Intersquad Highlights (and some video)

The team had its annual intersquad meet last Friday and had some really nice performances for this time of year. Here are a few highlights:

-Matt Fisher jumped 6'11 ... compared to his PR of 7'4 this isn't earth shattering, but very encouraging since Matt ruptured his achilles tendon in the NCAA Championship Meet just 6 months ago! The other jumpers are ahead of last year also with Clauer and Parent jumping 6'7.

-Ben Peterson also returning from injury last year to clear 17' in the pole vault. Red-shirt multi-eventer Jack Szmanda vaulting 16'. Brock also looking solid at 16'6.

-David Pachuta looking fit in his 1,000-meter win, running 2:26.80. Logan Stroman ahead of last year in his 600-meter running 1:19.24

-The horizontal jumps group looked good with Ray, Tommy and Dipo all well over 47' in the triple jump from a short approach.

-The throws group had a good showing with Micah Hegerle and Andy Norman providing the main highlights... Micah 66'6 and Norman 63'7 w/30lb weight.

-Cameron Boy debuted well with his win in the 150-meter... Kevin Bradley also looked good in his 300-meter.

-Sean Duling continued his excellent fall training with a near PR in the 60-meter hurdles... 8.16.

Now the boys are working hard on finals before enjoying the holiday break!

Big Ten Indoor Championship

FROM JO RIDER:

As you know, the University of Minnesota Athletic Department will be hosting the Men’s Indoor Track Big Ten Championships on February 27 & 28, 2010.

Just a friendly reminder that the special ticket “pre-sale” for participating teams ends Friday, December 11. The tickets will go on sale to the public on December 14, 2010 We would sure like to have you join us to cheer on the team as they compete to win another Big Ten Title.

Call 1-800-U-GOPHER or 612-624-8080.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Saturday, February 27th:

10:00 a.m. Heptathlon 60-meters

10:40 a.m. Heptathlon long jump

11:50 a.m. Heptathlon shot put

12:50 p.m. Heptathlon high jump

1:30 p.m. Long jump (trials & finals)

3000-meters – unseeded
section (finals)

1:40 p.m. Shot put (trials & finals)

1:45 p.m. Pole vault (trials & finals)

2:30 p.m. One-mile (trials)

3:00 p.m. 400-meters (trials)

3:20 p.m. 60-meters (trials)

3:30 p.m. 800-meters (semi-finals)

3:50 p.m. 60-meter Hurdles (trials)

4:00 p.m. 600-meters (trials)

4:15 p.m. 200-meters (trials)

4:40 p.m. 3000-meters – seeded section
(finals)

5:00 p.m. Distance medley relay (finals)

Sunday, February 28th:

9 a.m. Heptathlon 60-meter Hurdles

10:00 a.m. Heptathlon pole vault

11:00 a.m. High jump (trials & finals)

12:50 p.m. Weight throw (trials & finals)

1:00 p.m. 5000-meters – unseeded
section (finals)

1:30 p.m. Heptathlon 1000-meters to 3:30

1:50 p.m. One-Mile (finals)

2:00 p.m. 400-meters (finals)

2:10 p.m. 60-meters (finals)

2:20 p.m. 800-meters (finals)

2:30 p.m. 60-meter Hurdles (finals)

2:40 p.m. 600-meters (finals)

2:50 p.m. 200-meters (finals – 2 sections)

3:00 p.m. 5,000-meters – seeded section
(finals)

3:25 p.m. 4x400-meter relay (finals – 2
sections)

3:45 p.m. AWARDS PRESENTATION

Pentathlon Recap

As is the annual tradition - the track guys took part in the 'throwers pent' last week. This is a fun way to cap off a good fall of training and get the competitive juices flowing.

We test the overhead back throw with a 16lb shot, between the legs front throw (w/16), standing long jump, standing triple jump and 30-meter acceleration. These performances are then plugged into a scoring table. Typically, a 300 point total is a significant bench-mark.

We had a very nice showing all across the board, and quite possibly the deepest 300-point club ever. We had 11 guys score 300-points or more - this not including 3 guys who likely would have gone over 300 (Studt, McGinnis and Kleinhuizen).

Joey Schweke took the 2009 title with his 339 total score. Kenny Schofield, Clay Gosse, Cameron Boy and Dipo Fagbemi all had notable performances for freshman... all going well over the 300 point mark with 324, 323, 319 and 310 respectively.

Jack Szmanda had the honorable mention runner-up finish, and most improved score - improving his 2008 score by 70+ points to 333.

After some Mesa Pizza the guys wrapped up classes on Wednesday and enjoyed their Thanksgiving weekend (so did the coaches).

Congrats to XC and pentathlon predictions...

Congrats to Hassan Mead who earned All-American honors with his 16th place finish at Monday's NCAA Cross Country Championships. Also, congrats to the entire team for a great season!

Today the track guys will compete in the annual 'throwers pentathlon' ... we test standing long jump, standing triple jump, overhead back throw, between the legs front throw, and 30-meter acceleration. The competition is wide open with perenial favorite Aaron Studt out of the line-up. Some guys that should be in the mix for this years title... Joey Schweke, Jack Szmanzda, Ben Peterson.

Primary goals: Have fun. Stay healthy. Compete hard. Eat Pizza after.

Results tomorrow!

They Keep Rolling In...

Courtesy: University of Minnesota - Becky Bohm

Minnesota junior Hassan Mead earned his second consecutive U.S. Track & Field/Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Midwest Region Athlete of the Year award, the USTFCCCA announced today. Mead captured back-to-back NCAA Midwest Region titles, winning the 2009 crown by 28 seconds. The Minneapolis (South HS) native also defended his Big Ten Conference title earlier this month as well.

Two-time All-American Mead and his Golden Gopher teammates compete in the NCAA Cross Country Championships on Monday, Nov. 23, in Terre Haute, Ind. The national meet will be televised live by the Versus Network.

“Hassan is a special athlete,” said Minnesota head coach Steve Plasencia. “He continues to work hard to improve his running. He is deserving of the awards that are coming his way. I look forward to Hassan running a great race next week at the NCAAs.”

NCAA At-Large Bid

The XC team learned of their NCAA At-Large bid Sunday evening... way to go guys!

