High School Section Action Hitting Full Stride

Minnesota's high school tracksters are hitting full speed this week with Section Meet competition underway at venues across the state.  Competitors are hoping, of course, to qualify for next weekend's MSHSL State Meet at Hamline Univeristy.

The MSHSL lists the dates and venues for this week's Section Meets HERE.

At Track Talk - Minnesota, HERE, folks are sharing Section Meet results and discussing the action.

The state's top two girls' distance runners seem be excited about Section Meet season ... defending Class AA 3200m  champion Jamie Piepenburg of Alexandria clocked a 10:24.57 metric two-mile at the Section 8AA Meet last night, the third-fastest 3200m by a Minnesota  girl all-time. 

At about the same moment, Maria Hauger of Shakopee, the 2010 Class AA champ at 3200m, was running a 10:27.68 -- good for #4 on the all-time list -- at the Section 2AA Meet. Section action runs through Saturday.

#22 Gopher Men Advance Seven and Relay

The University of Minnesota men's track team rose to #22 in the latest NCAA Division I track and field rankings, after qualifying seven individuals and a relay team to next weekend's NCAA Championships in Des Moines, Iowa.

The Gophers will be represented by David Pachuta and Harun Abda at 800-meters, Nick Hutton at 1500m, Hassan Mead at 5000m, Quentin Mege and Micah Hegerle in the hammer throw, and Jack Szmanda in the decathlon.

The Gophers will also be represented by their 4 x 400m relay team of Jacob Capek, Abda, John Holton, and Kevin Bradley. The NCAA meet kicks off a week from today and runs until June 9.  All but Szmanda qualified via last weekend's NCAA West Preliminary in Austin, Texas.

"After the Big Ten meet we were a little bit down," Gopher men's coach Steve Plasencia confided in a Gopher media release.  "Coming down here our goal was to make a little noise and I think we accomplished that. Now we have to turn it around, get ready and see what we can do in Des Moines at the finals."

The Gopher women will send their school record-breaking 4 x 100m relay team of Todea-Kay Willis, Nyoka Giles, Chimerem Okoroji, and Kylie Peterson to NCAAs.

Find complete entry lists for the NCAA Championships HERE (men) and HERE (women).

The complete pre-NCAA outdoor track rankings can be found HERE.

Sandle Completes D3 Triple Jump Double; UMD's Williams Wins Surprise D2 800m Crown

Eden Prairie High School alumnus Mike Sandle won the men's triple jump title at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Saturday, completing an indoor/outdoor double in the event in his first year as a collegian.

Representing the University of Wisconsin River Falls, Sandle hopped, stepped, and jumped a personal best 51-2 1/4 at the Claremont, California meet.  At the NCAA indoor meet in Grinnell, Iowa in March, Sandle jumped 50-6 for the win.

At the NCAA Division II Championships in Pueblo, Colorado, the University of Minnesota - Duluth senior Lexi Williams won a surprise national title at 800-meters, winning the event in 2:11.46.

Williams, a Rice Lake, Wisconsin native, was only the #7-seeded runner in the D2 field. The NSIC runner-up qualified for the final she would ultimately win as the second-to-last advancer out of prelims

Find complete results of the NCAA Division III Championships HERE.

Find complete results of the NCAA Division II Championships, held in Pueblo, Colorado, HERE.

Find complete results of the NCAA Division I West preliminary meet HERE.

NCAA Action Kicks Off for Minnesotans

Action at NCAA meets in all three divisions of the organization has kicked off.  Here's our round-up ...

NCAA Division I Prelims ... The University of Minnesota men advanced three athletes to the quarter-finals of the NCAA West Prelims in Austin, Texas on Thursday. 

Nick Hutton advanced in the 1500-meters by running 3:46.10 in prelims.  David Pachuta and Haun Abda advanced from the same heat of the 800-meters by running 1:48.79 and 1:48.85, respectively.

Read the GopherSports wrap-up of the day's action HERE.

For the Gopher women, Sharyn Dahl advanced to tomorrow's quarter-final round in the 400-meter hurdles. She clocked 1:00.40.

Read the GopherSports women's wrap-up HERE.

Follow the D1 West Prelim meet for the rest of the weekend HERE.
 
Hammer Time ...Hammer throwers were the headliners at the NCAA Division II Championships in Pueblo, Colorado.  Winona State's Michelle Potter and Jenny Schuler placed fourth and fifth in women's competition with throws of 188-3 and 187-9, respectively.

In men's hammer action Minnesota State Moorhead's Christopher Heil placed fourth in the event with a mark of 209-6.

Follow all the NCAA D2 action HERE.

Monson, Culp Third ... Hamline University's Devin Monson finished third in last night's 10,000-meters at the NCAA Division III Championships in Claremont, California.  The senior clocked 30:36.73.

Fellow Piper Becky Culp finished third in discus competition, marking a throw of 147-11.

Follow D3 action HERE.

