Micah Hegerle Wins Hammer Throw, Laura Docherty Second in 10K at Big Tens, Weather Postpones Some Events Until Saturday

The Gopher's Micah Hegerle won the men's hammer throw and Laura Docherty was second in the 10K at the Big Ten Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Friday. Hegerle, a senior, won his second career Big Ten title with a throw of 65.34 meters (214'4") . His win marked the fourth consecutive year a Minnesota athlete has won the event. 

Docherty, a junior, ran 34:13.21  to finish behind Wisconsin’s Caitlin Comfort (33:22.34), while redshirt freshman Liz Berkholtz (35:11.12) was seventh. Andrew Larson was 13th in the men's 10K in 30:19.11.  The three Gopher women's hammer throwers finished eighth(Jeri Johnson-Chambers, 56.51m/185'4"), 11th(Devin Stanford, 55.27m/181'4")and 14th(Lyndsey Thorpe, 53.49m/175'6").

Despite rainy weather that ultimately suspended competition following the hammer throw, the Gopher men finished first and second at the Big Ten championships for the second year in a row with Quentin Mege competing with a broken hand was runner-up at 62.54 meters (205-02 ft.).

“This is a terrific performance for Micah, individually, and for our throwers as a whole,” Minnesota assistant coach Lynden Reder said. “We had less than ideal conditions with the weather, but our guys pushed each other to be successful like they have all season long.”  Minnesota's Jon Lehman was seventh(61.40 meters/201'5 ") and Justin Barber 11th(58.42 meters/191'8").

A junior, Docherty, finished second in the 10,000 meters on a rainy Friday night at the Big Ten Championships. “I’m happy for Laura, and pleased with Liz’s first 10K,” Director of Track and Field/Cross Country Matt Bingle said. “It was raining the whole time and they did a great job working through difficult conditions. Jeri did a good job fighting for eighth place.” 

Alex Beckman (3,148 points) and Amanda Beckman (2,898 points) sit in seventh and 10th, respectively, through four heptathlon events. Alex set three PRs, highlighted by a shot put of 38'4.25" (11.69m) to finish third. Amanda also set two PRs on the day despite weather delays.

The women’s pole vault, originally scheduled for Friday, has been postponed until Saturday afternoon. Weather permitting, the competiton will resume Saturday starting with the heptathlon long jump.The Gopher men lead the team race with 20 points.  The Minnesota women have 11 points in third place. Wisconsin leads with 18. Results are HERE. Story on the women's 10K is HERE.