University of Minnesota Athletics
Men's Track Closes Regular Season With Combo Meet
5/3/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
Golden Gopher Track Action This Week
Meet of the Unsaintly
Friday, May 4, 2007
Klas Center
Host - Hamline St. Paul, Minn.
Minnesota Throws Meet
Friday, May 4, 2007
Bierman Track
Host: Minnesota - Minneapolis, Minn.
Howard Wood Dakota Relays
Saturday, May 5, 2007
Sioux Falls, S.D.
2007 Minnesota Men’s Outdoor T&F Watch List
Minnesota Men’s Track Team Closes Regular Season - The Minnesota men’s track & field team closes its regular-season schedule with the combined Meet of the Unsaintly and the Minnesota Throws Meet events on Friday, May 4. Hamline will host the running and jumping events in St. Paul, while the throwing events will be contested at Minnesota’s Bierman Track.
Gearman Heads Home to South Dakota For a Meet - Gopher senior Derek Gearman will compete in the high jump at the Howard Wood Dakota Relays in Sioux Falls, S.D., on Saturday.
Buzard Runs Final Collegiate Race in Home State - Four-time All-American Aaron Buzard, from Rochester, Minn., will run his final collegiate race in his home state on Friday at Hamline.
Regionally Qualified Relay Members Run Individual Races - The four members of the Gophers’ 4x400-meter relay that regionally qualified at the Drake Relays - Sayfe Jassim, Walter Langkau, Jason Erickson and Aaron Buzard - are all expected to compete in the open 400 meters on Friday.
Antonio Vega Provisionally Qualifies For NCAA Championships - Senior Antonio Vega posted an NCAA Championships provisional qualifying time of 29:04.13 in the 10,000-meter run at the Cardinal Invitational.
Gophers’ Midwest Region Tally - Minnesota currently has nine athletes and a relay who have qualified to compete in the NCAA Midwest Region Championships, May 25-26, in Des Moines, Iowa.
Gophers Close Regular-Season Schedule
The Minnesota men’s track & field team closes its 2007 outdoor regular season this weekend by competing at a meet that is split between two sites on Friday, May 4. The Meet of the Unsaintly, at the Hamline track in St. Paul, will host the track and jumping events. The throwing portion of that meet will be hosted by Minnesota at the Bierman Track.
Final Tune-up for Some, Rest for Others
The Golden Gophers will have several athletes sit out this weekend’s competitions to prepare of next week’s Big Ten Championships. Still other Gophers, especially the throwers, will use Friday’s meet as a final tune-up for the conference meet.
One More Chance to Go Home
Senior Derek Gearman wanted one more chance to compete as a Golden Gopher in front of his home-state fans and this Saturday he will get the chance. Gearman, a Lennox, S.D. native, will compete in the high jump at the Howard Wood Dakota Relays in Sioux Falls, S.D.
Buzard Slated to Run 400 Meters at Hamline
Gopher senior Aaron Buzard is entered in the 400-meter dash on Friday. The race will be four-time All-American’s last collegiate competition in his home state.
Relay Mates Run Individual Sprints
The four members of the Gophers’ 4x400-meter relay that regionally qualified at the Drake Relays - Sayfe Jassim, Walter Langkau, Jason Erickson and Aaron Buzard - are all expected to compete in the open 400 meters on Friday. Jassim and Erickson are also entered in the 200 meters.
If Throws Are Your Thing, Head to Bierman
The shot put, discus, javelin and hammer events will be contested at the Bierman Track on Friday. The Gophers have two senior hammer throwers, both who are headed to the NCAA Midwest Region Championships,in the field. Adam Schnaible and Chris Hudspith will have the chance to compete against former Gopher and school record holder Lynden Reder in the event. Another Gopher to watch at the meet is Aaron Studt. Studt is ranked second in the Big Ten in the shot put despite being a true freshman.
Antonio Vega Notches Provisional Time at Stanford
Golden Gopher distance runner Antonio Vega clocked an NCAA Championships provisional qualifying time of 29 minutes, 4.13 seconds in the 10,000-meter run late Sunday night at Stanford’s Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational. Vega’s time, which placed the Minnesota senior sixth in Section 2 of the event, is the eighth fastest in school history. Two events, the 10,000 meters and the decathlon, qualify athletes for the NCAA Championships using automatic and provisional standards instead of competing for a national berth at a region championship.