Pick Ten: NCAA D2 and D3 Championships

This weekend is the culmination of a long track and field season for NCAA Division II and Division III athletes.  Both outdoor National Meets will kick off on Thursday morning with multi-events and continue through Saturday night.  The Division II Championship is hosted by Colorado State University at Pueblo and the Division III Meet is at Claremont McKenna-Harvey Mudd-Scripps Colleges.

There are many local athletes competing for All-American slots at these meets.  We will pick ten of them to focus on and let you predict the finishes.

Pick Ten has a simple concept: predict the finish place for each of 10 Minnesota athletes at this weekends competitions. You will score points for each athlete who scores at or above the finish place you predict for them, following the 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 scoring system for track and field events.

For example: If you pick Mike Hutton to place first in the 800 meter race, and he places first, you get 10 points. If you pick Hutton to place first and he finishes second, you get zero points. If you pick Hutton to finish third in the race and he places first, second or third, you get 6 points by the scoring system above, since he placed at least as high as you predicted.

To play Pick Ten, cut and paste the list of names/events below into an e-mail and add your place predictions -- 1st or 2nd or 3rd...8th. Send your predictions by 6:00 P.M. CST on Friday, May 25th to DtBFantasy [AT] gmail [DOT] com. Make sure your full name is in the e-mail. As with our Yes/No contests, we don't offer any prizes, so no one needs to fear running afoul of NCAA or other anti-gambling regulations.

We'll announce the winner of this week's contest and compile results of all of the year's Pick Ten contests to name a grand champion for 2012.

Pick 10 ... Division II and III Outdoor Track and Field National Meets:

Jerrell Hancock - Minnesota State, Mankato - 200 Meters:
Christopher Reed - Minnesota State, Mankato -  Shot Put:
Lexi Williams - UMD - 800 Meters:
Alissa Rausch - Winona State - Shot Put:
Shanai Guider - Winona State - Discus Throw:
Ashley Magelssen - Bethel - 100 Meters:
Mike Hutton - St. Thomas - 800 Meters:
Devin Monson - Hamline - 5000 Meters:
Eyo Ekpo - St. Thomas - High Jump:
Josh Owens - Gustavus - Pole Vault:

Here is some information to help you with your picks:

Information including entries and heat sheets can be found at the following sites:
Division II
Division III

Here are the rankings of the Pick Ten athletes in their event based on the entries/heat sheets:

Hancock - fourth, Reed - fourth, Williams - seventh, Rausch - seventh, Guider - fourth, Magelssen - seventh, Hutton - second, Monson - fifth, Ekpo - third, Owens - fifth.

Some of these athletes are competing in multiple events:  Rausch is also competing in the Discus.  Magelssen is in the 200 and 4x400.  Monson will run the 10,000 meters prior to the 5000 meters.

Good luck!

Last week's question was Will Garrett Heath and/or Will Leer run an Olympic "A" standard of 3:35.50 at the Oxy High Performance Meet on Friday night?  The correct answer was no.  Heath came close - 3:36.24 while Leer ran 3:39.31.  Twenty two players answered correctly this week and Jim Glazer and Ryan Aylesworth are tied for first with eleven points.  A pack of five are one point behind with ten points.

Bill Atkins continues to lead Pick Ten with 110 points.  But the race is tight as there are eight other contestants within ten points.

For full standings of both contests, please visit DtB Fantasy Corner.

Ultra Great Jurek to Run and Read in Minnesota

Ultramarathon superstar Scott Jurek, a Proctor, Minnesota native, will lead a group fun run and talk about his forthcoming book Eat and Run: My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness on Tuesday, June 19th at Gear West Ski and Run in Long Lake.

Jurek's memoir of his  ultramarathoning career and his veganism will be released on June 5.

Jurek is a seven-time winner of the Western States 100 race, a two-time champion of the 135-mile Badwater Ultramarathon across Death Valley, and a three-time champion of Europe's most heralded ultra, the 153-mile Spartathlon in Greece.

 The event costs $10, but the admission fee can be put toward a copy of Jurek's book or Brooks merchandise at the stores. More information on the event can be found HERE.

Previously, the same businesses brought Christopher McDougall to Minnesota for a run and reading of his book Born to Run, in which Jurek was profiled.

Round-Up: Rankings, Quotes, Speaker

It's the busy season in track and field nowadays, so we'll try to get ourselves caught up with a round-up of recent news ...

Collegiate Rankings ... As NCAA Division II and III teams head to their national championship meets and the Gophers travel to their Division I Prelim, the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches' Association released the latest college rankings.

In Division I, the University of Minnesota men fell out of the top-25, after being ranked #21 last week.  They are currently tabbed as the #26 team in D1.  The Gopher women are ranked #111.

In D2 rankings, the Winona State women are ranked #16, up one spot from a week ago.  The Minnesota State - Mankato men are ranked #23.