Big Ten XC Video

Congrats also to Hassan Mead... 2009 'Big Ten Runner of the Year'!

Mead does it again... XC third.

STORY FROM GOPHERSPORTS.COM - BECKY BOHM


Minnesota junior Hassan Mead captured the individual title at the Big Ten Cross Country Championships leading the Golden Gophers to a third-place finish in the team standings.

Mead covered the 5.2-mile course at the Penn State Cross Country Course in a time of 25 minutes, 0.2 seconds. He is the third Gopher to win two or more Big Ten cross country crowns, joining Fred Watson (1913-15) and Garry Bjorklund (1969-71). Mead is the 19th Big Ten multiple champion and first since Wisconsin’s Simon Bairu won back-to-back crowns in 2004-04. Mead, who crossed the finish line 5.7 seconds ahead of his nearest competitor, also collected his third All-Big Ten First Team honor of his career.

Senior Matt Barrett contributed a ninth-place finish to earn All-Big Ten Second Team accord. Barrett was timed in 25:35.2.

The Gophers compiled 97 team points to finish third behind Wisconsin (26) and Ohio State (91). The Badgers won their 11th straight Big Ten title.

Completing the scoring for the Gophers was Ben Blankenship, who finished 18th (25:53.4); Pieter Gagnon, who placed 27th in 26:09.4; and Derek Storkel, who finished 42nd in 26:41.9.

Other Gophers running were Paul Hilsen, who finished 55th in 27:06.2; and Mike McFarland, who placed 66th in 27:42.9.

Minnesota’s next competition is the NCAA Midwest Region Championships on Nov. 14 in Springfield, Mo.

Big Ten Cross Country Preview

Griak Video - 2009

Congrats Hassan!

After his dominant performance at the 'Griak' this weekend, the Big Ten named Hassan the conference Runner of the Week. Great job Hassan!

New Cross Country Media Guides

Check out this link for the new XC media guides for 2009! Very cool.

Good luck to the distance guys as they take on the field at the 2009 Roy Griak Invite.

Women's Track/Cross Country Blog

Check out the women's new blog!

http://minnesotawomenstrack.blogspot.com/

...my guess is it will be almost as cool as ours :)

First Day of Practice

The cross country guys have been in action for a few weeks... now its the track team's turn. Practice begins today at 3pm!

Message from Athletic Director Joel Maturi

2009 Big Ten Champions

2009 Big Ten Outdoors

Click the album above to check out some great pictures from this years outdoor championships!

Summer Time = ROY TIME!

While the coaching staff and athletes are enjoying a bit of down time... Roy Griak and Jo Rider are hard at work putting the final touches on the golf fundraiser. The event is set for Monday, June 29th at the University Golf Course.

If you have any interest in playing some golf, or even just for joining us for dinner while supporting Gopher Track... we'd love for you see you!

Roy has been working for years now on fundraising for the program, with the ulitimate goal of endowing ALL of the track and field scholarships. This would be a significant step in securing the program for decades to come. The golf outing is the major event of the year.

If you'd like to play, or just support Roy's efforts by donating, please give him a call at 612-625-6063. You can also email me with any questions a rede0025@umn.edu.

Every little bit helps us keep up the kind of success we've experienced this season!

Current Rankings

Thought I'd post an update on our team national ranking... we're in pretty good company in 16th.

Hassan is up tonight!

Pioneer Press on Mead... NCAA Updates

Check out their feature of Hassan HERE.

Hassan advanced last night in the 5k after winning his prelim heat. After rain delays, the 5k went off at about 1am. Chris was unable to advance on time from his section. Studt advanced with his 60'5, ranking 9th going into finals this afternoon. Unfortunately Fisher went down with an achilles injury in the prelims of the high jump.

RJ had a solid first day until a hamstring cramp hampered his 400-meter... dropping him from 4th to 11th. He'll get it started again today in 30 minutes!

Wisconsin State Championship Meet Highlights

Wisconsin State Champions:

Olidipo Fagbemi - Marshfield, Long Jump and Triple Jump

Clay Gosse - Appleton North, Shot Put

Runners-Up:

Derek Storkel - Tomah, 3200-Meter

Minnesota State Championship Meet Highlights

Minnesota State Champions:

Harun Abda - Fridley, 800-Meter

Cameron Boy - Jordan, 200-Meter

Kenny Schofield - Cotton, Triple Jump

Runners-Up:

Jon Lehman - Coon Rapids, Discus

Kenny Schofield - Long Jump

Cameron Boy - 100-Meter

Across the news wire...

Gopher's currently third in overall program ranking: Check out more HERE.

...and in other news...

ANOTHER NEW GOPHER!

Harun Abda of Fridley has signed his National Letter of Intent to the University of Minnesota!

Harun has a PR of 1:50.74 from last year's state championship meet. Learn more about Harun HERE.

Regional Highlights

Wisconsin State Championships

Here is a preview of the future Gophers at the Wisconsin State Championships this weekend:

Olidipo Fagbemi: Olidipo will compete in the 'Division 1' long jump, triple jump, 200-meter and 400-meter with seed marks of 21'6, 46'1, 22.60 and 50.23. Dipo's PR's are 23'4, 48'10, 22.18 and 48.54 (2008).

Derek Storkel: Derek will compete in the 'Divsion 1' 1600-meter and 3200-meter. with seed times of 4:14.71 and 9:23.04. Both are PR's on the season.

Clay Gosse: Clay will compete in the 'Division 1' shot put and discus throw with seed marks of 59'11 and 158'3. Clay's PR's are 60'5 and 169'6.

Minnesota State Championships

Here is a quick preview of some future Gophers at the Minnesota State Championships being held this weekend:

Drew Paradis: Drew will compete in 'Class AA' in both the 3200-meter and 1600-meter with seed times of 9:20.95 and 4:25.81. His 3200-meter is a season best and PR.

Cameron Boy: Cameron will compete in 'Class A' in both the 100-meter and 200-meter with seed times of 11.32 and 22.61. His auto timed PR's on the year are 10.77 and 21.54.

Jon Lehman: Jon enters will compete in 'Class AA' in the discus throw with a seed toss of 167'3. His PR on the year is 170'10.

