SR Liz Berkoltz (9:46 3K; 16:26 5K; 80th NCAA XC ’14)

SR Becca Dyson (9:29 3K; 16:35 5K; 132nd NCAA XC ’14)

SR Kaila Urick (9:39 3K; 10:18 3K Steeple; 16:59 5K; 192nd NCAA XC ’14)

SO Danielle Anderson (9:50 3K; 16:43 5K; 205th NCAA XC ’14)

JR Haley Johnson (4:29 1500; 9:52 3K; 219th NCAA XC ’14)

In one of the most memorable finishes in NCAA history, Minnesota runner Kate Bucknam helped Baylor’s Anne Marie Dunlap finish the race after collapsing just meters away from the finish line in Terre Haute last November. This year, the Gophers return to display the same impressive sportsmanship and improve upon their 31st-place team finish from last year’s championships. 

 

With another year of experience under her belt, Liz Berkoltz will lead a team of older and wiser Minnesota Gophers in the 2015 cross country season. After her highest finish ever at the NCAA cross country meet, Berkoltz is coming off of a track season that included personal bests in the 1500m (4:28) and the 5K (16:26). She also recorded an eighth-place finish in the 10K and 10th-place finish in the 5K at the Big 10 Conference Championships. Although she failed to qualify for the NCAA outdoor final in the 5K, Berkoltz returns to the cross country course as the standing runner to lead the Gophers through the fall. 

 

Seniors Becca Dyson, Kaila Urick, Danielle Anderson and Haley Johnson will return to contend with more experience at the national meet after competing for the first time ever at the Big Dance at last year’s NCAA Cross Country Championships. Dyson comes into the fall after clocking a 5K personal best of 16:35 in the Drake Relays 5K. Urick came out on top in the spring with a fourth-place finish and personal best of 10:18 in the steeplechase at the Big 10 Championships. She also recorded personal bests in the 1500m (4:25) and 5K (17:07). Anderson returns in the fall after competing in the indoor season for Minnesota with a 5K personal best of 16:57, and Johnson clocked personal bests in the 1500m, mile, and 3K during the 2015 track season. 

 

A squad of young standouts should also have an immediate impact on the Minnesota team. Emily Betz of Woodbury, Minn. comes to the team as a true freshman with a 5K XC personal best of 18:02 and a 10th-place finish at Nike Midwest Regionals under her belt. Sophomore Bailey Ness competed for Team USA at the APA Pan American Cross Country Cup in Feb. and Patty O’Brien clocked 17:20 for 5K in the spring. Additional redshirt freshmen who could make an impact are Tamara Gorman, the 2013 World Junior Triathlon Champion and Emily Castanias, who holds a 3200m PR of 10:28 and a 1600m PR of 4:56 from her days at Chanhassan High School. 

 

With a squad that includes an impressive amount of young depth as well as increasing national experience and maturity, the Minnesota Gophers should return in the fall as a formidable opponent.