In Division III, the MIAC champion programs from St. Thomas both make the top-25 -- the Tommie men are ranked #16 while the Tommie women are ranked #17.  Hamline's men are also ranked, at #17.

Team USA Talks Oxy ... A pair of Team USA Minnesota runners won their sections at the Oxy High Performance Meet in Los Angeles on Friday.  Gabriele Anderson won her 1500m section in a PR 4:06.46, while Jamie Cheever took her steeplechase race in 9:52.15.

Anderson just missed the Olympic Games A standard of 4:06.00; Cheever attained the Olympic Trials A standard of 9:55.00.

"I am a little speechless," Anderson said via a Team USA Minnesota media release.  "This was my season debut so I just came here to get the wheels turning.  I didn't know what to expect and was not thinking about getting the win.  I was just trying to finish strong.  This race shows me that the Olympic 'A' standard  is within reach."

Next up for Anderson will be the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene on June 2 where she will again run the 1500 meters. 

Read what Cheever thought of her race, HERE.

Tollefson Gives Back ... Olympian Carrie Tollefson will be the featured speaker in Duluth today at the Essentia Health Fit-n-Fun Middle School Assemblies, organized by Grandma's Marathon.

A 2004 Olympian in the 1500-meters, Tollefson will give presentations to Duluth students at Morgan Park Middle School and at Woodland Middle School.

As most Minnesota track fans well know, Tollefson, 35, grew up in Dawson, Minn., and won 13 Minnesota high school championships in cross country and track. While in college at Villanova, she was a 12-time All-American and five-time NCAA national champion.

The St. Paul, Minn., resident will be back in Duluth next month for Grandma’s Marathon weekend and will be a part of the team producing live radio coverage of the USA Half Marathon Championships. She has provided television and radio commentary for many racing events throughout the nation.

 Since December 2010, she has hosted a weekly show about running and fitness called C Tolle Run. The show features training tips, interviews with athletes and experts, as well as highlights from races and events.

More information is available at www.ctollerun.com.

Lundstrom, George Win Superior 50K Titles

By Alex Kurt

Former Team USA Minnesota runner and Olympic Trials marathoner Chris Lundstrom of Minneapolis overcame a five-minute deficit to defend his title in the Superior 50K in Lutsen Saturday.

Lundstrom trailed 2011 Voyageur 50 Mile champion Samuel Jurek of Boston, Massachusetts at the halfway point but took the lead at the final aid station as Jurek was suffering from the affects of soaring temperatures. (He would fade to seventh.)

Lundstrom finished in 3:56:04, the third-fastest time in race history. (He owns the top two as well.)

“I managed to drop and spill my water bottle leaving the last aid station, so I went that last hour without any fluids,” Lundstrom said. “I really should have gone back and refilled, as I'm sure the lack of fluids cost me more time than it would have taken to go back. But hindsight is 20/20.”

In the women’s race, Rebecca George of Baxter won in 4:45:38, also third-fastest in race history and good for 12^th overall. Duluth’s Christi Nowak, the defending champion, finished second in 4:57:43.

Race Director John Storkamp said Lundstrom’s and George’s times were more impressive given the course was lengthened to include a summit of Carlton Peak this year. “Reports are that it was worth it for the great view,” Storkamp said.

Full 50K results can be found HERE.

Duluth took top spots in the men’s and women’s 25K race. Eric Hartmark set a course record of 1:39:09, over six minutes ahead of the nearest competitor. Elaine Wilson finished first among women (15^th overall) in 2:11:31, just three seconds off Leslie Semler’s 2010 course record. Semler of Hermantown was second in 2:19:58.

Full 25K results can be found HERE. 

Alex Kurt is Down the Backstretch's new ultra-running contributor.

Fast Running for Minnesotans at Oxy

If you were an Olympic Trials aspirant looking to run fast last night, Occidental College in Los Angles was the place to be.

Many of the country's top distance runners chased Olympic qualifiers and fast times at the meet.

Minnesotans got in on the fast running as well, including section victories by Jamie Cheever, Justin Tyner, and Gabriele Anderson and load of personal bests.

Find full results of the meet HERE. 

Watch video of the action and interviews HERE.

Heather Kampf Wins USA Road Mile Title

Team USA Minnesota's Heather Kampf won last night's USA Championship women's race at the Medtronic TC 1 Mile in downtown Minneapolis, running 4:36.9 against a headwind made for tactical racing and a half-miler's speed.

The win earned Kampf, a former NCAA 800-meter champion, her first USA title and a $4000 winner's check.

“I feel like a road mile is a little bit to my advantage,” Kampf (pictured below) said at the finish line. “If I can stay in the race, then have a good shot to kick at the end, my closing speed is a lot better than some milers.”

Photo by Paul Phillips/Competitive Image

Listen to my post-race interview with the happy champion here ...



Craig Miller (in the black New Balance kit, below), a former University of Wisconsin star, won the USA men's title, clocking 4:04.3

Photo by Paul Phillips/Competitive Image.