Kenny Schofield: Kenny will compete in 'Class A' in the long jump and triple jump with seed marks of 20'1 and 42'6. His season best jumps are 21'1 and 44'4.

Illinois State Meet Results

Illinois hosted their state meet this past weekend and some future Gophers had very solid showings.

Steve Sulkin had a nice double with his 9:03.91 in the 3200-meter for the state title, followed by a 4:13.35 for third in the 1600-meter.

Andrew Larsen also had a solid performance in the 3200-meter with a fourth place performance in 9:10.04.

Future Gopher Updates

Some of the 2009/2010 recruits have been tearing it up in recent weeks at the high school level... here is an update.

Ryan Todhunter: Pretty busy weekend at the ND State Championships this weekend. State record in the 300mH in 37.65 for the title... followed closely by another title in the 110mH in 14.26. For good measure, Ryan threw in a runner-up performance in the 200-meter in 22.39 and a 5th place finish in the 100-meter.

Drew Paradis: Dropped a nice PR in the 3200-meter in 9:21.30 in his conference meet.

Clay Gosse: Has extended his lead on the Wisconsin ranking in the shot put with his 60'5 toss. Also had a 169' discus in the same meet.

Cameron Boy: Dropped yet another bomb in the 200-meter... this time a 21.51 at his sub-section meet.

I'm sure there are other updates of note that I'm missing, but thought I'd get a few highlights up!

Go Gophers!

Pictures

Be sure to check out Becky Miller's great site for photo's!

GOPHER TRACK SHOTS

BIG TEN AWARDS

Well, we had a pretty good haul as the BIG TEN announced the season and conference championship award winners... and the winners are...

Track Athlete of the Championships: Hassan Mead

Track Athlete of the Year: Hassan Mead

Field Athlete of the Championships: Aaron Studt

Field Athlete of the Year: Aaron Studt

Big Ten Coach of the Year: Steve Plasencia

Congrats and Go Gophers!

North Dakota State Meet

HERE are the state qualifiers for the North Dakota State Track and Field Championships. Of particular note is Ryan Todhunter and Jake Malm... both future Gophers!

Ryan is seeded at 11.04 in the 100-meter, 22.48 in the 200-meter, 14.10 in the 110-meter hurdles, and 38.58 in 300-meter hurdles. He also runs on the Red River 4x100 (yea, he's a busy guy). Jake is the top seed in the javelin at 185'8.

Go Gophers!

Mead 1st, Rombough 3rd, Blankenship 4th (doubled back after 1500 final!). 21 points...

5k just put it away! 1-3-4. Team leads by 30 points going into 4x4. Team champs again!

Sorry again for lack if updates... A lot busier outdoors! Highlights: Studt champ in shot. Ibes runner up in 100. Plencner 4th in vault. Linneman 6th in 400

Ben Puhl gamed up for a pr in the steeple to finish 3rd in 9:01.70! Team leads 67 to Indiana's 41... Purdue is 3rd in 30. Time for team dinner!!!

Linneman through in 400 meter hurdle final! Ibes also through in 200 final in 21.33. Steeple is up next to wrap up day 2.

My email is on the fritz... So these are now coming in via text message. Joe Mac through in 800 final... Duling through in 110mH final after an overturned DQ.

Sorry for slow updates...

Team leads 60 points to Indiana's 33. Decs went 2-3-6. Fisher and Clauer 2nd and 6th. Fish 2.19 Clauer 2.10. Joey and Addison 6-7 in long jump. Jerry 8th in discus at 49.45. Blankenship top seed in 1500 in prelim... Richardson also through to final. 800 prelim up next...

Update

Team leads after day one after the hammer and 10K. Decs are off to another good start on day 2 with solid hurdles and a few big PR'S in disc. Overall scores leave us in 2nd, 3rd and 8th. (RJ, Joey and Garret). 7 events completed... Vault up next.

10K

Hassan and Rombough went 1-3... More to come!

Day 1 Final Scores

RJ leads day 1 with 3,965.... Joey 3rd with 3,828 and Garret is 10th with 3,504. 10k is up next!

Dec 400-Meter Update

Garrett -50.71, Joey -51.94, RJ -51.11. Final day 1 scores to come...

Dec High Jump Update

The decs had a good high jump showing. RJ with a 6'7, Joey with a 6'5 and Garret with a 6'0.

Hammer throw and Dec Update

The hammer just completed and the guys did great! Studt was third with his 60.03 and Bastian was fourth with a 58.78. Studt was just 6 inches out of second. The decathletes continue to do well... All had solid shot tosses with Joey and Garret both hitting PR's. High jump is up now...

Off and Running

The decs are at it already this morning. I haven't seen scores yet, but all ran solid 100's.... Joey 11.2, RJ 11.3 and Garret 11.6. All had legal and solid long jumps on their first attempt before I had to head to hammer! Bastian is in the first of two flights... Studt and Tyler in 2nd. Weather is warm and sunny.

We are live from Columbus. I'm planning on updating the blog throught the meet, similar to the indoor championships. Stay tuned!

Big Ten Championship Preview

Recruit Update

Future Gopher Andrew Larsen set a new Kane County record with his 9:08.92 through 3200-meters this past Friday. Andrew is a senior at Marmion Academy in Illinois. Andrew also has a 14:34 (5,000-meter) on his resume from earlier this season.

He'll join forcese with Steve Sulkin, another top Illinois-prep runner here on campus next fall... Steve ran 9:01 through 3200-meters a few weeks back.

Also, future Gopher Cameron Boy was featured in a Q&A in the Star Tribune that can be found HERE.

Tune-Up

We had a nice tune-up on Friday at home and came away with some NCAA Regional marks. Over in the high jump, Matt Clauer hit a lifetime best of 2.10m (6'10-3/4). Joe MacFarland dropped a bomb in the 800-meter with his 1:50.26 for a big PR and regional mark. Aaron Studt also had a nice day with a 60-meter toss for a PR in the hammer, and also another meet over 60' for the win in the shot put.

We're heading out to the Big Ten Championship at Ohio State on Thursday. The meet is Friday/Saturday/Sunday.

Clauer's 6'10-3/4

800-Meter

It is all Hassan... all Week!!!

