University of Minnesota Athletics
2005 Men's Cross Country Season in Review
12/1/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
The Minnesota men’s cross country team finished 20th at the NCAA Cross Country Championships as the Golden Goiphers continued their impressive streak of competing in nine consecutive national meets. Junior Antonio Vega captured All-America honors with a 44th-place showing.
Nine Straight NCAAs for Gophers
Minnesota made its ninth consecutive trip to the NCAA Championships, extending the longest streak in school history. The Golden Gophers are ranked fifth among an elite group of schools with at least nine consecutive trips to the NCAA Men’s Cross Country Championships. Big Ten champion Wisconsin leads the way with 34 straight appearances, followed by Arkansas (32), Colorado (14), Stanford, (12), Minnesota (9) and William & Mary (9). North Carolina State and Providence had streaks of 10 straight NCAA trips snapped this season.
Vega Wins Fred O. Watson Award
Junior Antonio Vega received the Fred O. Watson Award, an honor given to the Golden Gophers’ most valuable runner. Vega worked his way back from an early-season injury to pace Minnesota during the championship portion of the season. Vega captured All-America honors with a 44th-place finish (30:24.1) at the NCAA Championships. He was the NCAA Midwest Region medalist, winning in a time of 30:52. Vega also earned All-Big Ten Second Team accord by placing 13th at the Conference Championships held at Les Bolstad in a time of 24:44.38.
Minnesota at the NCAA Championships
Minnesota made its 17th appearance in the NCAA Championships. The Golden Gophers’ first trip to the NCAAs was in 1964 and their highest finish was fourth in 1968. In the current streak of nine straight NCAA berths under head coach Steve Plasencia, Minnesota’s best finish was 15th in 1999.
Ryan Malmin Competes in Fourth NCAA Meet
Senior Ryan Malmin became just the third Golden Gopher to compete in the NCAA Cross Country Championships four times in a career (2002-05). Malmin joined Will McComb, who competed in Championships from 1999 to 2002, and Ryan Ford (2001-04). Malmin earned Coaches’ All-America honors in 2004 with a 28th-place finish.
Vega Wins NCAA Midwest Region Title
Golden Gopher junior Antonio Vega picked a great time to win his first collegiate race, capturing the NCAA Midwest Region title in a time of 30:52. With the victory, Vega earned his third career All-Midwest Region honor. Gophers have won the Midwest individual title in three of the last four seasons (Andrew Carlson in 2002 and 2004, Vega in 2005).
Trio Earn All-Midwest Region Honors
Antonio Vega, Ryan Malmin and Chris Rombough earned All-Midwest Region honors with their performances. Malmin finished fifth place in a time of 31:03, while Rombough was 14 in 31.22. Both Vega and Malmin are three-time all-region honorees.
Head Coach Steve Plasencia
Golden Gopher head men’s cross country coach Steve Plasencia completed his 10th season directing the program at his alma mater. The Gophers have advanced to the NCAA Championships nine times in Plasencia’s tenure, finishing with eight top-25 finishes. Brad Wick completed his first season as the Gophers’ volunteer assistant coach.
2005 Team Captains
The Golden Gopher team captains for the 2005 season were Erik Grumstrup and Ryan Malmin.
Players Mentioned