Puhl Shows Continued Improvement in the Steeplechase
Ben Puhl ran his first sub-9 minute steeplechase and bettered his regional qualifying mark by posting a time of 8:59.19 in the 3,000-meter event at the Cardinal Invitational. Puhl in now ranked 10th in the Midwest Region in the event.
Drake Relays Review
Friday, April 27 After a frustrating outdoor season of battling everything from the weather to injury, the Minnesota 4x400-meter relay finally put it all together on the blue oval of the Drake Relays on Friday, April 27. The Golden Gopher foursome of Sayfe Jassim, Walter Langkau, Jason Erickson and Aaron Buzard teamed for a season-best and NCAA Midwest Region qualifying time of 3 minutes, 8.28 seconds the fifth-fastest qualifying mark for Saturday’s final.
The Gophers’ 4x800-meter relay of Langkau, Logan Stroman, Hans Storvick and Todd Johnson placed sixth with a time of 7:29.70.
Derek Gearman posted the top individual finish for the Golden Gophers on Friday. Gearman placed fifth in the long jump with a leap of 24 feet, 5 3/4 inches, a region al qualifier and his second-best mark of the season.
Adam Schnaible placed seventh in the shot put with a throw of 55-9, his fourth Midwest Region qualifying mark this season.
Other Gophers competing were Ibrahim Kabia, who finished 12th in the 100-meter dash prelims with a time of 10.64 seconds. Ben Kampf was 15th in the 5,000 meters (14:42.26), while Justin Grunewald was 15th in the 10,000 meters (31:06.66).
Saturday, April 28 Minnesota senior Derek Gearman placed fourth in the triple jump at the Drake Relays, his second top-five finish of the weekend. Gearman landed a triple jump of 51 feet (51-0), bettering his season-long leap by nearly two feet. The Lennox, S.D., native finished fifth in the Drake Relays long jump competition on Friday.
The Golden Gopher 4x400-meter relay scratched from Saturday’s final after collecting a Midwest Region qualifying time on Friday. “We’re still a little banged up,” explained head coach Phil Lundin. “It was a case of not wanting to chance any further injury by going after a great time in the Drake final.”
Minnesota’s distance medley relay of Hans Storvick, Sayfe Jassim, Logan Stroman and David VanOrsdel placed eighth with a time of 9:58.48.
Gophers Win Seven Titles at Drake Alternative Meet
A large contingent of Golden Gophers competed in the Gustavus Adolphus Drake Alternative Meet on April 28 in St. Peter, Minn. Minnesota collected wins is seven events, led by Mike Linnemann, who captured titles in the 200 meters in a career-best time of 21.64 seconds and the 400-meter dash in 49.03 seconds.
Jerry Netland captured the win in the shot put with a throw of 53-1 1/2. Others winning events were Andy Bastian in the hammer (182-2), Elliott Esch in the pole vault (15-11), Raymond Blackledge in the triple jump (44-11 1/2) and Michael VanBeusekom in the 800 meters (1:56.45).
Hudspith Leads Gophers at Midweek Macalester Twilight Meet
Senior Chris Hudspith added his name to the list of Golden Gopher men’s track athletes qualified for the NCAA Midwest Region Championships by throwing a career-best effort of 185 feet, 6 inches in the hammer at the Macalester Twilight Meet on April 25 in St. Paul. Hudspith, one of the Golden Gopher team captains, jumps two spots from ninth to seventh on the Minnesota top-10 list in the event. He placed second at the meet, behind former Gopher Lynden Reder.
Another thrower, sophomore Jerry Netland, had a career night but did so in two events. Netland won the shot put with a heave of 53-5, posting a personal best for the second straight competition. He added a second-place showing in the discus with a career-best throw of 159-0.
Redshirt freshman Raymond Blackledge marked a career-best leap in winning the long jump with a distance of 22-2 1/4.
The Golden Gophers swept the top six spots in the 400-meter dash in a race that likely determined several relay positions for this weekend’s Drake Relays. Jason Erickson won the title with a time of 48.39 and was followed by Wole Adebayo (48.45) and Logan Stroman (48.80).
Two other Gophers collected top finishes. Luke Silovich won the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 14.79, while Joe Plencner placed first in the pole vault with height of 15-5 1/4.
Players Mentioned
