400-meter hurdles. Collin Sieffert also competed in the 400-meter hurdles, finishing 33rd with a career-best time of 51.67 seconds to improve his mark at fourth on Minnesota's all-time list.
Owen Hoeft clocked a time of 3:46.41 to place 27th in the 1,500 meters, and Kion Benjamin finished 27th in the 200 meters in 20.97 seconds and placed 33rd in the 100 meters in 10.41 seconds to round out Minnesota's day one performances on the track.
Mike Herauf and Ekhardt Van der Watt both recorded career-best marks in pole vault on Wednesday. Both men cleared 5.25m (17-02.75 ft.) with Herauf placing 24th and Van der Watt tying for 28th at the meet. Their new PRs moved them into a tie for seventh among all-time Gophers.
Minnesota was well-represented in the day one throwing events as Phillipe Barnett (35th place), Carter Hughes (36th place), and Kaleb Siekmeier (37th place) joined Zaltos in the hammer throw competition. Eric Rousemiller finished 33rd in the shot put with a throw of 16.62m (54-06.50 ft.) as well.
Action at the NCAA West Prelim continues through Saturday. The men's competition concludes on Friday while the women compete on Thursday and Saturday in College Station, Texas.
Minnesota's NCAA Championship Qualifiers
Kyle Atkinson, men's shot put
Kostas Zaltos, men's hammer throw
###
Atkinson placed 11th in shot put with a throw of 19.03m (62-05.25 ft.) to secure one of the top-12 qualifying positions while Zaltos was Minnesota's top finisher of the day. He recorded a career-best mark of 70.99m (232-11 ft.) to place second in hammer throw at the meet and improve on his mark at second in Minnesota history.
On the track, Ben Psicihulis and Noah Burton both advanced to Friday's quarterfinal rounds in their respective events. Psicihulis recorded a time of 46.49 seconds to move on in the 400 meters while Burton clocked a time of 51.25 seconds to advance in the 400-meter hurdles. Collin Sieffert also competed in the 400-meter hurdles, finishing 33rd with a career-best time of 51.67 seconds to improve his mark at fourth on Minnesota's all-time list.
Owen Hoeft clocked a time of 3:46.41 to place 27th in the 1,500 meters, and Kion Benjamin finished 27th in the 200 meters in 20.97 seconds and placed 33rd in the 100 meters in 10.41 seconds to round out Minnesota's day one performances on the track.
Mike Herauf and Ekhardt Van der Watt both recorded career-best marks in pole vault on Wednesday. Both men cleared 5.25m (17-02.75 ft.) with Herauf placing 24th and Van der Watt tying for 28th at the meet. Their new PRs moved them into a tie for seventh among all-time Gophers.
Minnesota was well-represented in the day one throwing events as Phillipe Barnett (35th place), Carter Hughes (36th place), and Kaleb Siekmeier (37th place) joined Zaltos in the hammer throw competition. Eric Rousemiller finished 33rd in the shot put with a throw of 16.62m (54-06.50 ft.) as well.
Action at the NCAA West Prelim continues through Saturday. The men's competition concludes on Friday while the women compete on Thursday and Saturday in College Station, Texas.
Minnesota's NCAA Championship Qualifiers
Kyle Atkinson, men's shot put
Kostas Zaltos, men's hammer throw
###
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