Kostas Zaltos, a graduate student from Kilikis, Greece, capped his storied Gophers track career last week in Eugene, Ore. with an NCAA Outdoor Track and Field championship in the hammer throw. His fourth round throw of 256-2 ft. won him the competition, was a lifetime best and put him at No. 6 all-time in NCAA hammer throw history. KSTP Sports caught up with Zaltos to talk about nationals and his legacy with the Gophers program.

***Click the video box on this page to see KSTP Sport’s interview with Zaltos***

This is Zaltos’ first NCAA hammer throw title. He earned a pair of third place finishes in 2021 and 2022 and a second place finish in 2023. It’s the Gophers first NCAA Outdoor champion since 2018.

Finishing right behind Zaltos in Eugene was his teammate and countryman Angelos Mantzouranis. Mantzouranis’ fourth round throw of 252-6 was good for second place. The sophomore from Athens improved on his third place finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championships last year.

The 1-2 finish for the hammer throwing duo accounted for 18 of the 25 points scored by the Gophers men’s team on their way to a 7th place finish. That’s the best team finish for the men’s program since 1948.

Here’s a look at how the other Gophers national qualifiers finished in Eugene

• 1st. Kostas Zaltos, men’s hammer throw, 78.08m (256-2)
• 2nd. Angelos Mantzouranis, men’s hammer throw, 76.96m (252-6)
• 4th. Charles Godfred, men’s long jump, 7.91m (25-11 1/2)
• 7th. Men’s 4x100m relay (Campbell, Benjamin, Charles, Augustine), 38.88
• 10th. Hakeem Ford, men’s triple jump, 15.89m (52-1 3/4)
• 12th. Jak Urlacher, men’s pole vault, 5.43m (17-9 3/4)
• 15th. Ali Weimer, women’s 10,000m, 32:42.31
• 17th. Christian Martin, men’s 110m hurdles, 13.61
• 22nd. Dyandra Gray, women’s 400m hurdles, 58.86

While their collegiate seasons are over, Zaltos and Mantzouranis will continue competing overseas as they prepare for the 2025 World Athletics Championships this September in Tokyo.