Find results HERE.

Watch the women's race below ...



Watch the men's race below ...

Yes/No: Olympic A for Heath or Leer at Oxy?

The heat sheets for Friday night's Occidental High Performance Meet promise quality and quantity for the distance events from 800 to 5000.  Many athletes are already chasing qualifying times this Olympic year (trials or A and B standards), while others are grabbing the opportunity to sharpen their fitness against top competition.

Many local athletes will heading to California to partake this Friday, including Gabriele Anderson, Jamie Cheever, Laura Januszewski and Elliot Heath.

But we will check out the men's 1500 with this question...

Yes/No: Will Garrett Heath and/or Will Leer run an Olympic "A" standard of 3:35.50 at the Oxy High Performance Meet on Friday night?

Garrett Heath has run 3:37.12 for his fastest 1500 meters and just ran a huge personal record 13:27 for 5000 meters.  Will Leer has a best 1500 of 3:36.33.

To play our game, simply type "yes" or "no" into the subject line of an e-mail and send it to us at DtBFantasy [AT] gmail [DOT] com before 10:55 P.M. CDT, Friday, May 18th. Please put your answers in the subject line of the e-mail and make sure your full name appears somewhere in the e-mail.

My answer: No

In last week's Pick Ten contest, Rich Cowles finished in first with thirty-three points, followed by Mike Mason and Mitch VanBruggen with thirty-two and thirty respectively.  Bill Atkins leads the overall Pick Ten standings with one hundred ten points.

In the Yes/No contest, Jim Glazer and Ryan Aylesworth are tied for first with ten points.

For all the results, please visit DtB Fantasy Corner, HERE.

Kampf a Favorite for USA 1 Mile Title

Two new USA 1 Mile Road Champions will be crowned tonight in downtown Minneapolis at the Medtronic TC 1 Mile held on the Nicollet Mall ... and one of them could be Team USA Minnesota's Heather Kampf.

The former University of Minnesota star and a field of aspiring athletes will race for $22,500 in prize money, plus a pair of $10,000 course record bonuses.

The Medtronic TC 1 Mile, which features an evening of races for runners of all ages and abilities, hosts the USA 1 Mile Road Championship for the fourth-straight year. Racing kicks off at 6:50 p.m. and culminates with the USA Championships races at 7:53 p.m. (women) and 8:03 p.m. (men).

Kampf of Minneapolis, the runner-up in last year’s women’s championship race, aims to become the first Minnesotan to win a USA 1 Mile Road title. The former NCAA 800-meter champion and nine-time Gopher All-American will tangle with a deep field that includes steeplechaser Mason Cathey of Indianapolis, Indiana, Olympic Trials marathoner Alisha Williams of Denver, Colorado, and nine-time NCAA All-American Nicole Blood of Annandale, New Jersey.

Also populating the women’s field are Kampf’s Team USA Minnesota teammate Meghan Peyton of Minneapolis, the seventh-place finisher in the race last year, former University of Michigan star Danielle Tauro of Detroit, former Villanova All-American Frances Koons of Annandale, New Jersey recent Loyola Marymount graduate Tara Erdman of Tucson, Arizona, and Kellyn Johnson of Flagstaff, Arizona. Milwaukee, Wisconsin's Gwen Jorgensen, a member of this summer’s U.S. Olympic Team in the triathlon and a former Big Ten track champion, offers additional spice to the race.

In all, fourteen women will race down Nicollet Mall in pursuit of the $4000 champion’s prize and a shot at the $10,000 on offer, if the winner breaks Sara Hall’s Medtronic TC 1 Mile course record of 4:30.8 set last year.

In men’s competition, a dozen men will race for their own $4000 winner’s check and the chance to earn $10,000 for breaking three-time champion David Torrence’s 2011 course record of 3:58.4. Last year’s runner-up Aaron Braun of Flagstaff, Arizona, will vie with 2011 third-place finisher Craig Miller of Madison, Wisconsin and the rest of the well-balanced men’s championship field. Braun is known for his success over a wide range of racing distances; Miller won the Grandma’s Minnesota Mile in Duluth last fall and recently ran a PR 3:37.13 1500m on Monday in Philadelphia.

Joining last year’s medal-winners on the starting line this year are Ben Bruce of Flagstaff, Arizona, one of the country’s top steeplechasers, Jordan Horn, Bruce’s and Braun’s teammate with the McMillan Elite program and the third-place finisher in Medtronic TC 1 Mile in 2010, and veteran road racer Christian Hesch of Hollywood, California, the runner-up at the 2011 Grandma’s Minnesota Mile. Team USA

Minnesota’s Chris Rombough of Minneapolis, a former Golden Gopher All-American, is the local favorite – he finished seventh in the race a year ago – and Darren Brown of Knoxville, Tennessee, fourth at the TC 1 Mile in 2009, Bobby Mack of Raleigh, North Carolina are likely contenders as well.

