Gophers claim top two spots in NCAA hammer throw final
The Gopher men's hammer throwers are the best in the country. At the NCAA championships last week, they pulled off an improbable 1-2 finish.
If it wasn't one, it was going to be the other. The NCAA hammer throw final was a Gopher gauntlet.
"I felt that it was a big one because I celebrated when I released it," said Gopher fifth-year thrower Kostas Zaltos on his winning toss. "I let it go and I saw when it landed, I was like 'Oh! That's a big one. That's the one!'"
Zaltos wrapped up his final season at Minnesota with a national championship. His throw was the sixth-best in college history.
Gopher teammate sophomore Angelos Mantzouranis took second — the first time a school has doubled up since 2011.
"We got one and two, that's the first thing I said to him, I'm like 'Bro, we did it. We got one and two! It's crazy,'" said Zaltos.
"Sweeping the men's hammer was really nice," said Mantzouranis. "We set a good start for the team."
They did. The Gopher men's track and field team placed 7th overall at the NCAA Championships, their best in 77 years, with the two Greek countrymen leading the way.
"From one of the sport magazines back home they said, 'A civil war in the hammer throw.' Which, we knew it was gonna be a civil war," said Zaltos. "We knew it was gonna be me and him fighting for first place."
The teammates and competitors are also roommates. Zaltos is from Kilikis and Mantzouranis is from Athens. This is not your typical college Greek house.
"We live with two other Greeks," said Mantzouranis, who won the Big Ten hammer throw title in 2024. "There are four Greeks in the apartment. It's really cool to be able to speak your own native language. Like in the morning, waking up, don't need to think about English at all."
Just thinking about winning.
