University of Minnesota Athletics
Men's Track Travels to Texas For Midwest Regional
5/23/2006 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
The Minnesota men’s track & field team travels to the University of Texas this weekend (May 26-27) to compete in the NCAA Midwest Region Championships. This regional site and three others around the country will determine the field for the NCAA Championships in Sacramento, Calif., June 7-10.
To Get to the NCAA Championships...
The fop five place winners from the NCAA Regional competitions will advance to the NCAA Championships on June 7-10 in Sacramento, Calif. The NCAA has built a few loop holes into the system to account for injury, illness or poor performance at the regional meet level. If an athlete owns a performance this season that is among the best in the nation, that athlete will likely receive an at-large berth to the NCAA Championships. The NCAA Championships field will be capped at 544 athletes for both the men and the women.
Feeling More Like the Big 12
The only Big Ten school that joins Minnesota in the NCAA Midwest Regional is Iowa. Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Purdue and Wisconsin will compete in the NCAA Mideast Regional in Knoxville, Tenn. Penn State is the lone Big Ten school to compete in the NCAA East Regional in Greensboro, N.C. The Midwest Region Championships will have the definite feel of a Big 12 Conference meet with every team but one (Missouri) competing in this region.
Gophers Competing at Regional Meet
The Golden Gophers have 14 athletes who with compete in the NCAA Midwest Region Championships in 11 events. A complete list of Gopher qualifiers is on page two of this release.
Buzard Tops 400m Field
Junior Aaron Buzard enters the Midwest Region meet as the top seed in the 400-meter dash with his time of 45.51 seconds run in the finals of the race at the Big Ten Championships. Buzard also qualified for the 200-meter dash, but will not compete in the event at regionals. He will, however, anchor both the Gophers’ 4x100m and 4x400m relays.
Erickson Also Takes No. 1 Rank to Regionals
Senior Karl Erickson also owns a No. 1 seed heading into the NCAA Midwest Region Championships. Erickson tops the field in the discus with his school-record mark of 200-6, thrown at the Mesa Classic in April. He is also seeded third in the shot put after winning the Big Ten title in the event with a throw of 64-0 1/4.
Schnaible to Miss NCAA Midwest Region Meet With Injury
Junior throwers Adam Schnaible is out for the remainder of the season with a torn chest muscle. Schnaible, who also was unable to throw at the Big Ten Championships, was scheduled to compete in both the hammer and the shot put for the Gophers. He owns the third-best throw in the region this season in the hammer, 202-7, which also ranks as the second-best throw in school history.
Senior High Jump Duo on Last Go-Around
Seniors Kevin Netzer and John Albert have seemingly been high jumping for the Golden Gopher forever. Both have earned All-America honors and Big Ten titles in the event. Netzer and Albert have also both cleared the height of 7-0 1/2 this season and share the No. 9 seed heading into regional competition. The tandem also has cleared even higher bars in their careers. Netzer’s career best is 7-3 1/4, while Albert’s top career jump is 7-1 3/4.
Minnesota Places Second at Big Ten Championships
The Golden Gophers complied 121.50 points to finish second at the Big Ten Conference Championships in East Lansing, Mich., May 12-14. Wisconsin captured its third consecutive team title with 161.50 points.
Gearman Shines at Big Ten Meet
Junior Derek Gearman transferred to Minnesota from NCAA Division II South Dakota, motivated by the opportunity to test his talents against a higher level of competition. Gearman was simply sensational at the Big Ten Championships, winning the long jump, placing second in the high jump and finishing fifth in the triple jump, compiling a team-high 22 points. Gearman won the long jump with a career-best distance of 25-0, landing the winning mark on his second attempt in finals. Competing in the high jump at the same time, Gearman cleared 6-10 1/4 to finish second. He concluded the Championships placing in his third event, finishing fifth in the triple jump with a regional qualifying mark of 50-9 3/4, the fifth-best leap in school history.
Buzard Has Busy and Successful Final Day at Big Ten Meet
Buzard had a successful and busy day competing in four events on the third and final day of the Big Ten Championships, helping the Gopher relays to runner- up finishes and adding second- and sixth-place finishes in two individual events. Buzard ran a personal best in the 400-meter dash, clocking a time of 45.51 seconds. The performance was his first race clocked below 46 seconds. A junior from Rochester, Minn., Buzard placed sixth in the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.34 seconds. Buzard teamed with Adewole Adebayo, Jason Erickson and Robb Merritt to post a regional qualifying time of 40.43 seconds (the seventh-fastest time in school history) in finishing second in the 4x100-meter relay. Buzard then anchored the Minnesota 4x400-meter relay that closed the meet with a runner-up finish in 3:09.67. Joining Buzard in the 4x400-meter relay were Jason Erickson, Robb Merritt and Walter Langkau.
Erickson Throws Impressive Series in Winning Big Ten Shot Put Title
The final results read that Golden Gopher senior Karl Erickson won the Big Ten shot put title with a career-best throw of 64-0 1/4. The rest of the story untold in those final results is the impressive series of throws Minnesota’s five-time All-American strung together in his final Big Ten throwing competition. Erickson’s best throw of the season heading into the meet was 61-9 3/4. Throws 1. 62-1 3/4 2. 64-0 1/4 3. 62-3 4. 61-3 5. 63-4 1/4 6. 63-9
Netzer Adds His Name to List of Three-Time Champs, Erickson Misses Out on Fourth
Kevin Netzer became the fifth trackster in Golden Gopher history to win three Big Ten outdoor titles in the same event, joining Karl Erickson (discus, 2002-04), Ron Backes (shot put, 1984-86), Fortune Godien (discus, 1943, 47, 48) and Garry Bjorklund (3 mile, 1970, 71, 74). Netzer cleared 6-11 3/4 in rainy and blustery conditions to capture the title. He also won Big Ten outdoor high jump crowns in 2002 and 2004. Erickson placed second in the discus, thus coming away unsuccessful in his quest to become the first Gopher to win four individual titles in the same event at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships.
Graduating Golden Gophers
Several members of the Golden Gopher men’s track & field team will be graduated this term. Congratulations to these new Minnesota graduates: John Albert (business), Karl Erickson (kinesiology), Erik Grumstrup (chemistry), Ben Hanson (chemistry), Ryan Malmin (physics), Robb Merritt (human resources and industrial relations), Kevin Netzer (elementary education), Andy Newman (sociology) and Trent Riter (civil engineering).
Hanson An Outstanding Achievement Award Recipient
Golden Gopher senior Ben Hanson was honored with the Athletic Department’s Outstanding Achievement Award at the annual Scholar-Athlete Award Banquet. The award recognizes student-athletes who are accomplished in the four primary areas of the NCAA Life Skills Program: leadership, academics, volunteerism and athletics..
Albert and Merkey Honored at Scholar-Athlete Banquet
John Albert and Matt Merkey were honored with Top-5 Awards, recognizing the Golden Gopher student-athletes with the highest cumulative grade point averages. Albert, a senior high jumper, is a two-time Academic All-American. Merkey is a junior pole vault currently out with an ankle injury.
