Minnesota Men's Track Kicks Off NCAA Championships on Wednesday

Nine Gophers Compete in NCAA Championships
The Minnesota men’s track & field team, consisting of a contingent of nine athletes, will compete in the 2006 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, June 7-10, in Sacramento, Calif. Sacramento State’s Hornet Stadium is the host site for the national meet.

Catch Some NCAA Championships Action on TV
Two networks - CBS and College Sports Television - will combine to broadcast a record 4 1/2 hours from the NCAA Championships this year. CBS will televise 2 1/2 hours live on Saturday, June 10, from 2:30-5 p.m. CT. CSTV will air two hours of action live on Friday, June 9, from 7-9 p.m. CT.

NCAA Championships History
Arkansas is the defending team champion, having captured its third crown since 2000. Minnesota won its only national team title in 1948. Since 1996, and during the coaching tenure of Phil Lundin, the Gophers’ top national finish was ninth in 1997 and 2003.

A Mix of Experience and Youth
The Golden Gopher contingent is a mix of weathered veterans with plenty of NCAA Championships experience and athletes getting their first taste of a national meet. Of the nine Minnesota athletes competing, four (John Albert, Karl Erickson, Kevin Netzer and Trent Riter) have competed in 12 national championships between them. Adewole Adebayo, Jason Erickson and Walter Langkau will be making their first trip to an NCAA Championships.

Erickson Looks to Set the Standard
Senior thrower Karl Erickson will compete in both the shot put and discus at his final NCAA Championships with the chance to become the most highly decorated individual track & field athlete in school history. He has successfully earned five All-America citations (four in the shot put and one in the discus) to match Ron Backes (five-time shot put All-American, 1984-86) with the most individual event honors in school history. Several athletes have earned more total All-America awards when including those collected on relays. Erickson enters the NCAA Championships ranked sixth in the discus (200-6) and seventh in the shot put (64-9 1/4.

It’s His Turn Now
Junior Aaron Buzard knew his moment would come. Two years ago, as a redshirt freshman making his first NCAA Outdoor Championships appearance, Buzard was thrilled just for the opportunity to run with Gopher 400m legends Adam Steele and Mitch Potter on Minnesota’s national runner-up 4x400m relay. Buzard was expected to emerge a year ago as the heir apparent to the traditional throne held by the 400-meter runners in Gopher history. Injuries kept him from the spotlight during his sophomore season and early in his junior campaign, but at this point in time, Buzard is running the best races of his career. Though he was edged for the 2006 Big Ten title by Indiana speedster David Neville, Buzard’s time of 45.51 seconds was still the fourth-fastest in the nation. Buzard ran a time of 45.87 to capture the Midwest Region title, then later clocked a 44.9 split on the anchor leg of the Gophers’ NCAA Championships qualifying 4x400-meter relay.

The Gophers’ High-Flying Senior Tandem
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. Both graduated this spring; Albert with a degree in business, Netzer in elementary education. They are also roommates, who have just as much fun competing against each other as they do leapers from other schools. Heading into their final collegiate meet, Netzer is seeded in a tie for 10th, having cleared a height of 7-2 1/4. Albert is tied for 18th with his best height of the season of 7-0 1/2.

Gearman Gets His Wish and a Midwest Region Title
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. Granted he did complete and earn All-America honors at the NCAA Division II Championships a year ago, Gearman will now realize his goal and compete against the top collegiate triple jumpers in the nation. Gearman was a surprise winner of the Midwest Region title in the event, soaring a career-best 52 -5 1/4, the second-best leap in school history. Gearman needed a second chance and he took full advantage of the one he received, capturing the triple jump title at the NCAA Midwest Region Championships. He did not perform as well as he had hoped in the preliminary round where he landed a jump of 50 feet (15.24m) on his first jump, but then fouled both his other attempts. After the first of two flights, Gearman was in third place. He basically thought his day was over since a talented second flight, which included leapers all with better qualifying marks coming into the regional, was yet to come. The wait was difficult but Gearman’s second chance was granted as he made the field of nine jumpers, albeit in eighth place, who advanced to the final, and earned three additional jumps. Gearman fouled his first attempt of the final, then soared over a foot further than he ever had in the event, landing a jump of 52-5 1/4 to leap over his competitors and into first place. The mark held and Gearman is off the NCAA Championships as the Midwest Region champion.

Buzard Lives Up to No. 1 Midwest Region Seed
Aaron Buzard was the top seed in the 400 meters entering the Midwest Region meet and defended that honor in winning the event in a time of 45.87 seconds. An indoor All-American, Buzard took the crown from a difficult starting position in lane seven. Buzard maintained the stagger down the backstretch, but Baylor’s Reggie Witherspoon charged from lane five to take the lead with 100 meters remaining. Buzard turned on the speed to pull ahead of Witherspoon (46.00) in the final 10 meters.

Erickson Places Second in Both Shot and Discus at Midwest Regional
Karl Erickson earned NCAA berths in both the shot put and discus with second-place finishes at the Midwest Region Championships. Erickson threw a personal best in the shot put on his very first attempt, landing a throw of 64-9 1/4, a best of 9 inches over his Big Ten winning throw and the second-longest throw in school history. The Gopher All-American strung together a great series of throws, with three over 63 feet, but his first throw remained his furthest. In the discus, Erickson marked a toss of 197-7, his second-farthest throw of the season.

Riter Earns At-Large NCAA Berth in 800 Meters
It wasn’t Trent Riter performance in the Midwest Region final in the 800-meter run that earned the senior a trip to the national meet. Instead, it was Riter’s season-best time of 1:48.45 in the prelims that stood fast to capture an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships. Riter will be making his third appearance at the outdoor national meet in the event.

The 4x400m Relay is the Gophers’ Surprise Entry at NCAA Championships
Minnesota’s 4x400-meter relay provided the Gophers with one of its biggest surprises of the Midwest Regional, placing third and advancing to the NCAA Championships. The Gophers headed into the race with the seeded 10th and running in the first, and considered slower, heat. Aaron Buzard ran an amazing anchor leg of 44.9 seconds took over the lead in the final 50 meters. Minnesota then sat and watched as their time of 3:07.96, matching the eighth-fastest time in school history, solidifying their ticket to Sacramento. Joining Buzard on the relay was Adewole Adebayo, Jason Erickson and Walter Langkau. Adebayo, Erickson and Langkau are all making their first trips to the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

Buzard Named Midwest District Track Athlete of the Year
Minnesota junior sprinter Aaron Buzard was named the U.S. Track & Field/Cross Country Coaches Association 2006 Midwest District Track Athlete of the Year. The recipients of the awards were nominated and voted upon by NCAA Division I coaches.

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