University of Minnesota Athletics
Antonio Vega Earns All-America Honors, Gophers Finish 20th
11/21/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
Wisconsin dominated the meet, winning the national title with 37 team points and place six runners in the top 15. Badger senior Simon Bairu, the Griak and Big Ten champion, defended his national crown covering the 10-kilometer course in a time of 29 minutes, 15.9 seconds. Ohio State tallied 406 points for 11th place, while Iowa was 19th with 495, Minnesota was 20th with 514 and Indiana finished 29th with 617.
“We finished about where we thought we would,” said Golden Gopher head coach Steve Plasencia. “No one performed exceptionally well or poorly. We held our own and you have to think some things are going right to finish in the top 20 in the nation.”
Vega, the Midwest Region medalist, became the ninth runner in Golden Gopher history to earn All-America acclaim. The Oakdale, Minn., native ran a time of 30:24.1, the eighth-fastest 10-kilometer time in school history.
“Antonio kept moving forward after the 3-kilometer mark,” said Plasencia. “He kept passing people and worked his way in All-America honors. He ran a strong race.”
Senior Ryan Malmin finished 86th with a time of 30:53.7 and became just the third Gopher to run in the NCAA Championships in all four years of a career.
Freshman Chris Rombough crossed the finish line in a time of 30:59.5 to place 105th in his first NCAA Championships. Other scorers for the Gophers were senior Erik Grumstrup in 202nd place in a time of 31:55.8 and sophomore David VanOrsdel in 205th place in 31:57.3. Also competing for the Gophers were Justin Grunewald, who placed 211th in 32:02.8, and redshirt freshman Luke Walker in 217th in 32:07.2.
2005 NCAA Cross Country Championships Monday, Nov. 21, 2005 LaVern Gibson Championship Course 10K Terre Haute, Ind.
Team Results 1. Wisconsin 1-3-7-12-14-(15)-(43) 37 2. Arkansas 5-10-22-31-37-(106)-(112) 105 3. Notre Dame 6-24-32-42-74-(147)-(179) 178 4. Iona 2-21-46-48-88-(129)-(153) 205 5. Colorado 27-29-33-56-77-(111)-(169) 222 6. Stanford 9-40-59-61-62-(63)-(76) 231 7. Texas 13-45-50-69-95-(104)-(161) 272 8. Oklahoma State 39-41-67-89-119-(197)-(208) 355 9. Portland 23-53-80-82-134-(156)-(164) 372 10. Arizona 8-51-70-92-163-(193)-(204) 384 11. Ohio State 11-71-93-115-116-(124)-(143) 406 19. Iowa 75-85-108-113-114-(120)-(157) 495 20. Minnesota 34-64-79-167-170-(175)-(181) 514 29. Indiana 20-55-176-182-184-(202)-(209) 617 * 31 Teams Competed
Top Individuals 1. Simon Bairu (Wisconsin) 29:15.9 2. Richard Kiplagat (Iona) 29:21.9 3. Chris Solinsky (Wisconsin) 29:27.8 4. Josh McDougal (Liberty) 29:32.6 5. Westly Keating (Texas-Pan American) 29:38.1 6. Josh Rohatinsky (BYU) 29:40.2 7. Josphat Boit (Arkansas) 29:49.1 8. Kurt Benninger (Notre Dame) 29:50.2 9. Matt Withrow (Wisconsin) 29:50.7 10. Robert Cheseret (Arizona0 29:50.8
Golden Gopher Finishes 44. (34) Antonio Vega 30:24.1 86. (64) Ryan Malmin 30:53.7 105. (79) Chris Rombough 30:59.5 202. (167) Erik Grumstrup 31:55.8 205. (170) David VanOrsdel 31:57.3 211. (175) Justin Grunewald 32:02.8 217. (181) Luke Walker 32:07.2
