University of Minnesota Athletics
Karl Erickson Chases Fourth Career Big Ten Discus Title
5/10/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
Friday-Sunday, May 12-14, 2006
Ralph Young Track & Field Complex
Michigan State University
East Lansing, Mich.
2006 Minnesota Men’s Outdoor T&F Watch List
Minnesota Men’s Track Heads to Big Ten Meet - Minnesota enters the championship portion of the outdoor season by competing at the 2006 Big Ten Conference Track & Field Championships, May 12-14, in East Lansing, Mich. Michigan State plays host to this year’s Championships.
CSTV Broadcast Championships Highlight Show - College Sports Television will broadcast a one-hour highlight show from this weekend’s Big Ten Championships on May 22. Time has yet to be announced.
Karl Erickson Chases Fourth Career Discus Title - Senior Karl Erickson has the opportunity to capture his fourth Big Ten title in the discus this weekend. If successful, Erickson will be the first Golden Gopher to win four titles in the same individual event at the Big Ten Championships.
Gopher High Jumpers Are Tops - Seniors John Albert and Kevin Netzer share the top seed heading into the high jump competition. Both have won Big Ten titles during their careers.
Gophers on NCAA Regional Qualifier List - Minnesota has nine athletes and a relay that have notched NCAA Midwest Region Championships qualifying performances. Throwers Karl Erickson and Adam Schnaible, sprinter Aaron Buzard and jumper Derek Gearman have each qualified in two individual events. Antonio Vega has also marked a provisional qualifier for the NCAA Championships in the 10,000-meter run.
Gophers Head to Big Ten Championships
The Minnesota men’s track & field team travels to East Lansing, Mich., this week to compete in the Big Ten Conference Track & Field Championships.The three-day event kicks off on Friday, May 12, at 12 noon (11 a.m. CT) with the running for the decathlon 100-meter dash and is concluded on Sunday, May 14, at 3:45 p.m. (2:45 p.m. CT) with the men’s 4x400-meter relay.
CSTV to Broadcast Highlight Show of Meet
College Sports Television (CSTV) will televise a one-hour highlight show from the Big Ten Championships on Monday, May 22. The time of the broadcast has not been announced. Check your local cable listing to see if CSTV is available in your area.
Big Ten Championships History
Minnesota has won four men’s titles in its history (1949, 68, 98, 99, 03) and none in more dominating fashion than in 2003 when the Golden Gopher compiled a score of 168.5 points on its home track.
Minnesota and Wisconsin have combined to win the last 11 championships. The last team other than the Gophers or Badgers to capture a league title was Illinois in 1994. Wisconsin has won the last two titles.
Michigan has won the most men’s team titles with 30, but has not captured a crown since 1983.
A Chance For Something Special
Golden Gopher senior Karl Erickson has the opportunity to do something that no other Minnesota men’s track athlete ever has - win four Big Ten titles in an individual event. Erickson has three Big Ten discus crowns (2002, 03, 04) to his credit and enters this year’s Championships with the top seed (200-6, 61.12m).
Erickson is one of four Gophers to capture three Big Ten outdoor titles in the same individual event, joining Ron Backes (shot put, 1984-86), Fortune Godien (discus, 1943, 47, 48) and Garry Bjorklund (3 mile, 1970, 71, 74).
There is one Gopher who won four Big Ten titles in the same relay event: Mikael Jakobsson in the 4x400-meter relay (2001, 02, 03, 04).
After capturing his first Big Ten title in the shot put at this spring’s Indoor Championships, Erickson heads into the outdoor meet with the top seed (61-9 3/4, 18.84m).
High Jump Dominance in Big Ten Competition
Perhaps the strongest event year-in and year-out for the Gophers at the Big Ten Championships in the past few seasons has been the high jump. The duo of Kevin Netzer and John Albert have been mainstays at the top of the award stand for the past four years.
Netzer added the 2006 indoor title to the outdoor crowns he captured in 2002 and 2004. Albert captured Big Ten high jump titles at the 2004 indoor and the 2005 outdoor meets. Both have cleared 7-0 1/2 (2.15m) this season, tying for the Big Ten top seed heading into this weekend’s Championships.
Buzard Making Up for Missed Time
After missing the 2005 Big Ten Outdoor Championships with a hamstring injury, Gopher junior sprinter Aaron Buzard has been making up for missed time with top-notch performances this spring. Buzard, a 400-meter All-American indoors this season, enters the Big Ten meet seeded second (46.03) in the event. Buzard’s top competitor in the 400 meters will be defending Big Ten titlist David Neville of Indiana. Buzard is also entered in the 200-meter dash and will anchor the Gophers’ 4x400-meter relay.
Riter Tops Entrants in 800-Meter Run
Senior Trent Riter has consistently scored points for the Gophers in the 800-meter run at the Big Ten Championships. In his final Championships, Riter is in excellent position to capture his first title in the event outdoors after winning the title at this spring’s indoor Championships. He enters the Big Ten Championships with the fastest 800m time this season, 1:49.75, run at the Sun Angel Classic in April. Riter’s top individual finish at previous Big Ten outdoor meet was a second-place showing in 2004.
Minnesota State High School Sprint Champ Finally Gets His Shot at Big Tens
Redshirt freshman Ibrahim Kabia won two Minnesota high school titles in the 100-meter dash, setting the state record along the way (10.49). This weekend, Ibrahim will compete in his first outdoor Big Ten Championships.
Players Mentioned
