University of Minnesota Athletics
Saturday, March 22
Tampa, FL
All Day
University of Minnesota
at
USF Alumni Invite
Players Mentioned
Sprints
/ Men's Track & Field
Sprints
/ Men's Track & Field
Sprints
/ Men's Track & Field
Sprints
/ Men's Track & Field
Sprints
/ Men's Track & Field
Sprints/Jumps
/ Men's Track & Field
Sprints
/ Women's Track & Field
Hurdles/Sprints
/ Men's Track & Field
Sprints
/ Men's Track & Field
Throws
/ Men's Track & Field
Pole Vault/Multis
/ Women's Track & Field
Sprints
/ Women's Track & Field
Sprints/Jumps
/ Men's Track & Field
Sprints
/ Men's Track & Field
Jumps
/ Men's Track & Field
Throws
/ Men's Track & Field
Zaltos Tosses 13th-Best Hammer Throw in NCAA History in Tampa
3/22/2025 9:03:00 PM | Men's Track & Field, Women's Track & Field
The Greek hammer thrower is also now No. 8 in the world this year.
MINNEAPOLIS – The University of Minnesota saw its men's hammer throw school record be improved by Kostas Zaltos at the USF Alumni Invite this weekend in Tampa, Fla. The Greek national broke his own school record and now sits at No. 13 all-time in the event in NCAA history and is currently No. 8 in the world this year.
Zaltos won the meet with a lifetime best 76.85m (252-1), which goes down as the No. 1 mark in the country this season. The personal best throw for Zaltos is his best throw since 2023 at the NCAA Championships, where he finished as the national runner-up. Behind Zaltos in the runner-up position on Friday was fellow Greek Angelos Mantzouranis who's 72.44m (237-8) goes down as a season's best for the reigning NCAA Championships bronze medalist.
The Maroon and Gold saw a pair of 400m hurdlers put down program top 10 times on Friday as well. Dyandra Gray and Frankie Grey set lifetime bests along with Ahmed Khadar. Gray in the women's 400m hurdles put down a time of 58.96 to move to No. 9 in school history while Khadar moves to No. 8 all-time on the men's side with a time of 52.05. Among the 400m hurdles on Friday it was Grey's 51.16 on the men's side that moved the 2024 NCAA regional qualifier to No. 4 all-time at Minnesota and helped him finish third overall in the meet.
Charles Godfred continued his strong start to the outdoor season with an 8.01m (26-3 1/2) to take the victory in the long jump in Tampa. Godfred's second attempt won him the competition while teammate Precious Opinion finished second overall with the No. 7 jump in school history at 7.59m (24-11) in just his second official appearance with the Golden Gophers since joining mid-year.
Saturday's victories started with Sam Snitker in the men's high jump with a lifetime best clearance of 2.10m (6-10 3/4). On the track the Maroon and Gold once again started off strong with the men's 4x100m relay that won in a time of 38.88 (38.875) just edging out the host South Florida by 0.002 seconds. The team of Zion Campbell, Kion Benjamin, Aaron Charles and Devin Augustine combined for the win and nearly matched their season opening time set two weeks ago in Tucson.
Both Brooke Moore and Hakeem Ford were winners in the triple jump competitions. Ford went beyond 50 feet once again, winning with a mark of 15.34m (50-4) while Moore was a winner with 12.71m (41-8 1/2).
Back on the track both Kennedy Martinson (100m hurdles) and Dwyne Smith Jr. (400m) put down the No. 10 performance in their respective events. Smith's 46.61 won him his 400m heat while Martinson's 13.94 helped her pass current coach Ayesha Champagnie on the all-time Minnesota top 10 list.
After the meet in Tampa, the Maroon and Gold will have its distance crew and pole vault group head to the Raleigh Relays from March 27-29. Following that meet, Minnesota will then have the rest of the squad head to the Florida Relays from April 4-5.
For more information on the Gophers, continue to check back with GopherSports.com. Keep up with the University of Minnesota cross country and track and field team on X.com (Twitter) and Instagram (@GopherCCTF) and on Facebook, so you do not miss any content during the season.
Zaltos won the meet with a lifetime best 76.85m (252-1), which goes down as the No. 1 mark in the country this season. The personal best throw for Zaltos is his best throw since 2023 at the NCAA Championships, where he finished as the national runner-up. Behind Zaltos in the runner-up position on Friday was fellow Greek Angelos Mantzouranis who's 72.44m (237-8) goes down as a season's best for the reigning NCAA Championships bronze medalist.
The Maroon and Gold saw a pair of 400m hurdlers put down program top 10 times on Friday as well. Dyandra Gray and Frankie Grey set lifetime bests along with Ahmed Khadar. Gray in the women's 400m hurdles put down a time of 58.96 to move to No. 9 in school history while Khadar moves to No. 8 all-time on the men's side with a time of 52.05. Among the 400m hurdles on Friday it was Grey's 51.16 on the men's side that moved the 2024 NCAA regional qualifier to No. 4 all-time at Minnesota and helped him finish third overall in the meet.
Charles Godfred continued his strong start to the outdoor season with an 8.01m (26-3 1/2) to take the victory in the long jump in Tampa. Godfred's second attempt won him the competition while teammate Precious Opinion finished second overall with the No. 7 jump in school history at 7.59m (24-11) in just his second official appearance with the Golden Gophers since joining mid-year.
Saturday's victories started with Sam Snitker in the men's high jump with a lifetime best clearance of 2.10m (6-10 3/4). On the track the Maroon and Gold once again started off strong with the men's 4x100m relay that won in a time of 38.88 (38.875) just edging out the host South Florida by 0.002 seconds. The team of Zion Campbell, Kion Benjamin, Aaron Charles and Devin Augustine combined for the win and nearly matched their season opening time set two weeks ago in Tucson.
Both Brooke Moore and Hakeem Ford were winners in the triple jump competitions. Ford went beyond 50 feet once again, winning with a mark of 15.34m (50-4) while Moore was a winner with 12.71m (41-8 1/2).
Back on the track both Kennedy Martinson (100m hurdles) and Dwyne Smith Jr. (400m) put down the No. 10 performance in their respective events. Smith's 46.61 won him his 400m heat while Martinson's 13.94 helped her pass current coach Ayesha Champagnie on the all-time Minnesota top 10 list.
After the meet in Tampa, the Maroon and Gold will have its distance crew and pole vault group head to the Raleigh Relays from March 27-29. Following that meet, Minnesota will then have the rest of the squad head to the Florida Relays from April 4-5.
For more information on the Gophers, continue to check back with GopherSports.com. Keep up with the University of Minnesota cross country and track and field team on X.com (Twitter) and Instagram (@GopherCCTF) and on Facebook, so you do not miss any content during the season.
CHS Home Grown Gophers: Emmett Gerres
Friday, September 05
The Greek Freak of Minnesota
Friday, July 18
Gophers Finish 1-2 in Hammer Throw
Monday, June 16
Mantzouranis Earns NCAA Silver Medal
Thursday, June 12