Golden Gopher freshman Aaron Studt set a new Minnesota freshman record and qualified for the NCAA Midwest Region Championships in his first outdoor shot put competition. Studt placed third in the event with a throw of 58 feet, 11 inches as the Gophers kicked off the outdoor season at the Georgia Relays in Athens, Ga., this weekend.

The previous freshman outdoor record in the shot put was held by Karl Erickson, who landed a throw of 57-7 as a rookie in 2002. Studt added a fifth-place showing the discus as well, marking a toss of 163-3.

Senior Adam Schnaible also qualified for the NCAA Midwest Region Championships, placing fourth in the hammer throw with an effort of 197-6. Andy Bastian placed fifth in the event with a career-best throw of 182-1.

Walter Langkau finished second in the 400-meter dash to top the Gophers’ finishes on the track. Langkau was clocked at 48.67 seconds.

Minnesota’s top performance in the relay events came in the 4x100-meter relay. Raymond Blackledge, Ibrahim Kabia, Aaron Buzard and Derek Gearman teamed to finish third in a time of 41.22 seconds.

Completing the list of top-three finishers for the Gophers was Elliot Esch, who placed third in the pole vault clearing a height of 15-7.