Gophers women win Big Ten outdoor track and field team title

A come-from-behind win in the 4x400-meter relay highlighted a standout day.

Abigail Schaaffe crosses the finish line just ahead of an Ohio State runner to win the 4x400-meter relay at the Big Ten Outdoor Track and Field Championship for the Minnesota women's track and field team on Sunday, May 12, 2024, in Ann Arbor, Mich. / Big Ten Plus stream

The Gophers women’s track and field team won the Big Ten Outdoor Track and Field Championship Sunday afternoon in Ann Arbor, Mich., posting 80 team points on the final day of the competition to finish with a score of 131 overall. Nebraska finished second with a team score of 115.33. 

The Gophers men’s team finished in seventh place with a team score of 63, and it won two event titles. Nebraska claimed the men’s Big Ten title with a team score of 136. 

The Gophers women clinched the Big Ten title with a come-from-behind victory in the 4x400-meter relay. The team consists of Jayla Campbell, Janielle Josephs, Brooke Jaworski and Abigail Schaaffe, and Schaaffe anchored the Gophers to the win, finishing just 0.01 seconds ahead of the Ohio State team with a time of 3:33.34. 

WHAT. A. RACE.

Look back at the championship-clinching, come-from-behind victory in the 4x400m relay for the #Gophers women pic.twitter.com/ZUHelLLDHj

— Minnesota Cross Country, Track & Field (@GopherCCTF) May 12, 2024

Erin Reidy took second place in the 1500 meter with a personal-best time of 4:15.42, which is the second-fastest time in program history. The Gophers’ 4x100-meter relay team, meanwhile, posted a third-place finish with a time of 44.39 seconds. 

The U also saw a pair of top-five finishes in the 100-meter hurdles with Maja Maunsbach and Zariyah Black finishing third and fifth with times of 13.33 seconds and 13.40 seconds, respectively.

Josephs and Campbell finished fourth and fifth in the 400 meter, with times of 53.27 seconds and 53.28 seconds, respectively. 

In the 100 meter, Odell Frye and Victory Godah finished in second and third place with times of 11.20 seconds and 11.27 seconds, respectively. Frye’s time was the second-fastest mark in program history. Godah and Frye also finished in third and fourth in the 200 meter with times of 23.154 seconds and 23.158 seconds, respectively. 

On the men’s side, Devin Augustine won the 100 meter, placed third in the 200 meter and was also part of the third-place 4x100-meter relay team. Jak Urlacher won the pole vault with a personal-best 5.51-meter jump to give the Gophers men their fourth event title of the weekend.