Gophers' Amira Young brings pair of gold medals to NCAAs

MINNEAPOLIS – The NCAA Indoor Track Championships start this Friday in New Mexico. That's where Gophers' sprinter Amira Young will look to add to her cache of hardware.

Young is the Big Ten's fastest woman.

"I know I can be faster for sure," said the graduate student sprinter at the University of Minnesota. "I have been faster. But it still felt good to win."

Young and gold. The Gophers sprinter won the 200 and 60 meter races at the conference meet.

"It can be a bit draining. But just to see my accomplishments, it's really exciting," Young said.

It's the second time in her career she's doubled up at Big Tens. A great start is a prerequisite in the 60.

"It's a lot of reps of blocks; 10 meters, 20 meters, 30 meters," she said.

A photo finish in that race revealed Young beating teammate and roommate Akilah Lewis by just one 100th of a second. Both will take big goals to the national meet.

"Both of them are right there to make that final, possibly," said Gophers Track and Field head coach Matt Bingle. "So trying to make sure that they feel even better than they did at the Big Ten meet and see how they handle it emotionally."

The fastest getting faster.

"I always end up running faster with faster competition," Young said. "So that's why it's pretty exciting."

The NCAA Indoor Track Championships start this Friday in New Mexico.