Four Bigten Champs for the Gophers

The Gophers highlight the weekend with four Big ten champs. To start things off on Friday night Chris Rombough won the 10,000 meters out kicking two Badgers over the last 300 meters. Ibrahim Kibia ran a PR of 10.29 to take the 100m title and claim a school record in the event. Hans Storvick lead wire to wire on a windy day to take the 800 title in a time of 1:50.06. To finish off the gophers scoring Hassan Mead ran away from the field with a 50 meter victory in the 5,000 meters. There were many notable performances, but two others that stand out are RJ McGinnis's 7290 points scored in the Decathlon good enough for 3rd place and a 26th nationally ranked performance. The other notable performance comes from the entire pole vaulting crew who scored 20 points highlighted by Ben Peterson and Joe Plencner’s 17' 3” vaults which placed then 2nd and 3rd respectively. With all but two points of the Gophers 84 returning next season the Gophers are setting them selves up for a team title hunt in the years to come.

Gophers Represent well at Stanford and Iowa

As the Gophers near the championship portion of the season the Minnesota distance guys start to turn up the heat. Hassan Mead and Chris Rombough went one, two in the second heat of the 5000m at the Cardinal Invite. After a less than optimal pace through two miles Hassan went to the lead and broke away from the field with only his teammate Chris Rombough able to follow. With a strong last three laps Hassan ran the 3rd fastest 5k in school history with a time of 13:49.35, and Chris Rombough the 5th fastest with a 13:51.71. In the 3rd section of the 5000m Mike Torchia ran with similar tactics. After a less than ideal pace in the first two miles he broke away from the pack, but wasn't able to maintain the pace over the last 200m and finished less than a second out of first place with a time of 14:09.88, which is good enough for a regional qualifier. Other notable finishes were Ben Puhl in the steeple and Forrest Tahdooahnippah in the 5000 who set season bests with times of 9:02.53 and 14:21.03. At the Iowa Twilight a number of Gophers claimed first place honors. Aaron Studt kept his winning streak going in the shot put, Brock Spandl cleared 16'6 3/4 for a regional mark in the pole vault, Eddie Kibira took the title in the 1500, Ben Kampf ran a personal best in the steeple with a 9:21 in windy conditions and unattached gopher freshmen Sean Olson won the 5000 with a time of 14:41. Next for the squad is a tune up meet at home on May 9th and then the Big Tem Championships the following week.

Ibs and Studt Victorious at Drake

Both Ibrahim Kibia and Aaron Studt left Drake relays with a winning Drake relay flag in hand. Neither set personal records but with cool conditions both had respectable marks with Studt's 60'8" winning put and Ibrahim's 10.44 100 dash time. Other notable performances came from the 4x1600m team of David VanOrsdel, Hassan Mead, Eddie Kibira and Chris Rombough. The team placed 3rd overall with Rombough and Mead having the fastest splits of the meet with times of 4:08 and 4:09 in blustery conditions. Next for the Gophers is the Iowa Twilight and the Cardinal Invite at Stanford for a number of the distance runners.

Studt and Storvick set Personal Bests as Gophers Prepare for Big Meets Ahead

On a cool wet Friday evening at St. Thomas sophomore Aaorn Studt tossed a huge personal best in the shot put with a mark of 62'7 1/2. His throw puts him 3rd on the all time gopher list, gives him a top 10 national performance and gives him a strong Olympic Trials B qualifying mark. Going back a week to the Sun Angel meet in Tempe Arizona, Hans Storvick ran a personal best and a regional qualifying time of 1:49.92 in the 800m dash. The Sun Angel saw first place finishes among college runners from Gophers Ibrahim Kabia in the 100m dash and Mike Torchia and Forrest Tahdooahnippah who went one, two in the 5000 meters. Next up for the gophers are the Drake Relays starting on April 24th.

Gophers Make Progress at Pepsi Invite

Despite cooler than normal conditions at the Oregon Pepsi Invite the Gophers still managed to make progress and had a number of personal bests and regional qualifying marks. In the 100 dash Ibrahim Kabia took the win and ran a personal best of 10.39. In the 5000 Hassan Mead pushed the pace and broke the pack down to just he and AJ Acosta from Oregon. With 100 meters to go the two were neck and neck and the lean went to AJ. Hassan still managed a 60 second last quarter and a time of 13:57.8. Chris Rombough also ran a very strong race and managed 3rd place with a pr and regional qualifying time of 14:07.3. Ibrahim, Hassan and Chris all made the Gopher top 10 lists in their events. Other notable performances came in the 800 where Hans Storvick just missed a regional mark, but managed a 2nd place finish. The race was tactical as the pack went through the 400 in just over 55 seconds. Hans came back in a negative split and ran 1:50.52 with freshmen David Pachuta running a personal best of 1:52.24. In the field events wet surfaces took a bit off the marks, but Raymond Blackledge managed 3rd place in the triple jump with a leap of 48’ 6 inches. Up next for the squad is the Sun Angel Invite at Arizona State on April 12th.

Hoplin makes top 10 list on first throw as a Gopher!

On just his first javelin throw of his college career Paul Hoplin puts himself 5th on the all time Gopher performance list. His throw of 214'9 gives Paul a regional qualifying mark and chance to qualify for the national meet come May.

Gophers Enjoy Sunny South Carolina and Score 5 Regional Qualifiers in the Field Events

The University of Minnesota Track and Field team spent spring break in sunny South Carolina at Clemson University. The weather was great and the team got in some great training. Best of all there were 5 regional qualifying marks in the field events by the Gophers. Andy Bastian threw 192’ 2 in the Hammer, Freshmen David Gierut vaulted 16’ 6.75, Freshmen Paul Hoplin threw 214’ 9 in the Javelin and Sophomore Aaron Studt qualified in both the Hammer (189’ 4) and the Shot with a throw of 56’ 5.75. The next stop for the team is Eugene Oregon for the Pepsi Invite on April 5th.