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