University of Minnesota Athletics
Three Golden Gopher Men Tracksters Earn NCAA Berths
5/28/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
Junior Kevin Netzer cleared a career-best height of 7 feet, 3 1/4 inches to place second and earn one of three NCAA Championships berths captured by the Minnesota men's track & field team in the first day of the NCAA Midwest Region Championships in College Station, Texas.
Joining Netzer as Golden Gophers who have punched their ticket to the NCAA meet, June 9-12 in Austin, Texas, is senior Lynden Reder and junior Andrew Carlson. Reder placed third in the hammer throw with an effort of 206-11. Carlson finished fifth in the 5,000-meter run in a time of 14 minutes, 19.76 seconds. The top five placewinners qualify for the NCAA Championships.
Netzer will make his second consecutive trip to the national outdoor meet in the high jump. His mark of 7-3 Ľ matched the fourth-best height in school history. Reder will also be making his second trip to the NCAAs in the hammer throw and third trip overall. Carlson, a veteran of three NCAA Cross Country Championships, will make his first appearance at the NCAA Track Championships in the 5,000 meters.
Six Golden Gophers made their way to Saturday's finals, led by three Minnesota sprinters in the 400-meter dash. Mitch Potter posted his best time of the season and goes in to the 400 final with the top preliminary time of 45.11 seconds. Adam Steele (46.23) and Aaron Buzard (47.01) also qualified for the final.
Mikael Jakobsson tops the list of qualifiers in the 400-meter hurdles. Jakobsson ran a time of 50.43 seconds.
Middle distance runners Trent Riter and Martin Robeck will also vie for the NCAAs in tomorrow's finals. Riter ran a time of 1:49.74 in the 800 meters and is sixth heading into the final. Robeck was clocked a 3:50.27 in the 1,500-meter run and is ranked fifth among the finalists.
Sophomore John Albert finished in an eight-way tie for fifth-place in the high jump clearing a height of 7-1. The final NCAA qualifying spot was decided by the fewest missed attempts. Albert will have to wait to see if he is selected to the NCAA field as an at-large competitor.
Thrower Karl Erickson placed sixth in the shot put with a throw of 60-6 1/2. Erickson will compete in the discus on Saturday. Curt Schoenfelder placed ninth in the hammer but posted a career-best mark of 196-1, the second-best performance in school history.
The NCAA Midwest Region Championships conclude on Saturday.
