University of Minnesota Athletics
Three Gophers Hit NCAA Qualifying Marks in Heptathlon
1/30/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
Minnesota flexed its muscle in the heptathlon at Iowa State’s Bill Bergan Invitational in Ames, Iowa, finishing with all three Golden Gopher competitors notching NCAA Championships qualifying marks.
R.J. McGinnis led the charge placing second with an NCAA automatic qualifying score of 5,753, a career high and the second-best heptathlon score in Gopher history. McGinnis was the leader through six events before Missouri’s Nick Adcock slipped into first place edging McGinnis by 2.43 seconds in the final event, the 1,000-meter run. Adcock closed the gap with an effort of 15-3 in the pole vault, then clocked a time of 2:42.73 in the 1,000 meters. McGinnis cleared 14-7 1/4 and posted a time of 2:44.30 in the 1,000 meters.
McGinnis, the defending Big Ten heptathlon champion, recorded personal bests in four events during the competition. He cleared 6-8 3/4 in the high jump on Thursday, then notched bests in all three events on Friday. McGinnis was timed at 8.18 seconds in the 60-meter high hurdles, before continuing with top performances in the pole vault and the 1,000 meters.
Spandl moved from fifth-place after day one to a third-place finish with an NCAA provisional qualifying score of 5,472 points. He used a leap of 16 feet, 10 3/4 inches in the pole vault to score 957 points to jump up in the standings then concluded his heptathlon with a career-best time in the 1,000 meters of 2:48.96. Spandl’s tally ranks sixth in Gopher history.
Schwecke also collected a personal-best score of 5,471 points with his NCAA provisional qualifier, finishing fourth. The Gopher junior led after two events, and though he slipped to a fourth-place finish, posted a strong finish in the pole vault (14-3 1/4) and 1,000 meters (2:47.47).
Minnesota now has four heptathletes on the list of NCAA qualifiers. Jack Szmanda posted an NCAA provisional qualifying score in winning the Jack Johnson Classic title last weekend.
The Bill Bergan Invitational continues on Saturday.
R.J. McGinnis led the charge placing second with an NCAA automatic qualifying score of 5,753, a career high and the second-best heptathlon score in Gopher history. McGinnis was the leader through six events before Missouri’s Nick Adcock slipped into first place edging McGinnis by 2.43 seconds in the final event, the 1,000-meter run. Adcock closed the gap with an effort of 15-3 in the pole vault, then clocked a time of 2:42.73 in the 1,000 meters. McGinnis cleared 14-7 1/4 and posted a time of 2:44.30 in the 1,000 meters.
McGinnis, the defending Big Ten heptathlon champion, recorded personal bests in four events during the competition. He cleared 6-8 3/4 in the high jump on Thursday, then notched bests in all three events on Friday. McGinnis was timed at 8.18 seconds in the 60-meter high hurdles, before continuing with top performances in the pole vault and the 1,000 meters.
Spandl moved from fifth-place after day one to a third-place finish with an NCAA provisional qualifying score of 5,472 points. He used a leap of 16 feet, 10 3/4 inches in the pole vault to score 957 points to jump up in the standings then concluded his heptathlon with a career-best time in the 1,000 meters of 2:48.96. Spandl’s tally ranks sixth in Gopher history.
Schwecke also collected a personal-best score of 5,471 points with his NCAA provisional qualifier, finishing fourth. The Gopher junior led after two events, and though he slipped to a fourth-place finish, posted a strong finish in the pole vault (14-3 1/4) and 1,000 meters (2:47.47).
Minnesota now has four heptathletes on the list of NCAA qualifiers. Jack Szmanda posted an NCAA provisional qualifying score in winning the Jack Johnson Classic title last weekend.
The Bill Bergan Invitational continues on Saturday.
Players Mentioned
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