Down the Backstretch will be on the scene at the Medtronic TC 1 Mile tonight.  We'll post finish line updates via our Twitter feed and have a full wrap-up of the championship races on Friday morning. 

Gopher Men Rise to #21 in NCAA

Despite a seventh-place finish at last weekend's Big Ten Outdoor Championships, the University of Minnesota men's track and field team moved up in the latest NCAA Division I rankings, released yesterday.

The Gophers are now ranked #21, up four places from a week ago.

The University of Minnesota women are were listed #115 in the rankings.

Find complete D1 rankings HERE.

Winona State #17, Mankato #21 ... The Winona State women's team, the runners-up in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference last weekend, are ranked #17 in the NCAA Division II rankings, up two places from a week ago.

Minnesota State - Mankato's men's team entered the NCAA Division II top-25 this week -- at #21 -- after winning NSIC men's title over the weekend.

Find complete D2 rankings HERE.

Rankings for NCAA Division III will be released later today HERE.

Big Ten Championships Photo Gallery

Down the Backstretch photo contributor Gene Niemi attended the Big Ten Outdoor championships last weekend and offers this gallery of photos from the meet.

The Gopher men took 7th-place at the championships, the Gopher women finished 9th.

Hassan Mead (187) leads Wisconsin's Mohammed Ahmed.

The Gophers' Laura Docherty in action.

The Gopher decathlon contingent:  Jack Szmanda (199), Kenny Schofield (center), and Logan Markuson (186)

Kylie Peterson (508) takes the baton from Chimerem Okoroji (505).

The Gophers' David Pachuta en route to a school record in the 800m.

Harun Abda racing in the 400-meters.

Hassan Mead in action in his final Big Ten Championships.

Photos by Gene Niemi.

Gopher Men 7th, Women 9th at Big Ten

At the end of competition, the University of Minnesota teams found themselves looking up at the competition at the Big Ten Outdoor Track and Field Championships held in Madison, Wisconsin over the weekend.

The Gopher men, who were conference runners-up indoors, finished seventh as a team with 70.5 points.  The host Badgers won the meet with 121.

The Gopher women scored 45 points for 9th place.  Ohio State won the Big Ten women's title with 117.

Quentin Mege was the lone conference champion for Minnesota.  The hammer throw specialist won his second consecutive title in the event, throwing a school record 220-1.

“Overall it was a very competitive meet down the line and we will move forward from here and continue to work harder," Gopher men's coach Steve Plasencia said.

Find the GopherSports wrap-up of each of each day of the three-day meet HERE (men) and HERE (women).

Find complete Big Ten results HERE.

Mankato Tops Moorhead for NSIC Crown ... Minnesota State - Mankato won its fourth-straight Northern Sun Intercollegiate Athletic Conference outdoor title with a 212 to 179 win over Minnesota State - Moorhead in Bismarck, North Dakota.

In women's competition, Winona State finished runner-up to U-Mary.

Find a wrap-up of the meet HERE, and complete results HERE.

Tommie Sweep MIAC Titles ... The University of St. Thomas swept the team titles at the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships held in Moorhead.

The Tommie women scored 176.5 points to win their eighth-straight MIAC outdoor crown.  The Tommie men tallied 187 regain the title they lost a year ago.

There's a wrap-up of the women's meet HERE.  Complete women's results are HERE.

There's a wrap-up of the men's meet HERE.  Complete men's results are HERE.

Gopher Men 2nd After Day 1 at Big Tens

The University of Minnesota men's track team found itself in second place after the first day of competition at the Big Ten Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Madison, Wisconsin.

Quentin Mege led the Gopher effort by setting a new school record in the hammer throw in winning his second consecutive Big Ten title in the event.  The Frenchman threw 220-1.

The Gopher women are in 7th-place after Friday's events.

Follow the meet via live results HERE.

Follow the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Championships -- where the Minnesota State - Mankato leads the men's competition -- HERE.

Follow action in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Conference Championships HERE.

No David Torrence at Medtronic TC 1 Mile

Three-time defending champion David Torrence won't be back to win an unprecedented fourth-straight Medtronic TC 1 Mile title next week, but a blend of familiar faces and emerging stars are set to race down Nicollet Mall on Thursday in the 8th edition of the event, according to event organizers.

Once again the race will serve as the USA 1 Mile Road Championship

Both Torrence and defending women's champion Sara Hall have chosen to compete at the Oxy High Performance meet in Los Angeles which takes place the day after the TC 1 Mile.

Last year's TC 1 Mile runners-up -- Team USA Minnesota's Heather Kampf and Flagstaff, Arizona's Aaron Braun -- will headline the 2012 elite field.  Kampf, a Minneapolis resident and a former University of Minnesota star, looks to use a home course advantage to become the first Minnesotan to win the USA 1 Mile title.  The Rosemount High School alumnus recently ran 2:02.24 for 800-meters at a meet in Brazil.

