5 Things to Watch at the Big Ten Championships

MINNEAPOLIS -- The University of Minnesota men's track and field team is headed to Bloomington, Ind., for the 2023 Big Ten Outdoor Track and Field Championships from May 12-14.

All aspects of the meet will be either streamed or televised via the Big Ten Network or B1G+. Tickets are available to purchase now and can be found here and many more aspects of the meet can be found at the Big Ten Championship central page.

Leading up to the 2023 Big Ten Outdoor Track and Field Championships take a look at five things to be excited for on the men's side. Check out the women's Big Ten Championships preview here.

Pure Greek Power

The 2023 outdoor season for Kostas Zaltos (Kilikis, Greece) has been one of the best in Big Ten history. The redshirt junior launched the No. 2 mark in Big Ten history last month at the Drake Relays (75.27m | 246-11) and heads into the 2023 Big Ten Championships with a chance to become Minnesota's first three-peat hammer champion. Zaltos' record-breaking mark, which earned him his second Big Ten Field Athlete of the Week honor, was just two centimeters short of the Big Ten's all-time record in the event. Only four Gopher men have ever achieved a Big Ten three-peat (since 1901). Zaltos, who is currently No. 10 in the world in the hammer throw, won the 2021 and 2022 conference titles, including winning in Minneapolis last season.

History on the Line

Minnesota's 2023 short sprint group is unquestionably the school's best in history. The trio of Kion Benjamin, Devin Augustine and Carlon Hosten rank 1-2-3 in both the 100m and 200m in school history with both Augustine's and Hosten's lifetime best times in both events coming this season. As the veteran of the group it is still Benjamin who leads the group in the 100m this season with a season-best time of 10.13, which is third in the conference, and is aiming to win the event for the second time in his career (2021). Augustine has burst onto the scene this season for the Maroon and Gold and leads Minnesota's sprinters in the 200m this season with a school-record time of 20.49. No Gopher, man or woman, has won a 200m outdoor Big Ten title. The group also heads into the conference championships with the No. 2 4x100m relay time at 39.15, which is the school record, with Minnesota's last title in the event coming back in 2002.

Wilkinson Looks to Keep Steeplechase Crown in Minneapolis

No school has dominated an event as much as Minnesota has dominated the 3000m steeplechase in the last six years at the Big Ten level. The Maroon and Gold have won four of the last five 3000m steeplechase titles (no conference championship meet in 2020) with Obsa Ali and Alec Basten winning those four. Graduate student Matthew Wilkinson will look to continue that dominance with the No. 1 time in the conference so far this season at 8:29.35 that he set back in March. Wilkinson, who is a returning NCAA First Team All-American in the event, was the silver medalist at the conference meet last year. Five different Gophers have won the 3000m steeplechase conference title with success in the event going all the way back to 1971.

Impact Newcomers

Minnesota, like many institutions in the country, have added talent through the transfer portal that will be major scoring factors at the conference level. Minnesota has three major newcomers that will be a factor in Bloomington with Michael Buchanan (110m Hurdles/Long Jump), Isaiah Schafer (Shot Put) and Austin Parsons (Javelin) all looking to score for the Golden Gophers in their first season in the Twin Cities. Schafer enters the postseason with the No. 4 shot put mark this season after joining Minnesota as the Division II National Champion last year at Davenport. Buchanan, a transfer from Iowa Western Community College, has a chance to score in multiple events for the Gophers with a No. 5 110m hurdles time this year (13.75) with his long jump mark (7.60m | 24-11 1/4) sitting in eighth this season. Lastly Parsons, a Notre Dame graduate transfer, enters his first Big Ten Championships with the No. 6 mark this season in the javelin (70.14m | 230-1).

The Golden Gophers in the Rankings

After reaching the program's first No. 1 national ranking earlier this season the Maroon and Gold have held steady in every single top 25 ranking the USTFCCCA has revealed. The Golden Gophers enter championship season as the No. 23 ranked team in the NCAA and are No. 4 in the Midwest region rankings. Additionally, the Gopher men are No. 3 in the USTFCCCA's Big Ten rankings with all rankings last updated on May 8. In the USTFCCCA's 'Event Squad' rankings the Gophers are the nation's top-ranked hammer throw group on the men's side and are No. 1 in the Big Ten in the 100m, No. 2 in the 200m and No. 3 in the discus.

Notably, the Gophers top-ranked hammer throw group (Zaltos, Kubiatowicz, Schafer and Siekmeier) hold the highest season-average mark (67.98m) by any school since the USTFCCCA started the 'Event Squad' ranking system in 2018.

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Players Mentioned

Devin Augustine

Alec Basten

Kion Benjamin

Michael Buchanan

Carlon Hosten

Austin Parsons

Isaiah Schafer

Kostas Zaltos