University of Minnesota Athletics
Mead an All-American, Gophers Place 24th at NCAAs
11/23/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
Hassan Mead captured All-America honors with a 16th-place finish to lead the Minnesota men’s cross country team to a 24th-place showing at the NCAA Cross Country Championships in Terre Haute, Ind., on Monday. Mead joins Chris Rombough as the only three-time NCAA cross country All-Americans in Golden Gopher history.
The Gopher junior, who won both the Big Ten and NCAA Midwest Region titles this season, covered the 10-kilometer LaVern Gibson Championships course in a time of 29 minutes, 50.7 seconds. While Liberty’s Samuel Chelanga ran alone at the front of the pack and went on to win in an impressive time of 28:41.3, Mead battled among the leaders of the trail pack. Midway through the race, Mead was in as high as sixth place.
The quick pace caused Mead to struggle a bit in the second half of the race and lose a little ground but never enough to put his All-America finish in jeopardy.
“Hassan ran a good race today,” said Golden Gopher Steve Plasencia, who has led the Gophers to 12 NCAA Championships appearance in his 14 years at his alma mater. “He went out hard with the leaders and by the end of the race there was nothing left in the tank. Hassan had a great season.”
The Gophers scored 493 points for their 24th-place finish, just 11 points away from another top-20 finish in the national meet.
“I’m pleased overall with how we performed, but when I found out that a top 20 finish was that close, it kind of tarnished it a bit,” added Plasencia. “Our top four runners were consistent all season but we could never solidify our lineup at the fifth spot. That made a difference again today. It would have been nice to get that top-20 finish.”
Junior Ben Blankenship was the Gophers’ second finisher, 116th overall, running a time of 31:05.2. Senior Matt Barrett ran his final collegiate race and placed 120th in a time of 31:07.8. Completing the Gopher scoring was redshirt freshman Pieter Gagnon (135th, 31:15.1) and junior Mike McFarland (185th, 32:32.7). Other Gophers competing were freshman Derek Storkel (228th, 32:57.3) and sophomore Sean Olson (229th, 32:59.7).
Oklahoma State landed four runners in the top 25 to win the national title with 127 points. Oregon was second with 143, followed by Alabama in third with 173. Stanford, ranked No. 1 heading into the race, struggled and placed 10th.
2009 NCAA Cross Country Championships
Monday, Nov. 23, 2009
LaVern Gibson Championship Course – 10K
Terre Haute, Ind.
Team Results
1 Oklahoma State 7-8-11-24-77-(80)-(123) 127
2 Oregon 17-23-25-27-51-(83)-(145) 143
3 Alabama 18-21-22-39-73-(94)-(205) 173
4 Northern Arizona 1-3-49-62-75-(118)-(161) 190
5 William & Mary 15-30-35-45-101-(167)-(176) 226
7 Wisconsin 26-42-63-76-114-(120)-(160) 321
21 Ohio State 28-72-115-133-135-(184)-(199) 483
24 Minnesota 14-92-96-106-185-(192)-(193) 493
31 Michigan State 108-125-130-136-155-(173)-(178) 654
Top 10 Individuals
1 Samuel Chelanga (Liberty) 28:41.3
2 David McNeill (Northern Arizona) 29:06.5
3 Chris Derrick (Stanford) 29:14.8
4 Barnabas Kirui (Mississippi) 29:24.1
5 Jordan Chipangama (Northern Arizona) 29:31.1
6 Dorian Ulrey (Arkansas) 29:37.9
7 Brandon Bethke (Arizona State) 29:38.3
8 Andres Bumbalough (Georgetown) 29:39.1
9 Ryan Vail (Oklahoma State) 29:40.7
10 Colby Lowe (Oklahoma State) 29:42.4
Golden Gopher Finishers
16 (14) Hassan Mead 29:50.7
116 (92) Ben Blankenship 31:05.1
120 (96) Matt Barrett 31:07.8
135 (106) Pieter Gagnon 31:15.1
221 (185) Mike McFarland 32:32.7
228 (192) Derek Storkel 32:57.3
229 (193) Sean Olson 32:59.7
The Gopher junior, who won both the Big Ten and NCAA Midwest Region titles this season, covered the 10-kilometer LaVern Gibson Championships course in a time of 29 minutes, 50.7 seconds. While Liberty’s Samuel Chelanga ran alone at the front of the pack and went on to win in an impressive time of 28:41.3, Mead battled among the leaders of the trail pack. Midway through the race, Mead was in as high as sixth place.
