The Minnesota Golden Gophers Track and Field teams are in Lincoln, Nebraska for the Big Ten Championships this weekend. Over the course of three days the 15th ranked Gopher men and the 23rd ranked Gopher women will try and bring home not only individual titles, but team titles as well. Between the men and women, the University of Minnesota track and field team has combined to produce 102 outdoor conference champions since 2000. Minnesota’s women last won the team title in 2024, when the team scored
131 points, while the men’s program last won in 2010. In school history Minnesota’s women have collected four team conference championships while the men have earned seven.
The Gopher men and women have a combined 18 entries ranked in the Top 5 of the Big Ten this season and five of which who enter the weekend ranked #1 in the conference. Anthonett Nabwe is the lone Gopher with two #1 conference rankings with her 77.64m hammer throw from the Drake Relays and her 59.58m discus toss in the Battle on the Bayou. Ali Weimer is the other Golden Gopher woman ranked #1 in the conference this season with her 5000m time of 15:31.13 at the Bryan Clay Invitational. Minnesota’s men have two #1 ranked individuals heading into Big Tens with Hakeem Ford leaping 16.33 m at the Battle on the Bayou in the triple jump and Emmett Gerres running a time of 8:32.56 in the Raleigh Relays in the 3000m steeplechase.
Besides those ranked #1 in the conference above, the Gophers also have great depth in several events as shown by the National Event Squad rankings. The Gophers women’s hammer throw is ranked #1 in the nation thanks to Nabwe and Hadley Streit who has the second longest throw in the Big Ten this season. The quartet of throwers average of 65.18m. The women’s team also has the 10th-ranked 400m hurdles group with Kennedy Martinson’s 57.63 leading the way. The men’s highest-rated Event Squad is the hammer throw at #2, with an average of 69.32m (227-5). Minnesota’s men sit at the #5 spot nationally in both the 100m and the 200m with John Caleb (10.00) and Zion Campbell (20.49) leading the way in those two events. Additionally the 3000m steeplechase quartet of Emmett Gerres, Sam Scott, Nolan Sutter and Owen Lindseth are #8 in the nation with an average of 8:56.03.
Minnesota’s conference championships will begin with the women’s hammer throw at 10 a.m. CT on Friday, May 15. The opening day of competition will be only available to watch on B1G+ and will conclude on 8:50 p.m. CT with the men’s 10000m. Day two begins for the Maroon and Gold as early as 12 p.m. CT in the field and at 3:15 p.m. CT on the track with the action available to watch on B1G+. The third and final day in Lincoln can be seen on Big Ten Network and B1G+ and begins at 10:10 a.m. CT for Minnesota and will conclude with the 4x400m relay at 3:38 p.m. CT. Live results will be available via PrimeTime Timing through the entire competition.
Next up will be the NCAA West Regional in Fayetteville, Arkansas from May 27-30. The announcement of the Minnesota qualifiers for that meet will be on May 21st.
