Matthew Wilkinson will compete in the NCAA championships in the 3,000-meter steeplechase for the second year in a row, after the Gophers standout recorded a qualifying time of 8 minutes, 26.33 seconds at the West Regional qualifier in Sacramento on Friday night. Wilkinson posted the regional's third-best time.
The Gophers men also will be sending their 4x100 team to Austin, Texas, after the foursome of Carlon Hosten, Kion Benjamin, Finn Schirmer and Devin Augustine posted an automatic qualifying time of 39.02 seconds. It's the first time the Gophers have qualified for the NCAA championships in the event.
Benjamin also qualified in the 100, winning his heat in 10.11 seconds, and Hosten earned a spot in the 200 with a time of 20.49 seconds. In the 110 hurdles, Gophers sophomore Michael Buchanan qualified with a time of 13.66 seconds.
MSU Mankato wins opener
Matt Fleischhacker drove in three runs, including two on a two-out single in the eighth inning, and Minnesota State Mankato held on to beat Augustana 5-4 in the first game of an NCAA Division II baseball super regional in Sioux Falls.
Lefthander Dylan Gotto pitched 6 ⅔ innings in relief to improve to 12-2 for the Mavericks (43-16), who will have two chances to beat Augustana (45-19) this weekend for their ninth trip to the College World Series.
Fleischhacker's single gave the Mavericks a 5-0 lead. The host Vikings scored all four of their runs in the bottom of the ninth inning, but the Mavericks' Spencer Wright, who had forced in a run with a four-pitch walk, preserved the victory by striking out Ragan Pinnow on a full-count pitch with the bases loaded.
Bethel win streak ends
One pitch was the difference in Friday's super regional opener as the No. 11th-ranked Bethel softball team saw its 26-game winning streak end with a 1-0 loss to No. 4 Linfield in McMinnville, Ore., in the first game of the NCAA Division III super regionals.
The host Wildcats (45-4) got a home run on the first pitch of the bottom of the fourth inning from Katie Phillips for the game's only run. That was the only blemish for the Royals' Kayla Simacek, who gave up three hits and walked none while striking out six.