Gopher Men Second at Big Ten Outdoor Champs, Women Finish Eighth

Harun Abda and Zach Siegmeier added individual Big Ten titles in the 800 and pole vault, respectively, on Sunday as the Minnesota men finished second at the 2013 Big Ten Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. The Gophers scored 93 points while Nebraska racked up 131.5.

Approaching the tail end of a career that includes 11 All-America honors and five Big Ten indoor titles, Abda can now claim an outdoor title after capturing Minnesota’s first Big Ten outdoor 800 title since Hans Storvick in 2008. The First Team All-Big Ten honoree – his fifth career conference accolade -- ran 1:48.64 on Sunday to edge Penn State’s Casimir Loxsom by .03 seconds while Travis Burkstrand finished third in 1:49.74.

Meanwhile, Siegmeier picked up his first-ever Big Ten title and First Team All-Big Ten honor with a win in the pole vault, clearing 5.21 meters (17'1"). The junior’s win  marks the Gophers’ first conference title in the pole vault since Ben Peterson in 2010.

Senior Oladipo Fagbemi also earned his first career conference with a runner-up finish in the triple jump. The Second Team All-Big Ten selection cleared 15.51 meters (50-10.75 ft.) behind Ohio State’s Mike Hartfield (15.62 meters, 51'3").

Other notable performances for the Gophers included a third-place finish by the 4x400 relay team of Abda, Jacob Capek,Goaner Deng and Cameron Boy (3:09.15), two top-ten finishes in the javelin throw as Logan Connors finished fourth (63.47 meters, 208'3") and Sam Kettenhofen finished eighth (59.73 meters, 195'11"), a sixth-place finish in the 200 by Boy (21.42) and a ninth-place finish by the senior in the 100 (10.60), a seventh-place finish in the 400 by Capek (47.12) and a fifth-place finish in the 1,500 by John Simons (3:49.27) and a tenth-place finish in the 5K by Simons (14:28.08). The 4x100 relay team of Capek, Boy, Fagbemi and Kettenhofen finished seventh in 41.37 while Mark Jennings (17.71 meters, 58'1.25") and Logan Hussung (17.60 meters, 57'9") finished eighth and ninth, respectively, in the shot put.

The Golden Gopher women's team had three top-three finishes on the final day of the Big Ten Championships to finish eighth with 66.5 points. Penn State won the conference title with 133 points. 

Juniors Megan Geyen and Laura Docherty earned All-Big Ten Second Team honors. Geyen finished second in the 400 in 53.91 seconds, behind Illinois's Ashley Spencer. Sophomore Jessica Waldvogel finished seventh in the 400.

Sophomore Devin Stanford took third place in the discus. She launched it 170'4"(51.93m) on her first throw, a personal record that ranks seventh in Gopher history. Senior Katie Loberg, who joined the team after a four-year college basketball career, tied for third in the high jump. Loberg cleared 5'8.5"(1.74m), to tie for sixth on Minnesota's all-time list.

Docherty, who finished second in the 10K on Friday, finished fourth in the 5K Sunday with a PR of 16:16.1 that ranks third in school history. Minnesota had a pair of scorers in the 800. Senior Alena Brooks took fourth and junior Te'Shon Adderley was sixth.

The Minnesota 4x400m relay team of Geyen, Adderley, Waldvogel and Brooks won the first heat to place  fourth overall with a time of 3:40.76. The 4x100 team of Waldvogel, senior Todea-Kay Willis, Geyen and senior Kylie Peterson finished seventh. Junior Maggie Bollig (1,500) and Willis (100) finished eighth in their respective events. Katie Hill finished just outside of the scoring in the 1,500.

"We had a great day today," Director of Track and Field/Cross Country Matt Bingle said. "It was a little disappointing not to finish higher, being only 10 points out of fifth place. But overall, today was a good day for us. Even people who didn't score had PRs or season-bests. I was impressed with our young people, and there is a lot to be encouraged about with so many scorers returning next season."

Recap of Gopher Women's Scorers

2. Laura Docherty, 10K
2. Megan Geyen, 400
3. Devin Stanford, discus
T3. Katie Loberg, high jump
4. Laura Docherty, 5K
4. Katie Moraczewski, 3,000m steeplechase
4. Emily Betz, javelin
4. Alena Brooks, 800
4. 4x400 relay (Megan Geyen, Te'Shon Adderley, Jessica Waldvogel, Alena Brooks)
6. Te'Shon Adderley, 800
7. Liz Berkholtz, 10K 
7. Jessica Waldvogel, 400m
7. Todea-Kay Willis, long jump
7. 4x100 relay (Jessica Waldvogel, Todea-Kay Willis, Megan Geyen, Kylie Peterson)
8. Jeri Johnson-Chambers, hammer
8. Alex Beckman, heptathlon
8. Maggie Bollig, 1,500
8. Todea-Kay Willis, 100

Full Meet results are HERE.  All Big Ten Team women are HERE. Men All Big Ten Teams are HERE.