Minnesota Secures Big Ten Outdoor Track and Field Championship

Photo courtesy of Michigan Athletics

OFFICIAL RESULTS

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The Minnesota Golden Gophers finished the 2024 Big Ten Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Championships in style, coming-from-behind on the anchor leg to win the 4x400m relay by one-hundredth of a second to secure the team title with 131 points. The win marks the Gophers’ fourth Big Ten Championship and first since 2018. Nebraska (115.33) finished second by scoring points in every field event, narrowly edging Ohio State (115) which was exceptional in the sprints and relays.

On the men’s side Nebraska dominated the field events, piling up more points than any other team in the high jump, long jump, triple jump, shot put and javelin, to win the 2024 Big Ten Outdoor title for the second consecutive year, and fourth time since 2013. The Cornhuskers 136 points put them ahead of second-place Iowa (86), which shined in the sprints and relays, and third-place Wisconsin (78), which distinguished itself in the distance events.

In Friday evening’s opening session Minnesota swept the hammer throw with junior Shelby Frank taking the women’s title with a throw of 67.79m (222’5”), and freshman Angelos Mantzouris throwing a meet record 75.15m (246’6”) in his Big Ten Championships debut. Mantzouris delivered a message to the rest of the field by recording the six longest throws of the competition in his six attempts.

Illinois junior Tori Thomas set a meet record and equaled a personal best to win the women’s pole vault as the only competitor to clear 4.52m (14’10”) on the bar. In women’s javelin, Nebraska senior Rhema Otabor blew away the competition with the four longest throws of the night, topping out with 57.75m (189’5”) to win.

In men’s javelin, Iowa sophomore Mike Stein brought a gasp from the crowd to take the lead with a meet record 81.19m (266’4”) on the penultimate throw of the night. Nebraska sophomore Dash Sirmon, who had owned the lead since Round 3, capped the competition with his best toss of the event, an 80.86m (265’3”) that came up just short of the title but cleared the threshold for Olympic Trials qualifying.

The 10,000m finished the night, with Penn State sophomore Florence Caron finishing atop the podium with a 33:04.18 effort, 16-seconds ahead of runner-up and teammate, Sophia Toti. The final event of the day proved to be one of the most dramatic of the Championships, with Michigan senior Tom Brady (29:19.27) edging Wisconsin sophomore Micah Wilson (29:19.30) by just three-hundreths of a second in a photo finish at the end of 25 laps.

On a gray Saturday in Ann Arbor, Illinois took two field titles with Rose Yeboah winning the high jump at 1.82m (5’11.5”), and junior Tacoria Humphrey claiming the long jump at 6.42m (21’0.75”). In shot put, Nebraska junior Axelina Johnson took the women’s title at 18.49m (60’8”), and Ohio State senior Hayden Tobias established a new meet record with a season-best 20.0m (65’7.5”) in the men’s competition. Minnesota freshman Charles Godfred continued a sterling rookie season by earning the men’s long jump title at 7.94m (26’0.75”).

Michigan State senior Ryan Talbot used first-place finishes in the shot put, 400m and discus, and runner-up results in the 100m and 110m hurdles, to win the decathlon championship, edging Purdue freshman Andreas Hantson by 152 points. The heptathlon came down to the final event of the competition, as Wisconsin sophomore Shayna Zinter finished first in the 800m (her third event win along with the 100m hurdles and javelin) to rise from third-place overall and take the title.

A wet second day of the Championships fittingly ended with the Steeplechase where Minnesota freshman Zoie Dundon won the women’s event in 10:09.56 and Wisconsin sophomore Logan Measner used a strong finishing kick over the final lap to win the men’s event in 8:40.98.

Sunday’s final day of competition included 26 finals on a cloudless, 70-degree day in eastern Michigan. Nebraska junior Tyus Wilson soared to the men’s high jump championship, topping 2.29m (7’6”), the highest clearance in the NCAA during the 2024 outdoor season.

Ohio State junior Leah Bertrand won the 100m in 11.16, and ran a leg of the Buckeyes’ victorious 4x100m relay which finished atop a field where seven teams ran a season-best time. She also finished runner-up to sophomore teammate Fatouma Conde in the 200m.

Penn State junior Hayley Kitching established a new meet record winning the women’s 800m title in 2:02.54. For the men, Wisconsin junior Adam Spencer earned the victory in a tight race where seven-tenths of a second separated the Top-6 finishers.  

The men’s discus came down to the wire as the Top-3 finishers all saved their best for last, with Purdue’s Seth Allen emerging victorious with a personal best 60.95m (199’11”) effort on the final throw of the competition. Shortly thereafter, Boilermakers’ junior Prause Aniamaka won the men’s triple jump with a meet record 16.49m (54’1.25”), and sophomore Cameron Miller ran a blazing, though wind-aided, 19.97 to win the men’s 200m.

Michigan junior Savannah Sutherland ran a meet record 55.01 to win the women’s 400m hurdles by more than two seconds. The NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships first rounds run Wednesday, May 22 through Saturday, May 25.

The NCAA East first round will be located in Lexington, Kentucky, with Kentucky serving as the host school. The NCAA West first round will be located in Fayetteville, Arkansas with Arkansas serving as the host school.

The 2024 NCAA outdoor track and field championships are from Wednesday, June 5 through Saturday, June 8, at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. It marks the 15th time the outdoor championships have been held in Oregon and the first time since 2022.