Gophers junior Kostas Zaltos finished second Wednesday in the hammer throw at the NCAA outdoor track and field championships, with a throw of 76.33 meters (250 feet, 5 inches).
Gophers' Kostas Zaltos finishes second in NCAA track and field hammer throw
The junior from Greece had a throw of 76.33 meters. Gophers teammate Jake Kubiatowicz placed sixth.
June 8, 2023 at 5:53AM
![University of Minnesota's Kostas Zaltos practices near the University in Minneapolis, Minn., on Wednesday, May 31, 2023. The Greece native is one of the nation's best in the hammer throw heading into the NCAA championships, which begin June 7 in Austin, Texas. ] Elizabeth Flores • liz.flores@startribune.com](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/XINA5S3YUMDA4W2EV5KCIEYGQM.jpg?&w=712)
The event was won by Kenneth Ikeji of Harvard with a throw of 77.92 meters (255-8).
Zaltos' Gophers teammate Jake Kubiatowicz placed sixth at 72.40 meters (237-6).
Zaltos is from Pedino, Greece.
The Gophers' Matthew Wilkinson had the second-best time in the 3,000-meter men's steeplechase semifinals, 8 minutes, 35.69 seconds, and qualified for Friday's final.
No other Gophers competing Wednesday qualified for final events. Kion Benjamin was 14th in the 100 semifinals, Carlon Hosten was 20th in the 200 semis, and the men's 4x100 relay was 10th in the semis. Michael Buchanan was disqualified in the 110 hurdles.
Smith sets U.S. butterfly mark
Regan Smith broke the American record in the women's 200-meter butterfly Sunday, swimming the fourth-fastest time in history at the Sun Devil Open in Tempe, Ariz.
Smith, a Lakeville native, took down the record in the pool where she trains with coach Bob Bowman. Her time of 2 minutes, 3.87 seconds broke a 14-year-old U.S. mark. The reigning Olympic silver medalist in the 200 fly, Smith has the fastest times this year among American women in five events: the 100 and 200 fly, 100 and 200 backstroke and 200 individual medley.
RACHEL BLOUNT
Winona State names coach
Ana Wurtz, a former standout player at Winona State, has been named the university's new women's basketball coach. She was the interim coach in 2022-23, replacing the retired Scott Ballard.
Wurtz, Winona State's career three-point record holder, has been on the program's staff for the past 11 seasons.
The Gophers men’s hockey team can trace Sam Rinzel’s improvement this past offseason down to the second, and he’ll be a focal point in this weekend’s series against No. 3 Michigan State.
