Senior Aubrey Schmitt finished sixth in the discus competition at the NCAA championships, earning All-America honors with a throw of 174-feet, 8-inches.
Coach Lynne Anderson said Schmitt and several other throwers succumbed to the pressures of the meet and threw sub-standard distances in the opening flights.
“But Aubrey hung in there,” Anderson said. “She persevered and did exactly what she needed to do.”
Schmitt competed in the shot put late Thursday night and will conclude with the hammer throw on Saturday, making her the first female track and field athlete in school history to participate in three events at the outdoor national championships.
Linda Lindqvist will throw the javelin today for Minnesota.
Junior Lyndon McDowell continued to put together solid performances in the decathlon and remained in fourth through seven of 10 events.
Senior Tom Gerding ran the semifinals of the 400-meter dash and joined teammates for the 4×400-meter relay semifinals.
If Gerding and the relay run to qualifying marks, they will compete in the event finals on Saturday.
Men’s golf misses cut
Despite solid second round scores by freshman Simon Nash and sophomore Wilhelm Schauman, Minnesota finished in a tie for 20th and missed the 15-team cut at the NCAA championships.
This is the first time in four seasons the Gophers failed to reach team competition on the final two days.
Nash advances to compete as an individual in the final two rounds.
Academic all-Big Ten picks
A total of 82 Minnesota athletes earned academic All-Big Ten honors for the 2001 spring semester, 52 women and 30 men.
To qualify for academic honors, students must be in at least their second academic year and carry a career grade point average of 3.0 or better.
The women’s department had 90 athletes garnering all conference academic honors in 2000-01, up from 85 the previous school year.
Women’s track signs four
Four Minnesota natives highlight the 2001 Gophers women’s cross country and track recruiting class, including state champion Lisa Dyer of Moorhead, Kim Magee, Melissa Steele and Paula Hoffert.
Dyer came within four seconds of the state record last fall in the 4,000-meter race, helping Moorhead to an 11th place finish.
She will likely compete in three events at next week’s Minnesota state track meet, ranking second in two events and fourth in another.
“We are thrilled to have Lisa joining us,” Gophers coach Gary Wilson said in a release. “She will make a significant and immediate impact on our program.”
In addition, nine recruited non-scholarship runners will join Minnesota in the fall.
Olson to be honored
Minnesota senior associate athletics director Donna Olson will be honored by the Minnesota Lynx on June 2 as part of the ‘Honoring Our Legacy’ celebration prior to tip-off of the 7 p.m. game with Phoenix.
Olson has worked for 16 years at Minnesota, overseeing the day-to-day operations of 12 varsity sports. She is being honored for making significant contributions to women’s athletics in the state of Minnesota.
