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Zaltos, Opinion Tabbed as B1G Weekly Award Winners
4/9/2025 1:55:00 PM | Men's Track & Field
Zaltos was named Field Athlete of the Week, Opinion Freshman of the Week.
MINNEAPOLIS -- For the first time this outdoor season the No. 2 University of Minnesota men's track and field team has earned weekly honors from the Big Ten Conference. Kostas Zaltos earned the Field Athlete of the Week honor while Precious Opinion was tabbed as the Freshman of the Week, the conference office announced on Wednesday.
Zaltos threw the No. 7 hammer throw mark in NCAA history (77.91m | 255-7) to win the Pepsi Florida Relays over teammate Angelos Mantzouranis who put down the No. 9 hammer throw in NCAA history (77.43m | 254-0). In the process the Greek natinoal broke four-time Olympian Jud Logan's 39-year-old Percy Beard Track facility hammer throw record of 254-10 that was set back in 1986. Zaltos' throw in Gainesville broke his own school record that had held since 2023 and has him ranked No. 5 in the world this year according to WorldAthletics.org. Additionally, Zaltos' performance in Florida moved him into the No. 14 spot on the 'Road to Tokyo' rankings and 25th on the IAAF World Rankings.
Opinion finished second in the triple jump (15.53m | 50-11 1/2) and third in the long jump (7.44m | 24-5) at the Pepsi Florida Relays. The first-year Gopher currently sits as the top freshman in the Big Ten in both the long jump and triple jump this season. Overall he sits at the No. 4 spot in the conference in the triple jump and No. 5 in the long jump. Nationally the Nigerian is the No. 3 ranked freshman in both the long jump and triple jump and currently sits at the No. 24 spot nationally in both. At the Pepsi Florida Relays, Opinion became the first Gopher to reach the program top 10 in both the long jump and triple jump since 2007 (Derek Gearman).
The weekly honor for Zaltos is his first since May of 2023 after taking an Olympic redshirt season in 2024. Overall Zaltos has won four weekly conference honors in his Gopher career.
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 X.com (Twitter) and Instagram (@GopherCCTF) and on Facebook, so you do not miss any content during the season.
Zaltos threw the No. 7 hammer throw mark in NCAA history (77.91m | 255-7) to win the Pepsi Florida Relays over teammate Angelos Mantzouranis who put down the No. 9 hammer throw in NCAA history (77.43m | 254-0). In the process the Greek natinoal broke four-time Olympian Jud Logan's 39-year-old Percy Beard Track facility hammer throw record of 254-10 that was set back in 1986. Zaltos' throw in Gainesville broke his own school record that had held since 2023 and has him ranked No. 5 in the world this year according to WorldAthletics.org. Additionally, Zaltos' performance in Florida moved him into the No. 14 spot on the 'Road to Tokyo' rankings and 25th on the IAAF World Rankings.
Opinion finished second in the triple jump (15.53m | 50-11 1/2) and third in the long jump (7.44m | 24-5) at the Pepsi Florida Relays. The first-year Gopher currently sits as the top freshman in the Big Ten in both the long jump and triple jump this season. Overall he sits at the No. 4 spot in the conference in the triple jump and No. 5 in the long jump. Nationally the Nigerian is the No. 3 ranked freshman in both the long jump and triple jump and currently sits at the No. 24 spot nationally in both. At the Pepsi Florida Relays, Opinion became the first Gopher to reach the program top 10 in both the long jump and triple jump since 2007 (Derek Gearman).
The weekly honor for Zaltos is his first since May of 2023 after taking an Olympic redshirt season in 2024. Overall Zaltos has won four weekly conference honors in his Gopher career.
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 X.com (Twitter) and Instagram (@GopherCCTF) and on Facebook, so you do not miss any content during the season.
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Monday, June 16