The Gophers competed in the Raleigh Relays in North Carolina over the weekend and came away with two titles.
Minnesota won both the 4×800-meter and 4×1,500-meter relay in the team’s second outdoor competition.
“[The relay team] is building off of the indoor season,” head coach Matt Bingle said. “It was a good opener for them. They’re all pretty excited.”
In the 4×800-meter relay the team of redshirt freshman Paige Peschel, redshirt senior Stacey Swatek, redshirt sophomore Madeline Strandemo and graduate student Ally
McSherry won with a time of 8:47.62, the 10th-best time in Minnesota history.
Strandemo also was part of the 4×1500 team that took first with a time of 18:18.65, which was more than 16 seconds faster than the second-place team Michigan State.
She was joined by redshirt sophomore Tess Wasowicz and redshirt juniors Jamie Pipenburg and Taylor Mikkalson.
Strandemo also ran a career-best 10:21.84 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase to take third.
“[Strandemo] started to believe and got confidence,” Bingle said. “She’s starting to come into her own.”
Senior Cami Gilson made her outdoor season debut at the event and finished third in the pole vault by clearing a season-best 3.90 meters.
The Gophers also received top-10 performances from Mikkalson, who took eighth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, and McSherry, who placed sixth in the 1,500-meter run.