Braun, a member of the McMillan Elite training group, is known for his wide range as a distance runner. The Adams State College graduate was the 2010 USA Club Cross Country Champion and has finished in the top-three at USA Championships a half-dozen times at distances ranging from the mile to 15-kilometers.

The Medtronic TC 1 Mile program features an evening of races for runners of all ages and abilities. Action kicks off at 6:50 p.m. and culminates with the USA Championships races at 7:53 p.m. (women) and 8:03 p.m. (men). In all, more than 3000 runners are expected to compete in this exciting 8th annual event. The event has hosted the last three USA 1 Mile Road Championships. 

“We’re pleased to have Heather and Aaron back at the Medtronic TC 1 Mile to chase the titles that eluded them last year,” Twin Cities In Motion Executive Director Virginia Brophy Achman said in a media release. “I marvel at Aaron’s abilities to compete successfully at so many distances and, in Heather’s case, we’d love to see a Minnesota runner win a USA title in her home state.”

The pair and the rest of the championship field will battle for a total of $22,500 in prize money, plus a pair of $10,000 course record bonuses.  The records for the event were both set last year when Torrence won his third-straight Medtronic TC 1 Mile title in 3 minutes, 58.4 seconds and Hall clocked 4:30.8 in her first Medtronic TC 1 Mile victory.

The Medtronic TC 1 Mile will play an important role for some emerging-elite athletes hoping to develop their talent for future Olympic Games. In a partnership with USA Track and Field, Twin Cities In Motion has invited six developmental athletes to the event for the opportunity to race against top competition and advance their promising careers.

“We’re proud of the resources we put into the developmental portion of the field,” Brophy Achman said. “Tomorrow’s Olympians will come from the today’s developmental ranks, so being an important part of their rise is an investment we’re pleased to make for our sport.”

Pick Ten: Outdoor Conference Championships

If you're a local collegiate athlete, it's time for your conference meet.

The University of Minnesota will head to Madison for the Big Ten Championships on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  Meanwhile, many of the Division II schools in the area will compete at the Northern Sun Championships on Friday and Saturday, the same days that the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference will be lining up at Concordia College in Moorhead.

If you're a DtB Yes/No participant, it's time for Pick Ten.

Pick Ten has a simple concept: predict the finish place for each of 10 Minnesota athletes at this weekends competitions. You will score points for each athlete who scores at or above the finish place you predict for them, following the 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 scoring system for track and field events.

For example: If you pick McKenzie Melander to place first in the 5000 meter race, and she places first, you get 10 points. If you pick Melander to place first and she finishes second, you get zero points. If you pick Melander to finish third in the race and she places first, second or third, you get 6 points by the scoring system above, since she placed at least as high as you predicted.

To play Pick Ten, cut and paste the list of names/events below into an e-mail and add your place predictions -- 1st or 2nd or 3rd...8th. Send your predictions by 11:59 A.M. CST on Friday, May 11th to DtBFantasy [AT] gmail [DOT] com. Make sure your full name is in the e-mail. As with our Yes/No contests, we don't offer any prizes, so no one needs to fear running afoul of NCAA or other anti-gambling regulations.

We'll announce the winner of this week's contest and compile results of all of the year's Pick Ten contests to name a grand champion for 2012.

Pick 10 ... Outdoor Track and Field Conference Meets:

Chimerem Okoroji - University of Minnesota - 100 Meters:
McKenzie Melander - University of Iowa - 5000 Meters:
DeAnne Hahn - University of Minnesota - Hammer Throw:
Jack Szmanda - University of Minnesota - Pole Vault:
Megan Stroh - University of Minnesota-Duluth - Hammer Throw:
Michael Bendix - MSU - Moorhead - High Jump:
Nicholas Nelson - Minnesota State-Mankato - 100 Meters:
Concordia College Women - 4 x 400 Meter Relay:
Jordon Spronk - Bethel - 400 Meters:
Matt Johnson - St. Olaf - Javelin Throw:

Here is some information to help you with your picks:

There is (or will be) entries and heat sheets at the following sites:
- Big Ten
- NSIC
- MIAC

I will give you the rankings of each athlete in the field, but there are a few items to keep in mind:  The MIAC rankings are true rankings.  The heat sheets have already been posted.  The rankings in the Big Ten come from the entries.  However, there are often numerous scratches in the Big Ten Champs, so the field may change.  The NSIC rankings are based solely on season performance lists.  When this contest was written, there were not heat sheets posted.

Chimerem Okoroji is ranked fifth in the 100 meters.  McKenzie Melander from the University of Iowa by way of Eastview High School is ranked first in the 5000 meters.  Melander is ranked first by a full sixteen seconds but she is scheduled to run the 10,000 meters prior.  DeAnne Hahn is the number three hammer thrower in the conference.  Jack Szmanda is ranked second going in to Big Tens.