The Big Ten has named Hassan Mead Big Ten Track Athlete of the Week after his monster performance and new school record this past weekend at Stanford. His time of 13:28.45 is 3rd in the NCAA and 17th in the WORLD.

Hassan's performance also vaulted the Gophers 10 spots in the national team rankings to 17th.

Our small tune-up home meet is coming up this Friday and then it is go time next week at Big Ten's!

Hassan on Kare11

Check out Hassan and Eric Perkins: HERE

A few recruit updates...

The high school season is heating up, so I thought I'd get some updates posted about our future Gophers! In no particular order...

Olidipo Fagbemi: 'Dipo' leads the state of Wisconsin in the triple with his 48'10 and long jump with his 23'4

Steve Sulkin: Steve just ran 9:01.11 for 3200-meters this weekend which ranks 7th on dyestat.com

Jon Lehman: Jon leads class 'AA' in discus with his 169'3 from last week

Cameron Boy: Cameron leads class 'A' in the 200-meter with his 21.71 from the Elite-Meet

Derek Storkel: Derek leads Wisconsin in the 3200-meter with his 9:25.94 and has also run 4:17.8 in the 1600-meter

Ryan Todhunter: Ryan leads North Dakota in the 110mH with his 14.34 and tied for lead in the 100-meter with his 11.04

Jake Malm: Jake leads North Dakota in the javelin with his 185'3

Clay Gosse: Clay leads Wisconsin in the shot put with his 57'6

Hassan Mead: 'I feel like I can fly right now.'

As many have already read, Hassan Mead crushed his own school record in the 5,000-meters this weekend at Stanford. The 13:28.45 is 3rd in the NCAA, and also happens to be crazy fast. Here is a link to video of his race and post-race interview:

http://downthebackstretch.blogspot.com/

Big Ten Athlete of the Week (and some video)

RJ McGinnis was named the Big Ten Athlete of the Week after his decathlon at the 100th Drake Relays this weekend. His score of 7,626 ranks 4th in the NCAA , 3rd on the Minnesota All-Time List and 10th in the world!

The Big Ten award is the programs 9th of the year!!!

Here are some video highlights from last week...

Brock's 17'1

Drake Relays Champions: 4x1600-Meter Relay



Tyler's 58'2

Drake Relays Champion: Studt's 61'6

Resident Viking

For anyone interested in an update on our resident Minnesota Viking hanging around the track... Robison threw 64' at the Macalester Twilight meet Wednesday. Not bad after just a hand-full of practices. The mark automatically qualifies him for the USA Track and Field Championship in Oregon and currently ranks 30th in the world.

The Star Tribune did a write up about Brian last week... you can check it out HERE.

Here is his 64' at Macalester:

Drake ...so far.

Here are some highlights from Drake:

... 4x1600 relay team with a gutsy win! Blankenship closed the anchor in 4:01-low to lean out Stanford's Eliott Heath. The Gophers average 4:07's for the win. Team was Mead, Richardson, Rombough and Blankenship.

...Studt takes another Drake title with his 61'6 for his second title in as many years. Kleinhuizen finishing a great week with his 54'11. (Hit 58' on Wednesday at MAC to go with a PR in the discus AND hammer).

... Brock Spandl going big in gusty conditions with his 17'1 vault. (might be an outdoor PR?)

4x800 up is up tonight! Hopefully the thunder storms stay away...

Sunny Saint Paul

We lucked out and had a beautiful night over at St. Thomas Friday night. With the good weather came some nice performances.

Some major higlights: Ibes having a nice night in the 100/200 with a 10.54 and 21.83, the 110mH guys all hitting big PR's led by Silovich in 14.30, then Duling in 14.49 and RJ in 14.59. Also, down at St. Mary's, the hammer guys had a nice day with Bastian going 196' and Studt going 191'.

Other notables: Joe Plencner 16'11 in vault, Paul Hoplin 201' in javelin, Micah Hegerle 176' in hammer, Kevin Bradley 47.82 in the 400-meter, Fisher hitting 7'0, Demer going 23' in LJ, Ray going 47'4 in triple and Kleinhuizen with another 55+ shot put.

Get to Know Em'

Matt Fisher

Get to Know Em'

Joey Plencner

Skol Vikings

Kare 11's Randy Shaver was out at the track to do a story on Brian Robison making his comeback to track and field... you can see the story HERE.

Joey and Garrett

The boys had a fine showing down in Kansas! Both had numerous PR's in the individual events and completed the two-day event with total score PR's. Joey took the overall title with his 6,807, while Wankel was 4th with 6,551.

Studt and Decathlon Updates

Aaron Studt was named 'Big Ten Athlete of the Week' for the second time in 2009. His 61'11 at the Sun Angel Classic is good enough for 6th in the NCAA and 1st in the Big Ten.

Joey Schweke and Garrett Wankel are off to a good start in the Kansas Relays decathlon. Joey leads after Day 1 with five 'Dec' PR's. Both have started off the second day strong with solid performances in the hurdles and discus. Joey remains 1st after 7 events and Garrett has moved into 4th.

Sunny Arizona

What are the chances you get rained on in the desert? You wouldn't think it would be very likely, right?

Although we hit 'Minnesota spring-like' conditions at ASU during the Sun Angel Classic, we came away with some solid performances. On Friday, the throwers got it started with Andy Bastian and Trey Davis both punching their ticket to the NCAA Regional Championship. Bastian had a season best of 188'9 in the hammer and Davis had a lifetime best of 172' in the discus at Mesa. Jerry Netland also hit a PR as the discus guys were at the Mesa Classic down the road from ASU.

Saturday, we woke up to a cold and rainy morning but the Gophers hit some additional NCAA Regional marks as the day went on. Ben Blankenship took the meet title in the 1500-meter in 3:45.73, while the youngster Andy Richardson also hit the regional mark with his 3:46.95. Aaron Studt kept it going later in the evening with his season opener in the shot put. His 61'11 was also good enough for an NCAA regional.

We'll stay in the area this weekend with St. Thomas on Friday night, and a few heading to Carleton on Saturday.

Another new Gopher!

We are excited to announce the addition of another future Gopher!

Kenny Schofield: Cotton High School, Cotton MN.

