University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Women's Track & Field

Sarah ( Hesser ) Hopkins serves as the head coach of both the Gopher cross country programs and is an assistant coach for the women's track & field team. The...

The University of Minnesota track and field team hired Ayesha Champagnie as its newest assistant coach on August 2, 2023. The former standout at the ‘U’ will coach the team’s sprints, hurdles, jumps and multi event groups in her role. In her first season back at the 'U' in 2023-24, Champagnie and the Gophers captured a Big Ten Outdoor Women's Conference Championship, scoring 131 points to best the runner-up, Nebraska. Champagnie assisted in coaching numerous NCAA regional qualifiers, which included a pair of NCAA Honorable Mention All-Americans Odell Frye (100m) and Devin Augustine (200m). Additionally she assisted in coaching Diarra Sow to an NCAA Outdoor Championships bid in the triple jump, where she finished as a Second Team All-American in Eugene. Champagnie competed with the Maroon and Gold from 2018-20 and still holds a number of top 10 all-time program performances. The Kingston, Jamaica, native was a three-time NCAA qualifier in her college career in the Twin Cities. She earned a Second Team All-America distinction at the 2018 NCAA Indoor Championships in the heptathlon and then had her 2020 season cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic after qualifying in the pentathlon. Champagnie also qualified for the long jump at the 2018 NCAA Indoor Championships. At Minnesota Champagnie still holds six different program top 10 marks including the school record for the indoor long jump at 6.56m (21-6 1/4). She is third in both the heptathlon (5,821) and the pentathlon (4,155 po

The 2024-25 campaign will be the fourth season for Brad Wick as Minnesota's assistant cross country/track and field coach. A familiar name to the Golden Gophers, Wick was a volunteer assistant from 2005-08 and was most recently at San José State. In 2023-24, Minnesota's distance crew enjoyed seeing the success of recent graduate Matthew Wilkinson who qualified for his first Olympic Games in Paris just a year after he claimed Big Ten titles under the direction of Coach Wick. Wilkinson reached the Olympics by placing second at the US Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore., and went on to finish 17th overall in Paris, missing out on the final by just one position in his debut on the world stage. Back in the Twin Cities, Wick and the Gophers men's cross country team finished ninth overall at the Big Ten level. On the track Wick's crew qualified two to the NCAA West Regional with Eli Hoeft advancing to the second round for the first time in his career in the 1500m, while Dan VanAcker reached the NCAA regional level as a redshirt freshman in the 3000m steeplechase. The 2022-23 campaign for Wick and the Golden Gophers was another year of incredible success on the men's side. With the help of steeplechaser Matt Wilkinson, the outdoor track and field team reached the program's first No. 1 national ranking. Wilkinson's improvement continued under Wick's tutelage, earning another Big Ten Championship in the 3000m steeplechase and pairing it with a double in the 5000m which helped Wilkinson earn

At Saint Louis University, Nguy (nuh-guy) coached the multi-events, pole vault, high jump and hurdles, where his athletes broke 4 school records (pole vault, indoor heptathlon) and over 100 personal best in his two years. Nguy entered the coaching profession after a successful track and field career at Illinois Wesleyan University (Bloomington, Ill). There, he was an eight-time All-Conference competitor in the Heptathlon and Decathlon. He won the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) title in the Heptathlon at the 2023 CCIW Indoor Championships. Nguy served as a three-year captain and was inducted into the Order of Titans. Additionally, he was the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Vice President and was a four-year member of IWU's SAAC. Nguy also has experience coaching his high school team at Normal Community High School and with the Central Illinois Track Club. Nguy graduated from Illinois Wesleyan University in 2023 with a degree in graphic design, along with two minors in coaching and sports management and has a Master's in Organizational Leadership Development at Saint Louis University. He also holds a USTFCCCA Technical Certification.

The 2023-24 season marked the sixth season Ibrahim Kabia has been a part of the Gopher track and field program as an assistant coach. Kabia coaches the men's...

Joseph Minor joined the Minnesota coaching staff in February 2024 as a Volunteer Assistant Coach. A Minneapolis native, and Washburn High School graduate, Minor brings an accomplished distance running resume to the University of Minnesota. A standout at South Dakota State University, Minor earned a degree in journalism and is currently pursuing a master’s in Mass Communication. Under the guidance of Olympian Rod DeHaven, Minor played a key role in one of the most successful eras in Jackrabbits cross country history, contributing to five Summit League cross country team championships and two indoor conference titles. Individually, Minor claimed nine Summit League championships and earned All-Region honors, while also qualifying for the NCAA Outdoor Championships First Round in both the 5,000m and 10,000m. Following a decorated collegiate career, Minor continued competing professionally with Minnesota Distance Elite (MDE), racing at the USATF Championships in the 5K, 20K, and 10-mile distances.

Henze, a Northern Iowa graduate, joins the staff as the newest Director of Operations. With a degree in Communications and Marketing in 2020, Henze also has a master's degree in Sport Management and Administration in 2022. At Northern Iowa from 2018-22 Henze was a 2022 NCAA West Regional qualifier in women's discus and owns the second-best throw in program history. Academically Henze earned honors as an MVC Commissioner's Academic Excellence Award Recipient, MVC Academic Honor Roll, and made the MVC Scholar-Athlete team in 2022. Henze also served as the Sport Operations Assistant and then the Director of Digital Strategy at the Missouri Valley Conference where she led and oversaw all social media efforts by the league, in addition to being the primary public relations contact for the league in track and field and cross country. In addition, Henze oversaw the league's mental health programming and MVC SAAC initiatives. She was also the league's primary sport oversight, championship director, and coaches liaison for Women's Soccer, Cross Country, Track and Field.

The 2023-24 season marked Matt Bingle’s sixth season as Director of Men's and Women's Track & Field and Cross Country at the University of Minnesota. Bingle ...

Michael Dunagan joined the coaching staff in 2025, entering his first year in collegiate coaching. A decorated student-athlete with a strong academic and athletic background, he brings energy, leadership, and firsthand experience from competing at the highest collegiate levels. Originally from Terre Haute, Indiana, Dunagan earned his bachelor's degree in Sport Administration from Morehead State University in 2022. He went on to earn his Master of Business Administration from Butler University in 2025, where he also competed on the track and field and cross-country teams. During his time at Butler, Dunagan was a two-time Big East Track and Field medalist and a former school record holder. In cross country, he was a part of the Bulldogs rosters that made three consecutive NCAA National Championship appearances and was a part of the 2023 team that captured the NCAA Midwest Regional title. That same season, Butler rose to as high as No. 8 in the national rankings. Now stepping into the coaching world, Dunagan is excited to transition from athlete to mentor. His experience as a high-level competitor combined with an understanding of team culture and personal development will help guide the next generation of student-athletes.

Taking over for the recently retired Caroline White, former Gopher Samantha Zilverberg joins the staff to coach the pole vaulters. During her career at Minnesota from 2006-11 Zilverberg won the Big Ten championship in the pole vault in 2011 and earned runner-up status in both 2009 and 2010. A two-time All-American in 2010 and 2011, Zilverberg also was an Olympics Trials qualifier in 2012 and still co-holds the University of Minnesota pole vault record. Zilverberg earned a bachelor's degree in Speech Therapy in 2011 and a master's degree in Professional Psychology in 2015. Most recently Zilverberg has coached at Shakopee High School.