A record-breaking year for the Gophers track and field team continues at the NCAA outdoor men's and women's championships Wednesday through Saturday at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin, Texas.
NCAA track and field championships: Matthew Wilkinson, Amira Young, Kostas Zaltos and what else to watch
The Gophers men's and women's track and field teams will cap a banner season at the NCAA meet, which begins Wednesday in Austin, Texas.
June 6, 2023 at 9:59PM
Headlining the group of seven entries for the men's squad are Big Ten champions Kostas Zaltos (hammer throw), Matthew Wilkinson (3,000-meter steeplechase) and Kion Benjamin (100 meters). The U men finished second and won four individual Big Ten titles last month, the most since 2008.
On the women's side, senior sprinter Amira Young will be the first Gophers athlete to compete at the NCAA outdoor meet in three different events (100 meters, 200 meters and 4x100 meters).
Below is the list of all the men's and women's entries at the NCAA outdoor championships which will be televised on ESPNU (Wednesday) and ESPN2 (Thursday through Saturday).
Kion Benjamin, senior, sprinter — The 22-year-old Trinidad and Tobago native is the first Gopher to win the Big Ten title in the 100 meters twice, including with a time of 10.18 seconds this year. He competes in the 100 semifinals at 7:46 p.m. Wednesday.
Michael Buchanan, junior, sprinter — The native of Jamaica is the first Gopher to qualify for the NCAA meet in the 110-meter hurdles since 1960 after setting a school record with a time of 13.66 seconds at the NCAA West Regional. He'll race first in Wednesday's semis at 7:32 p.m.
Carlon Hosten, senior, sprinter — Also from Trinidad and Tobago, Hosten is the first Gophers men's runner to qualify for the NCAA meet in the 200 meters. He'll race in the semis at 8:44 p.m. Wednesday.
Jake Kubiatowicz, senior, thrower — A St. Paul native, Kubiatowicz transferred back home from Penn. He qualified for his first NCAA meet in hammer with a personal best and No. 3 all-time school mark of 69.73 meters at the NCAA West Regional. The hammer final is at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Matthew Wilkinson, senior, distance — For the first time since 2009, the Gophers had the top male athlete at the Big Ten outdoor meet this year with Wilkinson, who won two conference titles in steeplechase. He'll compete in the 3,000-meter semifinals at 7:02 p.m. Wednesday, and ranks No. 2 in the nation in the event.
Amira Young, senior, sprinter — The 22-year-old Chicago native is the first Gophers woman to qualify for the NCAA outdoor meet in the 100 and 200 meters. She holds the school record in both events. Her best time of 11.07 in the 100 is the second fastest for a Big Ten woman since 2010. She'll compete first individually at 8:46 p.m. Thursday in the 100 and at 9:44 p.m. in the 200.
Kostas Zaltos, junior, thrower — The No. 1 ranked hammer thrower in the NCAA this year, Zaltos has a career-best mark of 75.27 meters that ranks second in Big Ten history. He has three Big Ten titles, and his first NCAA outdoor crown is in his sights. So is earning a spot at the 2024 Olympics for his native Greece. He also competes in the hammer final at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday.
4x100 meters men — Benjamin anchors the first Gophers men's relay team to reach the NCAA outdoor meet in the 4x100. His crew members include Hosten, Finn Schirmer and Devin Augustine. Their time of 38.87 seconds won the Big Ten outdoor title and set a meet record. They compete first at 6:32 p.m. Wednesday in the semifinals.
4x100 meters women — Young anchors the women's 4x100 relay team that qualified for the NCAA meet for the second straight year. The crew also includes Odell Frye, Lauren Hansen and Akilah Lewis. They compete first at 7:32 p.m. Thursday in the semifinals.
No. 3 Michigan State scored the final four goals and rallied past top-ranked Minnesota for a 5-3 victory.