Kenny (6'7) is the 2007 Minnesota State Champion in the triple jump. In 2008, he qualified for the State Championship Meet in 4 events (the triple jump, long jump, high jump and the 4x100-meter relay) while finishing runner-up in the triple. Kenny is the top returning triple jumper in both classes.

Big Ten Athlete of the Week

Matt Fisher was named Big Ten Athlete of the Week after his monster jump of 7-4.5. The jump is currently ranked 1st in the NCAA and 7th in the world. (yea... the WORLD).

Some More Future Gophers!

The Gopher Track and Field/Cross Country programs are excited to announce some additional commitments for the 2009/2010 recruiting class! In no particular order...

Drew Paradis: Jefferson High School, Alexandria, MN

Drew was the 5th place finisher at the 2008 Minnesota State Cross Country Meet with a time of 15:51. He was 6th at the NXN heartland regional, which qualified him individually for the NXN national meet in Portland, Oregon. He finished 102nd in the meet with a time of 16:27. On the track at Alexandria, he has run 9:36 for 3200 meters and 4:27 for 1600 meters.

Cameron Boy: Jordan High School, Jordan, MN

Cameron (6'4) is the returning Class 'A' State Champion at 200-meters with a personal best at the Minnesota State Track and Field Championships of 22.00 FAT (+.09w).

Steve Sulkin- York High School- Elmhurst, Illinois

Steve was the NXN Midwest Regional champion, and placed 14th at the NXN national finals. He then qualified for the Footlocker National championship, where he finished 23rd in a time of 15:58. He was the runner-up at the state cross country meet, covering the 3-mile course in 14:19. He has also run 9:12 for 3200 meters, earning him 3rd place at the 2008 Illinois state track meet.

7-4.5

Matt Fisher hit a massive jump of 7-4.5 this weekend down at Auburn to lead the Gophers in the early goings of the outdoor season. The mark currently ranks 1st in the NCAA and 3rd on the all-time list. We'll get a video posted this week.

Also, check out the Big Ten article about Aaron Studt: HERE

Spring Break... etc.

Well, we can't say we're were TOO excited to return to the great white north after a week at ASU in Tempe, Arizona. We had a great week of training in sunny Arizona, followed by a solid opening outdoor meet. Some highlights included four NCAA Regional Qualifiers... Tyler Kleinhuizen hitting a lifetime best in shot put at 56'1. Paul Hoplin going 196'3... and the vault duo of Joe Plencner and Brock Spandl both going 16'11.

I'll try to post some video highlights from the spring trip later this week.

Also, and I know this is a little delayed, but here is a video of Aaron Studt's 63'7 toss which earned him runner-up in the NCAA meet a few weeks ago (moved him from 6th to second on his last throw).

Sorry we didn't get video of the 3k... the files for the distance races are too large to post regardless!

Mead and Rombough

Mead and Rombough closed out the NCAA meet with a very good showing in the 3k ending with them both being named All-Americans and the team finishing 14th. Mead broke his own school record with his 7:56.15 to finish 4th, while Rombough ran 8:00.36 for 7th.

Also, Coach Plasencia was named Region 'Coach of the Year'!

Aaron Studt!!!

Aaron Studt got things started in a big way tonight in the shot put. To be honest, it still hasn't sunk in with his coach yet. Aaron hit a big PR to finish 2nd on his final throw (63'7)! Congrats Aaron and GO GOPHERS! Let's keep it going! Fisher, Mead and Rombough are at it tomorrow.

Aaron's Highlight Video - Thanks Aaron!

Big Ten Awards

The Big Ten Honors have come in... Congrats Men!

Steve Plasencia: Big Ten Coach of the Year

Matt Fisher: Big Ten Field Athlete of the Year

Aaron Studt: Big Ten Field Athlete of the Championships

Go Gophers!

A Few Highlights

Here are a few video highlights from this weekend. The video takes while for me to upload on the site, so I'll put a few up each day. *Also, I'm not as biased towards field event video as it may seem, the running events are just too large of files to load most of the time. I'll try to get a few more uploaded tomorrow.

If you're looking for a little more professional video... check out the Big Ten Network on Saturday at 3pm central (4pm ET) to watch coverage of the Big Ten Championship meet!

Matt Fisher: Big Ten Champion (High Jump 7'3) 2009 Big Ten 'Field Athlete of the Year'. First attempt at 7'3 with no misses to this point...

Andy Bastian: Big Ten Runner (Weight Throw 66'3) Moved up from 8th to 2nd on final throw of indoor career...

Joe Plencner: Big Ten Runner-Up (Pole Vault 17'4) New lifetime best on first attempt...

Sean Duling: Big Ten Finalist (60-meter Hurdles) New PR of 8.11 to make the final...

Aaron Studt: Big Ten Champion (Shot Put 62'11) and 4th Place (Weight Throw) Big Ten 'Field Athlete of the Championships' here with his winning shot put toss...

Joey Schwecke: Big Ten Runner-Up (Heptathlon) New PR in high jump of 6'7 in his hep... if you look closely I believe Joey ropes a calf after his make. Ahhh, you can take Joey outta the country, but you can take the country outta Joey.

RJ McGinnis and Garret Wankel: (1st and 8th in Big Ten Heptathlon) Here is their 60-meter hurdle race...

Brock Spandl: Big Ten Runner Up (Heptathlon) and 5th Place (Pole Vault) Here with his 22'6 LJ in the Hep...

BIG TEN CHAMPS!

Mead and Rombough go 1-2 in 5k ... Both breaking the indoor school record.
4x4 finishes in 3:14.49 for 7th...Team scores 135!

Updates

Weight throwers go 2-4! Bastian big pr of 66'3 for second, Studt 64'11 for
4th! Stroman 6th in 600-meter. Hept 1-2-3-8!

Updates

Ray 7th in triple, Clauer PR's in high jump to take 7th with his 6'9! Hepts
are 1-2-3-9 with the 1k remaining.

Updates

Blankenship 4th in mile final in 4:04!

Updates

Matt Fisher Big Ten Champ!!! 7'3 with no misses!

Heptathlon Score Update

RJ: 1st, Joey: 2nd. Brock: 4th, Wankel: 9th.

Heptathlon 60-meter Hurdles

RJ -8.34, Joey -8.84. Brock -8.43, Wankel -8.71.

