University of Minnesota Athletics
Friday, May 27
Fayetteville, Ark.
1:00 PM
University of Minnesota
at
NCAA First Round - West Region
Players Mentioned
Distance
/ Men's Track & Field
Sprints
/ Men's Track & Field
Throws
/ Men's Track & Field
Sprints/Hurdles
/ Men's Track & Field
Throws
/ Men's Track & Field
Sprinter
/ Men's Track & Field
Jumps
/ Men's Track & Field
Jumps
/ Men's Track & Field
Distance
/ Men's Track & Field
Gopher Men Punch Three More Tickets to Eugene
5/27/2022 9:20:00 PM | Men's Track & Field, Women's Track & Field
MINNEAPOLIS -- The University of Minnesota track and field program earned three more spots at the NCAA Outdoor Championships on Friday in Fayetteville, Ark. Kaleb Siekmeier, Matt Wilkinson and Alec Basten earned spots at Hayward Field making a total of four Gophers headed to the west coast in two weeks.
Minnesota's first ticket of the day came from Siekmeier who earned the final spot in the men's discus event, finishing 12th overall. With just three attempts to work with Siekmeier tossed a mark of 54.90m (180-1) to secure his second career trip to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in discus. In 2021 Siekmeier finished 18th and was an honorable mention All-American.
On the track Minnesota's phenomenal 3000m steeplechase duo of Wilkinson and Basten did not disappoint. The pair both earned automatic qualifying spots in the event with Wilkinson winning the same heat that Basten finished third in. Wilkinson's time of 8:32.61 was good enough for the top time of the three heats, was a personal best and places him at No. 3 in program history in the event. Basten's time of 8:33.91 was the third-best time overall at the meet, and is a season-best time for the former NCAA runner-up in the steeplechase.
The remaining Minnesota men that completed their outdoor seasons on Friday included the men's 4x100m relay team that finished 18th overall. The team of Julian Tong, Kion Benjamin, Colby Jennings and Finn Schirmer finished sixth in their heat in a time of 40.06 which goes down as the No. 6 time in school history and puts Tong on his first top 10 list of his young Gopher career.
Benjamin also competed in the final of the men's 100m, finishing 20th overall in a wind-legal time of 10.26. The Maroon and Gold also had a duo in the men's triple jump with freshman Floyd Whitaker making his NCAA debut. Whitaker had a strong, wind-legal, jump in his final attempt at 15.30m (50-2 1/2) to finish 28th overall while Alstian Walker finished 32nd. Lastly, Jake Kubiatowicz finished 44th in his first NCAA regional competition.
The women will conclude the NCAA West Preliminary Round on Saturday, May 28, with the discus event starting things out at 1 p.m. CT. The meet on the track will begin at 5 p.m. with the 4x100m relay, which is when the SEC Network+ stream will begin, which can also be found on the ESPN app or on ESPN.com.
For more information on the Gophers, continue to check back with GopherSports.com. Keep up with the University of Minnesota cross country and track and field team on Twitter and Instagram (@GopherCCTF) and on Facebook, so you do not miss any content during the season.
Minnesota's first ticket of the day came from Siekmeier who earned the final spot in the men's discus event, finishing 12th overall. With just three attempts to work with Siekmeier tossed a mark of 54.90m (180-1) to secure his second career trip to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in discus. In 2021 Siekmeier finished 18th and was an honorable mention All-American.
On the track Minnesota's phenomenal 3000m steeplechase duo of Wilkinson and Basten did not disappoint. The pair both earned automatic qualifying spots in the event with Wilkinson winning the same heat that Basten finished third in. Wilkinson's time of 8:32.61 was good enough for the top time of the three heats, was a personal best and places him at No. 3 in program history in the event. Basten's time of 8:33.91 was the third-best time overall at the meet, and is a season-best time for the former NCAA runner-up in the steeplechase.
The remaining Minnesota men that completed their outdoor seasons on Friday included the men's 4x100m relay team that finished 18th overall. The team of Julian Tong, Kion Benjamin, Colby Jennings and Finn Schirmer finished sixth in their heat in a time of 40.06 which goes down as the No. 6 time in school history and puts Tong on his first top 10 list of his young Gopher career.
Benjamin also competed in the final of the men's 100m, finishing 20th overall in a wind-legal time of 10.26. The Maroon and Gold also had a duo in the men's triple jump with freshman Floyd Whitaker making his NCAA debut. Whitaker had a strong, wind-legal, jump in his final attempt at 15.30m (50-2 1/2) to finish 28th overall while Alstian Walker finished 32nd. Lastly, Jake Kubiatowicz finished 44th in his first NCAA regional competition.
The women will conclude the NCAA West Preliminary Round on Saturday, May 28, with the discus event starting things out at 1 p.m. CT. The meet on the track will begin at 5 p.m. with the 4x100m relay, which is when the SEC Network+ stream will begin, which can also be found on the ESPN app or on ESPN.com.
For more information on the Gophers, continue to check back with GopherSports.com. Keep up with the University of Minnesota cross country and track and field team on Twitter and Instagram (@GopherCCTF) and on Facebook, so you do not miss any content during the season.
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