University of Minnesota Athletics
MINNESOTA CROSS COUNTRY COACH NAMED REGIONAL COACH OF THE YEAR
11/21/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
The Golden Gophers placed 25th at this year's NCAA Championships, marking the fifth consecutive season Minnesota has competed at Nationals under Plasencia. Prior to Plasencia's helm, which started in 1996, the Golden Gophers had not ran at the NCAA's since 1981 when they placed 12th.
Plasencia was a five-time All-American for the Golden Gophers from 1976-78 and still holds four U of M records, being inducted into the "M" Club Hall of Fame in 1994. He went on to represent the United State in the 10,000 meters at both the 1988 and 1992 Olympic Games. Plasencia was inducted into the Minnesota Track and Field hall of Fame in the fall of 1996.
As recently as 1998, Plasencia continued to set records. He broke his own American Masters record in the half marathon with a time of 1:05.20 at the Indianapolis 500 Festival. At the Beach to Beacon race in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, Plasencia broke the Masters 10K record with a time of 29:37.