Megan Stroh was the fifth best hammer thrower in the NSIC this season.  This event is amazing this year with twelve athletes already owning a provisional qualifier.  Michael Bendix is ranked fourth in the high jump in a tight contest featuring five jumpers over 6-8 this year.  Nicholas Nelson has the second best time coming into the 100 meters at NSIC.

Concordia's women are ranked fourth in the 4 x 400 relay at MIAC.  Jordon Spronk is ranked second in the 400 meters and Matt Johnson has the third best javelin throw coming into the meet.

Good luck!

Last week's question was Will Heather Kampf run faster than 2:04.00 at the meet in Brazil on Sunday?  The correct answer was no - Kampf ran 2:05.02.   Only three people answered correctly this week including Gloria Jansen who moved into second place.  Jim Glazer and Ryan Aylesworth are tied for first with ten points.

The current leaders in the Pick Ten contest are Bill Atkins with 88 points and Toby Hatlevig at 86

For full standings of both contests, please visit DtB Fantasy Corner.

Moen, Gabrielson in Action for Team USA Minn.

Team USA Minnesota’s Josh Moen will be among the competitors at the USA 25K Championships in Grand Rapids, Michigan on Saturday, while Matt Gabrielson will travel to New Jersey for the Newport 10,000 road race the same day.

Moen will be making his second appearance at the USA 25K Championships, having finished runner-up in the event last year with a time of 1:16:09. The race is part of the 35th annual Fifth Third River Bank Run, which starts and finishes in downtown Grand Rapids and is the largest 25K road race in the country.

Last weekend, Moen finished 15th at the Lilac Bloomsday Run in Spokane, Washington.

Gabrielson will compete in the ninth annual Newport 10,000 on a course that features views of the Manhattan skyline. The event is the site of the USA Track and Field - New Jersey 10K men’s and women’s open championship and also includes a field of international and American elite runners.

Kampf in Brazil ...  Team USA Minnesota's Heather Kampf will run the second and final race of her Brazilian junket, running in Fortaleza, Brazil later today.

Kampf will face the two women who beat her in Belém on Saturday:  Rosibel Garcia of Columbia and Brazil's Christiane Ritz.  Find the startlist for the meet HERE.

Grandma's, TCM Renew $10,000 Bonus

Once again, $10,000 will be waiting for a runner who can win both of Minnesota's largest marathon this year.

Grandma’s Marathon-Duluth, Inc. and Twin Cities In Motion announced today that they will again partner on an incentive bonus for any runner winning Grandma's Marathon and the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon in 2012.

A $10,000 bonus will be awarded to anyone capturing the open division titles at this year’s Grandma’s Marathon and Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon – an opportunity that was first made available a year ago.

Grandma’s Marathon’s 2011 champion, Chris Kipyego, was in the running for the incentive last year but wound up dropping out of the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon.

Historically, one male and one female have earned Grandma’s Marathon and Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon victories in the same calendar year.

Kenya’s Andrew Musuva claimed both titles in 1999, when he won June’s Grandma’s Marathon in 2:12:21 and completed the sweep at October’s Twin Cities Marathon in 2:14:41. In 2010, Ethiopia’s Buzunesh Deba became the only female to accomplish the feat with winning times of 2:31:35 and 2:27:23, respectively.

Both Grandma’s Marathon and Twin Cities In Motion are hosting national championship events this year.  On June 16, the USA Half Marathon Championships will be decided in Duluth, while on October 7 Twin Cities In Motion hosts the USA 10 Mile Championships and the USA Masters Marathon Championships.

Border Hop Needed for Level 1 Schooling

Coaches looking to earn USA Track and Field's Level 1 coaching certification will need to leave Minnesota to do so this summer, but only just.

While none of the 13 Level 1 coaching education schools will be held in Minnesota, one will be conducted just over the bridge in La Crosse, Wisconsin this August.  The program will be hosted by the University of Wisconsin - La Crosse from August 3 through August 8.

Early registration for the school closes on July 20.  Details on registration will be posted HERE.

USATF's Level 1 schools teach all track and field events in a basic manner by emphasizing fundamentals, rules, safety/risk management, and instruction techniques, according to USATF.

The Level 1 Course prepares an individual to coach at the junior high school, high school, club, and junior age division level.

Learn more about USATF's coaching eduction program HERE.

Kampf Third in Belém 800m at 2:05.02

Team USA Minnesota's Heather Kampf finished third in Sunday's women's 800-meters of the Belém, Brazil leg of the the 2012 Brazilian Athletic Series.

The race is the first of two half-mile races the former Golden Gopher NCAA champion will run in Brazil.

Rosibel Garcia of Columbia won the Belém race in 2:04.28, while Brazil's Christiane Ritz was runner-up in 2:04.95.

Kampf will race again on Wednesday in Fortaleza before returning to North America.

Find complete results of the Belém meet (and a fascinating wrap-up of the event written in Portuguese) HERE.

