Gophers track and field is making the most of their outdoor season, peaking at No. 2 in the nation.
While the team recently fell from third to fifth in the NCAA Track and Field rankings on April 22, the team is still in the top five for the fourth straight week.
Earlier this season, the Gophers earned their first top-three ranking since 1948 when they earned their first and only No. 1 ranking.
With this outdoor season’s addition of the No. 1 ranked University of Southern California and three other schools to the Big Ten, Minnesota track and field coaches knew it would be an uphill battle.
“We started to look at our roster and try to figure out how we could have a good program this year,” throws coach Peter Miller said. “Our success can be attributed to the men buying into that.”
Minnesota’s hurdle squad continues to push each other to new heights.
Most recently, Christian Martin broke the school record for hurdles twice at the Florida Relays.
In the preliminary 110m hurdles event in Gainesville, Florida, Martin’s time of 13.61 seconds broke the school record. Moments later, Martin broke his new school record with a time of 13.49 seconds.
The previous school record was held by Martin’s teammate Michael Buchanan, whose previous record was 13.66 seconds.
Prior to the Florida Relays, Martin fell .01 seconds short of Buchanan’s record after winning the hurdles event over teammate Spencer Brown at the Arizona Spring Break Fiesta.
While Martin finds his spot in the record books to be quite the feat, he understands there is more that comes with wearing the maroon and gold on the track.
“It’s an honor to be able to represent this school as the best hurdler at the school,” Martin said. “Our goals as a team are simply just a little bit bigger than that though.”
Kostas Zaltos, the senior-most member of Minnesota’s three Greek throwers, recently received a nomination for the Bowerman Trophy.
The Bowerman is often referred to as the track and field equivalent to college football’s Heisman Trophy, as it is decided upon by a voting committee and awarded to the sport’s top collegiate athlete.
Should Zaltos win the Bowerman, he would become the first Gophers field athlete to receive votes and to win the award.
Zaltos ranks 22nd in the world and 12th on the Road to Tokyo watchlist for the 2025 World Athletic Championships as of April 25.
Zaltos is on pace to qualify for NCAA Nationals yet again. Although he clearly stated a “just win” approach after third and second place finishes, he realizes championships are about more than just him.
“NCAA Finals are a different level of competition,” Zaltos said. “We need to worry about more than just one person”
Minnesota’s men’s track and field is currently competing in the 115th Drake Relays until April 26. Their next meet is back in Minnesota at Hamline University Wednesday.
Correction: A previous version of this article listed the team peaked at No. 3 in the nation. They are No. 2.