Big Ten Track and Field Championships at a glance

The Gophers men's and women's teams have several standouts to watch heading into the three-day meet in Champaign, Ill.

May 14, 2021 at 11:01AM
The Gophers’ Noah Burton has the Big Ten’s fourth fastest time in the 400-meter hurdles. (Renee Jones Schneider, Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Big Ten Outdoor Track and Field Championships

When: Friday-Sunday

Where: Champaign, Ill.

TV: BTN+

ATHLETES TO WATCH

WOMEN

Amira Young: The Big Ten indoor champion in the 60- and 200-meter dashes has the conference's second-fastest outdoor times in both the 100 and 200; she'll also run on the Gophers' 400 relay, which is seeded third.

Allison Gerads: The Champlin Park native had a long jump of 21 feet, 2 inches (the Big Ten's best mark this season) on April 2.

Bethany Hasz: Her long career with the Gophers will conclude in the next several weeks, as the Alexandria native heads into the conference meet with the Big Ten's third-fastest 5,000-meter time (15:41.98).

Abigail Schaaffe: The freshman from Jamaica is tied for the Big Ten's best mark in the 400 hurdles, having run a time of 58.43 seconds at the M City Classic.

MEN

Kion Benjamin: The freshman broke the Gophers' 100 program record — previously held by his coach, Ibrahim Kabia — by running 10.25 on April 30.

Noah Burton: After joining the Gophers as a graduate student, he has the team's fastest 400 hurdles time (51.42) and is ranked fourth in the Big Ten.

Phillipe Barnett: His discus throw of 195-4 at Wisconsin last weekend was the longest in the conference this year, and the fifth-longest in Gophers history (teammate Kaleb Siekmeier is ranked No. 2 behind Barnett at 194-10).

Kostas Zaltos: A freshman from Greece, he posted the second-longest hammer throw in program history last weekend, and comes into the Big Ten meet ranked No. 2 at 229 feet.

about the writer

about the writer

Ben Goessling

Sports reporter

Ben Goessling has covered the Vikings since 2012, first at the Pioneer Press and ESPN before becoming the Minnesota Star Tribune's lead Vikings reporter in 2017. He was named one of the top NFL beat writers by the Pro Football Writers of America in 2024, after honors in the AP Sports Editors and National Headliner Awards contests in 2023.

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