Yes/No: Heather Kampf Sub-2:04 in Brazil?

Heather Kampf ran a pair of races in neighboring Iowa last week.  In the next few days, she'll run a pair of races in more exotic Brazil.

At the Drake Relays, Kampf tackled a road mile and a track 1500.  She finished second in the Grand Blue Mile on April 24 in a tactical 4:45 before running 4:13.89 to finish third on the track in the 1500.  In Brazil she will turn to her specialty -- the 800-meters.  She runs in two separate cities in Brazil, racing the 800 on Sunday and again on May 9th.

The meet in Belem, Brazil on Sunday promises world class athletes (although six out of seven of Kampf's competitors in the 800 are from Brazil) and hot weather.

Let us know how Heather Kampf will fare in Brazil...

Yes/No: Will Heather Kampf run faster than 2:04.00 at the meet in Brazil on Sunday?

Heather Kampf has won MSHSL state titles in high school, a NCAA title at the University of Minnesota, and has finished as high as third in USA Track and Field National Meets.  Kampf has a personal best of 2:00.41, achieved last year.

To play our game, simply type "yes" or "no" into the subject line of an e-mail and send it to us at DtBFantasy [AT] gmail [DOT] com before 8:00 A.M. CDT, Sunday, May 6th. Please put your answers in the subject line of the e-mail and make sure your full name appears somewhere in the e-mail.

My answer: Yes

In last week's Pick Ten contest, Bill Atkins finished in first with forty-one points, followed by Kyle Schmidt and Jesse Schoen with thirty-nine and thirty-eight respectively.  Atkins also leads the overall Pick Ten standings with eighty-eight points.

In the Yes/No contest, Jim Glazer and Ryan Aylesworth are tied for first with ten points.

For all the results, please visit DtB Fantasy Corner, HERE.

Kampf to Compete in Brazilian 800m Races

Team USA Minnesota's Heather Kampf will travel to Brazil this week for are pair of 800-meter races in the host country of the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Kampf will compete in Belem on Sunday, May 6 and in Fortaleza Wednesday, May 9.  The one-day meets are part of the five-meet 2012 Brazilian Athletics Tour.

Kampf recently competed in the Grand Blue Mile in Des Moines on April 24 where she finished a close second to Sara Hall  in 4:45, followed by the 1500-meters at the Drake Relays on April 28, where she ran 4:13.89 to finish third.

North by Northwest ... While Kampf heads south, teammates Emily Brown and Josh Moen head to the Northwest to compete in the Lilac Bloomsday 12K Run  in Spokane, Washington on Sunday. 

Brown and Moen competed at Bloomsday last year, with Brown running 41:11 (in 2010 she finished in 42:13), while Moen crossed the finish line in 35:21.

Over the weekend, Brown won the Get in Gear 10k in Minneapolis on April 28 in a personal road best time of 33:28. Moen last competed on April 1 at the Cherry Blossom Ten Mile in Washington, D.C., where he ran 48:38 to finish seventh.

Relay to Honor Kevin Dare, Seek World Record

A relay team honoring Kevin Dare, the Penn State pole vaulter who died at the Big Ten Indoor Championships in Minneapolis ten years ago, will run from the U of M Fieldhouse to State College, Pennsylvania to raise money for the Kevin Dare Foundation and attempt to set a 1000-mile relay world record.

A ten-man team of runners -- including Stillwater High School alumnus Luke Watson -- plan to make the journey from August 26th and end August 30th. The Life Back on Track Relay will raise money for the Kevin Dare Foundation’s scholarship program that helps severely injured and ill high school student athletes to attend college.

“It’s been ten years since Kevin Dare passed away, so we wanted to do something special to mark that and honor Kevin and the type of guy that he was,” event organizer and run participant Ryan Foster said in a recent media release.

Dare died during the pole vault competition at the Big Ten Championships at The University of Minnesota after he suffered a fatal head injury on a vault gone horribly wrong.

The runners will depart from the exact spot of Kevin’s accident, and attempt to run to the track facility at Penn State University faster than the current world record of 99 hours, 3 minutes, and 27 seconds. In order to break the current World Record, the runners will have to maintain a pace of five minutes and 57 seconds for each mile.

“We’re planning on each runner covering five miles in turn, which will allow us a bit over four hours to recover before we have to run again,” said Foster, a 2009 Penn state grad.

Find more information on the effort HERE.

William A. Irvin 5K Registration Closes

Registration for the 19th annual William A. Irvin 5K is now closed, Grandma’s Marathon officials announced Monday.

The 3.1-mile race, scheduled for Friday, June 15, accepted the first 1,900 registrants – an increase of 200 from 2011.

The William A. Irvin 5K starts and finishes alongside the permanently docked William A. Irvin ore boat near the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center.  The race takes place the night before Grandma's Marathon and the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon.

While registration is also closed for the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon, spots remain available for the 36th running of Grandma’s Marathon. Registration for the full marathon will close June 1.