It was a record-breaking Saturday in the steeplechase for Emily Brown.
Again.
After breaking Minnesota’s women’s track and field school steeplechase record four times last season, Brown broke her own record once more Saturday at the Musco Twilight Invitational in Iowa City, Iowa.
Brown won the Invitational in a time of 10 minutes, 16.71 seconds, leading seven Gophers women who won eight events and two more who qualified for NCAA regionals.
“I just wanted to get (qualifying for) the race out of the way, because I didn’t have too many more chances to run it,” Brown said.
And at the Bulldog Limited Meet in Athens, Ga., Liz Roehrig set the school record in the heptathlon with 5,498 points, 98 more than the previous record, set in 2002, and Kadian Douglas won the 200 meters.
The Gophers 4-by-400 meter relay team of Katie Grundman, Candace Borgen, Mollie Hupp and Heather Dorniden took first place as well in Iowa City.
Dorniden qualified for NCAA regionals in the 400 meters with the second-fastest time in school history and Jamie Cheever qualified in the 800 meters.
Along with the two qualifying runners, two more won Musco event titles.
Ladia Albertson-Junkans took home first in the 1,500 meters with a time of 4:32.68 and Gina Dare took first in the 400 hurdles (1:01.96).
Three throwers won four events.
Ruby Radocaj took first in the javelin with a throw of 155 feet, 1 inch, Nina Cotolupenco won the hammer throw with 185-foot, 9-inch effort and Liz Podominick won two events – the shot put and the discus.
Podominick, who also won both those events the previous weekend at the Lee Krough Invitational in St. Peter, launched the shot put 51 feet, 5 1/2 inches and the discus 170 feet, 9 inches.
“The throwers just amaze me every week because they all seem to get better every week even though they’ve got some of the best times in the nation,” Brown said. “Obviously runners and throwers don’t understand each other that well, but we feed off each other’s successes.”
Sarah Nelson won the long jump with a distance of 19 feet, 2 1/2 inches. Ashley Nord and teammate Laura Massey both cleared 12-1 3/4 in the pole vault, but Nord captured the title with fewer missed attempts.
Caitlin Roemhildt won the high jump with a clearing of 5-8, joining three Gophers men who swept the top three spots in the men’s high jump at the Musco Twilight Invitational.
Kevin Netzer soared to first place with a clearing of 7-1/2 while teammates Parker Robinson and John Albert took second and third. Robinson also qualified for regionals.
“In the men’s high jump we knew there wouldn’t be a whole lot of competition,” Albert said. “But it was nice to have your teammates to go against; made it more fun.”
Aaron Buzard also qualified for NCAA regionals while winning the 200 meters.
Minnesota’s men had a pair of winners Saturday at the Carleton Relays in Northfield.
Adam Schnaible won the shot put and the hammer while Andrew Newman took first in the 100 meters and second in the 200 meters and long jump.
“The throwers had a really good weekend,” Albert said. “It seems like every time I hear about them they’re having their personal best. So hopefully at Drake we can all come together and get ready for the Big Ten meet.”
Antonio Vega provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 10,000 meters and Ryan Malmin qualified for regionals in the steeplechase.