The quick pace caused Mead to struggle a bit in the second half of the race and lose a little ground but never enough to put his All-America finish in jeopardy.
“Hassan ran a good race today,” said Golden Gopher Steve Plasencia, who has led the Gophers to 12 NCAA Championships appearance in his 14 years at his alma mater. “He went out hard with the leaders and by the end of the race there was nothing left in the tank. Hassan had a great season.”
The Gophers scored 493 points for their 24th-place finish, just 11 points away from another top-20 finish in the national meet.
“I’m pleased overall with how we performed, but when I found out that a top 20 finish was that close, it kind of tarnished it a bit,” added Plasencia. “Our top four runners were consistent all season but we could never solidify our lineup at the fifth spot. That made a difference again today. It would have been nice to get that top-20 finish.”
Junior Ben Blankenship was the Gophers’ second finisher, 116th overall, running a time of 31:05.2. Senior Matt Barrett ran his final collegiate race and placed 120th in a time of 31:07.8. Completing the Gopher scoring was redshirt freshman Pieter Gagnon (135th, 31:15.1) and junior Mike McFarland (185th, 32:32.7). Other Gophers competing were freshman Derek Storkel (228th, 32:57.3) and sophomore Sean Olson (229th, 32:59.7).
Oklahoma State landed four runners in the top 25 to win the national title with 127 points. Oregon was second with 143, followed by Alabama in third with 173. Stanford, ranked No. 1 heading into the race, struggled and placed 10th.
2009 NCAA Cross Country Championships
Monday, Nov. 23, 2009
LaVern Gibson Championship Course – 10K
Terre Haute, Ind.
Team Results
1 Oklahoma State 7-8-11-24-77-(80)-(123) 127
2 Oregon 17-23-25-27-51-(83)-(145) 143
3 Alabama 18-21-22-39-73-(94)-(205) 173
4 Northern Arizona 1-3-49-62-75-(118)-(161) 190
5 William & Mary 15-30-35-45-101-(167)-(176) 226
7 Wisconsin 26-42-63-76-114-(120)-(160) 321
21 Ohio State 28-72-115-133-135-(184)-(199) 483
24 Minnesota 14-92-96-106-185-(192)-(193) 493
31 Michigan State 108-125-130-136-155-(173)-(178) 654
Top 10 Individuals
1 Samuel Chelanga (Liberty) 28:41.3
2 David McNeill (Northern Arizona) 29:06.5
3 Chris Derrick (Stanford) 29:14.8
4 Barnabas Kirui (Mississippi) 29:24.1
5 Jordan Chipangama (Northern Arizona) 29:31.1
6 Dorian Ulrey (Arkansas) 29:37.9
7 Brandon Bethke (Arizona State) 29:38.3
8 Andres Bumbalough (Georgetown) 29:39.1
9 Ryan Vail (Oklahoma State) 29:40.7
10 Colby Lowe (Oklahoma State) 29:42.4
Golden Gopher Finishers
16 (14) Hassan Mead 29:50.7
116 (92) Ben Blankenship 31:05.1
120 (96) Matt Barrett 31:07.8
135 (106) Pieter Gagnon 31:15.1
221 (185) Mike McFarland 32:32.7
228 (192) Derek Storkel 32:57.3
229 (193) Sean Olson 32:59.7
Players Mentioned
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