Gopher Squads Gaining Momentum, Records

With just two weeks remaining until the Big Ten Indoor Championships, the University of Minnesota track and field squads are rounding into late-season form. The Gopher men’s and women’s teams return from competitions last weekend sporting a fistful of NCAA qualifying and school record-setting performances.

The Gopher Women … saw two school records fall at the Iowa State Classic last Saturday.

Heather Dorniden bettered the school record in the mile, winning the event with an NCAA automatic qualifying time of 4:38.80. Dorniden now owns the Minnesota records in the 400 meters, 800 meters and the mile indoors. Jamie Cheever held the existing school record of 4:39.54, set last season.

Amy Laskowske improved her personal best by over 30 seconds to place third in the 5000 meters in a school record time of 16:26.51. Laskowske jumped to the top of the list after clocking the 10th-best time in school history last season. Corinne Nimtz ran 16:30.76 to set the previous record in 2000.

“We had such a great day, it’s hard to put one performance above another,” Minnesota head coach Matt Bingle said in a media release. “It was a great overall team effort over the weekend."

In addition to Dorniden and Laskowske’s standard-setting performances, pole vault star Alicia Rue won her event at the meet, clearing 14-1 1/4. Already the school record-holder at 14-4, Rue won her fourth-straight pole vault competition of the year.

The Gophers young sprint squad continued their rewrite of the team’s top-10 lists. Apple Valley alum Kylie Peterson finished fourth in the 60-meter dash in 7.58 seconds, running the fifth-best time in school history. Nyoka Giles tied the #6 time in Gopher history with her sixth-place showing in 7.60 seconds. Adrienne Thomas placed sixth in the 400-meter dash with a time of 55.41 seconds, the fourth-best mark in Gopher history.

In the 200 meter competition on Friday night, Giles clocked a personal best time of 24.44 seconds to finish third. The time is the third-fastest in Gopher history. Fellow rookie, Adrienne Thomas ran a time of 24.93 seconds good the eighth-best mark in school history.

The Gopher Men … The men’s team split its squad in order to compete in three meets over the weekend and enjoyed several NCAA-qualifying performances.

Hassan Mead and Chris Rombough both bettered the existing school record in the 3,000 metes at the Washington Husky Classic. Mead clocked a time of 7 minutes, 56.60 seconds, an NCAA provisional mark, which bettered the 7:59.36 mark Rombough ran at the U of M Fieldhouse earlier this season.

Rombough finished with a time of 7:57.58. The meet brought together some of the elite distance runners in the nation. Mead and Rombough finished sixth and seventh, respectively, in their heat of the 3,000 meters.

Matt Fisher traveled to the UW-River Falls Classic and cleared a personal best by nearly two inches in winning the high jump. Fisher notched an NCAA provisional qualifier with a leap of 7 feet, 3 inches; a mark that ties for the third-best jump in school history.

The Gophers competing at the Iowa State Classic were led by thrower Aaron Studt, who landed a personal-best and NCAA provisional mark of 62-1 3/4 in the shot put to place fourth in the event. That mark is the fourth-best in school history. Studt also placed sixth in the weight throw with an effort of 64-8 1/2 inches.

Ibrahim Kabia won the 60-meter dash in a time of 6.67 seconds, just off his school record of 6.63. Kabia ran a personal best time of 21.90 seconds in the 200 meters, the ninth-fastest time in school history. Kabia placed 19th in the event.

Logan Stroman finished second the 600-yard run in 1:11.12.