Great First Day!

Well, it was rockin' here at Penn State on the first day of the Big Ten Championships. We had a very nice showing up and down the board. We head into the second day with many advancing to the finals in their track events, and several strong field events yet to come.

We are currently first in the team scoring with 47 points, while the Badgers are not far behind with 36. Indianna is third with 27, while Michigan sent several through to the finals tomorrow as well... they are in fourth with 19 points.

I'll continue to update tomorrow! Go Gophers!

Vaulters!

Joe P. and Brock held down the scoring in the vault... Joe hit 17'4 on his first attempt to finish second. Brock went 16'8 to finish 5th. Great job!

DMR

DMR Team of Blankenship, Linneman, Hans and Richardson finish 2nd in
9:46.9!

3000-meters!

Hasaan wins 3k in 8:02, Rombough 3rd in 8:06!

Other updates...

Duling advances to hurdle final... Hans and Richardson advance in
800-meters... Stroman advances to final of 600-meter... Demer 7th in long
jump!

Heptathlon Day One

Day One final standings: Joey-1st, RJ- 2nd, Brock - 5th, Garret - 9th

Shot Put

Aaron Studt Big Ten Champ! New PR of 62'11.

Mile Prelims

Blankenship through to final in 4:06.

Heptathlon High Jump

RJ 6'1', Joey 6'7. Brock 6'4', Wankel 6'2.

Heptathlon Shot Put

RJ 49'11', Joey 42'6. Brock 34', Wankel 36'8. Currently 1-2-5-8 in overall
scores.

Heptathlon Long Jump

RJ 23', Joey 22'10. Brock 22'8, Wankel 21'10. Currently 1-2-3-5 in overall
scores.

Heptathlon 60-meter

Joey: 7.08, RJ :7.13, Brock: 7.28, Wankel: 7.54

Meet Updates

Just a heads up that I'm going to try and update the blog with some live results from my palm pilot... first time doing it, so we'll see how it works!

Big Ten Athlete of the Week!

Aaron Studt was named athlete of the week by the Big Ten on Monday. Aaron earned the honor after his 66'11 throw in the weight at the Snowshoe Open. He currently ranks 7th in the NCAA in the shot put with his 62'2 and 19th in the weight throw with his 66'11.

Fisher's 7'3 Jump

Here is a clip of Matt's clearance of 7'3 at River Falls a few weeks back. The jump is currently second on the NCAA RANKING!

Snowshoe Videos

Recruiting Update

Here is a little update on where we’re at in recuiting. Below are the athletes that have signed and returned their National Letter of Intent. Go Gophers!

Derek Storkel – Tomah, Wisconsin

-- Derek was the Wisconsin State Champ in cross country this fall. For some context, Derek ran within one second of Chris Rombough’s time on the Wisconsin State Championships course. Derek's PR's on the track are 4:19 for 1600-meters and 9:24 for 3200-meters.

Ryan Todhunter – Grand Forks, ND (Red River)

-- Ryan is the reigning North Dakota State Champ in the high hurdles. Ryan ran his PR of 14.16 in the 110mH at the state championship meet last season. Ryan is also one of the top returners in the 300-meter hurdles.

Clay Gosse – Appleton, Wisconsin (North)

-- Clay is the top returning shot put and discus thrower from the state of Wisconsin, and one of the top returning throwers in the mid-west. Clay has personal best’s in the shot and discus of 59’2 and 167’ from his junior season.

Olidipo Fagbemi – Marshfield, Wisconsin

-- Olidipo has a PR of 48.51 in the 400-meters, one of the fastest times in the tri-state area. 'Dipo' has also run 22.14 in the 200-meter and boasts a personal best of 47’3 in the triple jump.

Matthew “Jake” Malm – Grand Forks, ND (Red River)

-- Jake is the top returning javelin thrower from North Dakota and was an all-state performer as a junior in that event. Has a personal best toss of 181’11.

Jon Lehman – Coon Rapids, Minnesota

-- Jon is one of the top returning discus throwers from the state of Minnesota with a PR of 158' to go with his 6'5 frame. Jon was also a top end football prospect and received all-state honors this fall. He was recently named to the All-Star football game this spring at SCSU.

***We have also landed some very solid in-state talent that have committed. Although, until we receive the appropriate signing documentation, NCAA rules prohibit us from publishing that info!

11th in the NCAA

After some very strong performances at Iowa State, Washington and UW-River Falls we are currently 11th in the US Track and Field Coaches Association ranking.

We are excited to be the highest ranked Big Ten program, but we also understand the real ranking will be determined this weekend at Penn State!

The rankings can be found: HERE

Friday Night Lights

As always the Snowshoe Open was a lot of fun and we had some great highlights heading into the championship portion of the season. While some rested, many had strong performances on our home track and gave the program some nice momentum into the Big Ten Championship meet next weekend at Penn State.

The hurdle crew is rounding into form with Silovich going 8.20 and Duling going 8.25. RJ hit a PR in his hurdle race with an 8.24 and later added a PR in the shot put going over 50' for the first time with his 50'5. Also over in the shot put Tyler and Trey both went over 55' for the second time this year going 1-2. The weight throw was solid with Studt moving his PR up to 66'11 and the rest of the guys at/near their PR's heading into Big Ten's.

We also had some nice PR's and wins in the jumps. Ray had a nice night going over 48' in the triple jump and hitting a solid long jump, while Demer emerged with a 46+ jump. Brock hit a season best in the vault with his 16'8. The distance crew of Furseth, Olson and Kampf went 1-2-3 in the 3k. Walter returned to the home track with a nice win in the 600-meters in 1:22.59.

NEWS-FLASH: Ibes had another win and provo in the 60-meters.

Ok. We get it. You're fast.

(Just kidding Ibes... go tear em' up at Big Tens!)

The red-shirts had a fine showing to close out their indoor seasons. Micah Hegerle and Sean King battled for most impressive red-shirt performance on the night. Micah with his 60-foot toss in the weight and Sean with a 6.89 in the 60-meter. After some research, its been determined that both performances currently rank 14th on the Big Ten rankings in their respective event, so we'll call it a tie!

I'll be posting a recruiting update on Monday morning... so stay tuned!

