5 Things to Watch at the 2025 Big Ten Championships

MINNEAPOLIS -- The University of Minnesota men's track and field team is headed to Eugene, Ore., for the 2025 Big Ten Outdoor Track and Field Championships from May 16-18. All aspects of the meet will be either streamed or televised via the Big Ten Network or B1G+. Meet information, schedules and more can be found on the Big Ten Championship central page.

Leading up to the 2025 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.

The Top 10 Golden Gophers

After reaching as high as No. 2 in the USTFCCCA national rankings earlier this season the Maroon and Gold have held steady in every top 10 ranking. The Golden Gophers enter the postseason as the No. 6 ranked team in the NCAA. Additionally, the Gopher men are No. 1 in the USTFCCCA's Midwest Regional rankings, with all rankings last updated on May 13. In the USTFCCCA's 'Event Squad' rankings the Gophers hold spots inside the top 16 in six different events, highlighted by its No. 1 ranking in the men's hammer.

Notably, the Gophers top-ranked hammer throw group (Mantzournais, Zaltos, Schafer and Tzamtzis) hold the highest season-average mark (69.47m) by any school since the USTFCCCA started the 'Event Squad' ranking system in 2018.

Historical Hammer Throwers

Minnesota's hammer throwers Angelos Mantzouranis and Kostas Zaltos have arguably had the best season in NCAA history by a duo, thus far. Mantzouranis set the No. 3 mark in college history (78.61m | 257-11) while Zaltos (77.91m | 255-7) put up the No. 7 mark in NCAA history this year. Both of the Greek hammer throwers sit inside the top 15 in the latest 'Road to Tokyo' rankings, which is a ranking system that help determine the participants of the 2025 World Track and Field Championships, which are held in Tokyo, Japan.

At the Big Ten Championships Zaltos will look to reclaim his conference record in the hammer throw after last season Mantzouranis broke Zaltos' meet record throw with a toss of 75.15m (246-7). The victory for Mantzouranis last season extended Minnesota's streak of winning the hammer throw at the Big Ten Championships to four years (Zaltos three times, Mantzournais once). Minnesota's four-straight titles in the men's hammer throw at Big Tens is tied for the longest streak in conference history with Minnesota from 2010-2013. No program has ever won the hammer throw in five consecutive Big Ten Championship meets.

Defending Champions

In 2024 the Maroon and Gold claimed four event titles at the conference championships in Ann Arbor, Mich., with all four of those champions returning for the 2025 meet in Eugene. Mantzouranis' hammer throw title in 2024 was won easily with his 75.15m (246-7) throw winning the event by over 24 feet and all six of his attempts being further than the second-place finisher from Nebraska. Devin Augustine's title in the 100m was the second straight season the Maroon and Gold won the distinction of 'fastest man in the Big Ten' after Kion Benjamin had won it in 2023, marking the first time the Gophers had won two straight in that event in program history. Nigerian Chalres Godfred won the men's long jump competition last season as a true freshman with a leap of 7.94m (26-0 3/4), marking the first time in a decade a Gopher had won the event at the conference meet (Trevor Yedoni, 2014). Last year Jak Urlacher won the men's pole vault competition with a lifetime best 5.51m (18-1), giving the 'U' a victory in the event at Big Tens for the first time since Zach Siegmeier in 2014.

Minnesota's Heavy Hitters

Minnesota brings in three events that rank No. 1 in the Big Ten this season on the men's side. Defending champions Charles Godfred and Angelos Mantzournais have once again proven they belong at the top of the conference lists. Godfred's season best of 8.13m (26-8 1/4) and Mantzouranis' season best of 78.61m (257-11) putting them at the top spot in the men's long jump and men's hammer throw. Third-year Gopher Hakeem Ford exploded in the triple jump this season and enters the conference championships as the No. 1 ranked man with a mark of 16.54m (54-3 1/4), a mark that came on April 4, at the Pepsi Florida Relays. Additionally Minnesota has two other events that rank No. 2 this season in the loaded Big Ten Conference. Christian Martin's 13.49 time in the 110m hurdles this season not only made him the school record holder at Minnesota, but also puts him in prime position to improve on his eighth-place finish at the Big Ten meet in 2024. Lastly the men's 4x100m relay team will look to reclaim the conference title that they last won in 2023. In 2023 the team set the conference's meet record in a time of 38.87, but in 2025 the quartet of Zion Campbell, Kion Benjamin, Aaron Charles and Devin Augustine have put together three different times faster than that and hold the No. 2 time by a Big Ten team this year only behind Southern Cal's 38.41.

The Depth of M City

Minnesota's team aspirations could hinge on its depth at Hayward Field in 2025. The 110m hurdles trio of Martin, Michael Buchanan and Spencer Brown all rank inside the conference's top eight this year, with Brown and Buchanan knotted at eighth in a season-best time of 13.65. Martin holds the school record at 13.49 while Brown and Buchanan are second and third in school history. In the horizontal jumps the Maroon and Gold have depth in both the long and triple jump. Behind Godfred in the long jump is Jamaican senior Michael Buchahan who is seventh in the conference this season (7.63m | 25-0 1/2) along with Nigerian true freshman Precious Opinion who is 10th (7.59m | 24-11). Opinion also competes in the triple jump and is just behind Ford's top Big Ten mark with a season-best 15.53m (50-11 1/2).

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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Players Mentioned

Devin Augustine

Kion Benjamin

Spencer Brown

Michael Buchanan

Zion Campbell

Aaron Charles

Hakeem Ford

Charles Godfred

Angelos Mantzouranis

Christian Martin

Precious Opinion

Jak Urlacher

Kostas Zaltos