Big Weekend

The team split up to three different meets and it really payed off!

Our assistants came up big this weekend. Jason Havey and Scott Berggren took the helm at some of the various meets... Jason took a distance group out to Seattle and Scott covered a small group to UW-River Falls, while Steve White made the trek through the weather down to Ames for the Iowa State Classic with the rest of the staff and team.

Hassan and Rombough led the way with their record setting 3k's at the University of Washington's big distance meet. Both hit NCAA provo-marks and broke Rombough's previously held record from a few weeks ago. Hassan finished in 7:56.60 and Rombough in 7:57.58.

Matt Fisher led the way at River Falls with his monster jump of 7'3... which he made on his first attempt. As of Sunday, the jump ranks 2nd in the nation!

Down in Ames, Aaron Studt got a big toss in the shot with his 62'2, which is an indoor PR and currently ranks 5th in the nation. Aaron also had a solid showing in the weight with another meet over 64'.



Ibes continued a stellar senior season with yet another win in the 60-meter with his 6.67. The DMR had a nice win, coming just shy of the NCAA provo-standard with their 9:48.53. After a solid anchor for the DMR, Andy Richardson continued his strong freshman campaign by just missing the NCAA provo in the 800-meter with his 1:50.51. Hans also looked good with a 1:50.71 in a very good field. Logan Stroman had a runner up performance in the 600-yard with his 1:11.12. RJ continues his evolution from the scissor-kick, as he's moved his PR over 6'7 with his clearance this weekend.

The team will be back in action for a tune-up at home on Friday at the Snowshoe Open at the fieldhouse. The following weekend we'll be on our way to Penn State for the Big Ten Championships!

Bethel Invite

A small group made the trip across the metro for a meet at Bethel this Saturday. Many guys had the weekend off after a long road trip to Nebraska last week. Although it was a small meet, we had some performances well worth taking note of.

The high jump group had a great weekend! Matt Fisher led the way clearing 6'10 from a short approach. Matt Clauer and RJ both hit PR's of 6'8 and 6'6, respectively. These performances may seem 'good' but they are really 'great' when you consider the guys competed without spikes(Bethel's infield surface where the high jump takes place does not allow spikes).

Other highlights include Brock Spandl going 16'7 in the vault to get back on track... and the hurdle crew, led bySilovich and Duling, had solid showings in the 55mH.

The red-shirts also had a very solid day with Nick Hutton going 1:53.56 in the 800-meter, Sean King going 6.46 in the 55-meter, Kevin Bradley going 1:14.60 in the 600-yard and Micah Hegerle nailing a huge PR in the weight of 57'5.... all finished as the top collegiates in their respective events.

Iowa State and UW-River Falls are up next week!

Movie Time!

Here are some highlights from this weekend at the Adidas Classic in Lincoln, NE.

Ibes 6.65 - 60 METERS

David 16'1 - VAULT

Plencner 16'7 - VAULT

Aaron - 66'1 (PR) - WEIGHT

Andy 63'1 (PR) - WEIGHT

Tyler 56'0 (PR) - SHOT

Trey 60'1 (NEW FRESHMAN RECORD & PR) - WEIGHT

Trey 56'10 (PR) - SHOT

The Streak Continues!

For the 4th week in a row the Gophers get the nod for 'Big Ten Athlete of the Week'. Ibes Kabia takes home the honor this week, his second Big Ten award of the indoor season.

Ibes took the 'Adidas Classic' title with his 6.65 in the 60-meter down in Lincoln this past Saturday. His 6.64 from a few weeks ago continues to rank 2nd in the nation.

The award makes up for his clearly incorrect Super Bowl pick, as seen below in the previous post.

The Wheels on the Bus....

Thanks to the'Minnesota Coaches Bus Company' wireless internet conection this post is coming to you from somewhere in the middle of Iowa. 'Art' the bus-driver is at the helm... a DVD of 'Dumb and Dumber' is playing and several guys are taking naps. We'll be swinging into Ames to pick up some Pizza as we keep rolling to get back for the Super Bowl.

We had some really nice performances last night at the Adidas Classic in Lincoln, Nebraska. It was a good oportunity for our guys to get on a banked track, as we'll be heading to Penn State for the Big Ten Indoor Championship in just a few weeks where they also have a banked track. The meet was also quality in most events giving our full squad a good early test on the road. All in all, it was a great showing.

Although I try to hold my bias to a minimum, I have to say the throwers had a huge day. The shot put crew went 1-2-3, with Studt leading the way with a 56'11, Trey giving him a run for his money with a huge PR going 56'10 and Tyler also hitting a huge PR with his 56'0.

Studt also led the way in the weight with a lifetime best of 66'1, an imrovement on his provo-performance last weekend. Aaron also had another throw right at 66', making that 2-PR throws on the day. Andy Bastian nailed a long awaited PR with his 63'3... two years removed from his previous best of 62'9. Trey solidified a break-out day with a new freshman record of 60'1... and a very good series of 59-ish throws to go with it. Trey takes down Studt's old record of 59'3. The weight guys went 1-2-4 with their efforts.

On the track, Andy Richardson donned the Maroon and Gold in his Gopher debut. He did so in fine fashion taking the win in the mile with a 4:09.32 over a very solid field. Ibes Kabia (AKA 'Juice-Ain Bolt') had another fine performance in the 60-meter with the win with his 6.65, which is just off his PR of 6.63. The mark is also ahead of the NCAA provo-standard.

Other top 3 performances included Logan Stroman in the 600-yard with his 1:11.06 (and yes, I meant 'yard'). The time converts to 1:19-low through 600-meters. Storvick and Shelendich went 2-3 in the 800-meter with 1:53 and 1:54. Ben Puhl was runner-up in the 5k, while Plencner and Gierut went 16'7 and 16'1... with Plencner taking some good looks at 17'1.

We're coming up on Ames and the guys are ready for some Pizza... I'll post some videos from the meet later in the week.

Here are some 'front of the bus' pre-game Super Bowl picks:

Plaz: Steelers 31 - Cardinals 17 - Badgers 0
Paul: Cardinals 28 - Steelers 24
Lynden: Steelers 20 - Cardinals 17 (OT)
Ibes: Cardinals 24 - Steelers 17

Big Ten Athletes of the Week

The weekly Big Ten awards keep rolling in! This week, Chris Rombough and RJ McGinnis were honored after their performances at the Jack Johnson at home this weekend. Rombough broke the 3k school record, and RJ had a huge PR in the hep. Both marks are currently the top in the nation!

The Gophers have some impressive marks on the NCAA list at this early stage in the season. Here are the current Gophers on the list:

Chris Rombough - ranked #1 in the 3,000m

RJ McGinnis - ranked #1 in the heptathlon

Ibes Kabia - ranked #2 in the 60m

Hassan Mead - ranked #4 in the 3,000m

Ben Peterson - ranked #4 in the pole vault

Brock Spandl - ranked #4 in the heptathlon

Aaron Studt - ranked #18 in the weight throw

Five NCAA Provo's and a New School Record!

Congrats to Chris Rombough! Chris ran 8:00.66 for 3k this weekend, breaking Will McComb's recrord of 8:00.46 (which Will ran on an oversized track). With the conversion Chris gets the nod for the new school record and an NCAA provo-time. Also hitting the provo-mark was Hassan Mead, who was just off Chris's pace, finishing in 8:04.80.

Other NCAA provisional performances included RJ and Brock in the multi-event. Both hit PR's and both topped the NCAA standard of 5,300... Brock with his 5,319 and RJ with his 5,511. Joey also had a nice showing with a big PR of 5,139.

Studt is rounding into form with his 64'3 toss in the weight. The mark is an NCAA provo and just below Aaron's best toss from last years Big Ten Championship meet. Trey Davis and Andy Bastian both had solid openers in the weight... Tyler Kleinhuizen had an indoor PR in the shot.

The team will be heading to Nebraska for the Adidas Classic, a scored meet against some very solid teams this weekend!

Big Ten Athlete of the Week

For the second week in a row a Gopher was named Big Ten Athlete of the Week.

Ibes Kabia was given the honor after his 6.64 performance (video posted below). The race was his first of the season and just 0.o1 off the NCAA auto and his lifetime best of 6.63. Pretty good start to the season! Congrats Ibes!

Minnesota Open

The Gophers were back at it on Saturday with some very exciting early season performances. The most notable performances came in the 60-meter, the mile, and the high jump.

'Ibes' Kabia opened up his senior campaign in fine style with a smooth 6.64 in his final of the 60-meter. The time is an NCAA provisional mark, and just 0.01 shy of the automatic 6.63.

The mile crew of Rombough, Hassan and Hans all looked strong, with Rombough hiting a new indoor PR with his 4:05.61 for the win. That mark is only 0.8 shy of the NCAA provisional standard.

For the second week in a row our high jumpers are looking solid. Fisher hit a new PR of 7'1 for the win, making this his second week over 7'.

Brad Parent and the multi-event crew of RJ, Joey and Jack all cleared 6-4.75. All the mult-eventers are looking ready to open up big in the first 'hep' of the year next weekend. In other high jump news, RJ has bid farewell to the scissor-kick, successfully laying out for his new PR.

Other wins on the day included Addison and Ray in the long and triple... Stroman in the 400m... Puhl in the 3k, Plencner in the vault, the 4x4, and Kevin Bradley in the 600m competing unattached.

A few 'bigger' schools will join us next week for the Jack Johnson Classic. Iowa, NDSU, SDSU and Augustana are all on tap for a good early season test at the fieldhouse.

Joe's Vault Awards

Joe Plencner took the win in the vault Saturday with a jump of 16'5. That is only part of the story. After his performance, I have decided to award Joe with two new awards.

Award #1:
'Scariest Moment'

Award #2:
'Highest Pole Rocket'

To explain, here is video of his attempt at 16'9.

... in case you're wondering, the pole did hit the ceiling. We'll have to check with Roy on the complete history of the fieldhouse, but this is believed to be a first!

The pole hit hard, but luckily remained in the building. Good thing. A hole in the roof would have been costly to repair and made for quite a draft. In case you are more worried about Joe than the ceiling, the most recent reports say he took a major 'smack' on the elbow, but appears to be ok.

Also included in the crazy day over in the vault was Alicia Rue's clearance of 14'4 - currently the top women's vault in the NCAA. Sorry - don't have a video, but if anyone does I'd be happy to post it.

Big Ten Athlete of the Week

After his stellar performance in the vault this past Saturday, the Big Ten has named Ben Peterson the Field Event Athlete of the Week. He shares the award with high jumper Ryan Fritz of Penn State, who cleared 7-1.75.

Congrats Ben!

Kicking off the Rust

Welcome to the new University of Minnesota Men's Track and Field Blog!

The 2009 season got underway on Saturday at the fieldhouse with the Northwest open. The guys have been back at it for a week now, with their normal early return for 'break' training. So most opened their season in a limited fashion, if they even opened at all.

The first week back for training went well... the main focus in all event groups was to burn off some of the excess pie consumption that took place over the holiday. Life is pretty good for a Gopher track athlete training over break... team meals, per-diem, naps, and no homework.

Some major highlights from the meet included Ben Peterson opening his season in the vault in a major way. His 5.30m jump (17-4.50) was good enough for the win and a NCAA provisional performance. Ben went on to take a very good attempt at 17-8 just brushing it off. The video of his 17-4 jump is below. According to the NCAA ranking - his mark is one of only 3 NCAA provo-marks so far this year, and ranks as the second highest jump in the nation at this early stage of the season.

Matt Fisher (competing unattached) opened up strong with a 2.14m jump (7-0.25). Logan Stroman snagged a win in the 400m for a solid opener and the multi-event and hurdles crew had strong openers with many PR's in the prelims and finals of the 60m hurdles.

In the mid-distance and distance events, the 800m crew of Andy Richardson, Ben Blankenship and Travis Burkstrand pounded out a good opener with Richardson taking it down with a solid 1:53.65. Nick Hutton gets the honorable mention, looking very strong through 750 meters before catching a foot on the rail.

Joe Macfarland and Rick Furseth each took down their respective mile and 3k races.

Its good to be able to point to some solid openers this early in the season... we'll keep it rolling with the Minnesota Open this Saturday again at the Fieldhouse.