University of Minnesota Athletics
Big Ten Track Championships - Day-One Preview
2/27/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
Welcome to the campus of the University of Minnesota and the University Fieldhouse for day one of the 2010 Big Ten Conference Men’s Indoor Track & Field Championships. The University of Minnesota is excited to welcome the finest men’s track & field student-athletes in the Big Ten and their fans to the Twin Cities.
On Sunday, after 18 hard-fought events, the 2010 Big Ten team champion will be crowned. The host Golden Gophers are the defending champion after capturing five individual titles and dominating the meet held at Penn State a year ago. Minnesota on paper is the favorite to repeat as the Gophers’ arsenal includes three Big Ten individual champions and a total of 87 of their 135 points from the 2009 meet return.
The Big Ten Championships, however, are always difficult to predict. Perennial contender Wisconsin, who won eight consecutive crowns up to 2008, seems to have reloaded and will once again raise the level of competition for the team crown to the highest level. Amazingly, Wisconsin isn’t even among the top-25 ranked teams in the nation. If you use the ranking as an indicator of success in this meet, No. 7 Indiana and No. 11 Penn State would get the favorable nod as favorites to claim Big Ten gold. Ohio State is certainly a fifth team that will have something to say about who hoists the trophy on Sunday as well.
The first day of the Championships will see five Big Ten event champions crowned, three in the field events and two on the track. The first four events of the heptathlon will kick off the Big Ten Championships, starting with the 60-meter dash.
The long jump competition will be an exciting one with six placewinners from a year ago returning led by defending champion senior Rayme Mackinson of Wisconsin. Mackinson was the 2008 runner-up before stepping up to the top of the award stand with a leap of 23-7 1/4 a year ago. Mackinson is seeded fourth entering the Championships. The top seed heading into the Big Ten meet goes to Michigan sophomore Robert Peddler. Peddler placed third in the long jump at both the indoor and outdoor Big Ten Championships in 2009. A rookie leaper to watch is Ohio State freshman Korbin Smith.
Look for the shot put to be a battle between defending champion Aaron Studt of Minnesota and Penn State junior Joe Kovacs. Studt won both the indoor and outdoor Big Ten shot put titles last season and was honored as the 2009 Big Ten Field Event Athlete of the Indoor Championships. He went on to NCAA runner-up honors as well. Kovacs, however, owns the top seed with an effort of 63-3 1/4. Penn State has a chance to score big points in this event as junior Blake Eston is seeded third coming in. Michigan’s Sean Pruitt, the defending champion in the weight throw, is seeded fourth and placed eighth in the shot put last season.
The pole vault may very well be the event to watch in the first day of competition. Indiana senior Jeffrey Coover is the defending champion and the top seed having cleared an NCAA automatic qualifying height of 18-0 1/2 this season. Minnesota junior Ben Peterson, the 2008 Big Ten champion who missed the 2009 season with an injury, is back and seeded second. Overall seven of eight placewinners from 2009 return: runner-up Minnesota’s Joe Plencner and Purdue’s Eric Sparks among them. Coover, Peterson and Sparks have all cleared over 17-5 this season.
We turn our attention to the day-on finals on the track – the 3,000 meters and the distance medley relay.
Minnesota took a major hit with the news that All-American Hassan Mead will miss the Big Ten Championships with an Achilles tendon injury. Mead was the defending Big Ten champion in both the 3,000 and 5,000 meters.
With Mead on the sidelines, Wisconsin’s Craig Miller is the favorite in the 3,000 meters. Miller ran a sensational time, an NCAA qualifying time, of 7:49.94 at the Washington Husky Classic earlier this season to mark the top seed coming into the Big Ten meet. He placed second in the event a year ago and went on to NCAA runner-up accord in the mile. The Gophers will look to senior Chris Rombough to come up big in Mead’s absence. Rombough earned All-America honors in the 3,000 meters last season and ran a school-record time of 7:54.57 at the Husky Classic. Rombough placed third at Big Tens last year. Indiana’s Andrew Poore finished fourth in 2009 and should be in the mix, as well as, Ohio State senior Jeff See. See has earned All-America honors in the mile and 1,500 meters during his Buckeye career.
The distance medley relay will conclude the first day’s competition. The race is 4,000 meters in length and has legs of 1,200 meters, 400 meters, 800 meters and 1,600 meters so it’s more a display of middle-distance talent. Indiana has run the fastest time coming into the meet at 9:38.39, a full 10 seconds quicker than second-seeded Illinois. A foursome from Michigan captured the Big Ten title in 2009.
The heptathlon is an event in which Minnesota hopes to tally huge points in once again. The Gophers swept the top three places a year ago and all three heptathletes return in champion R.J. McGinnis, runner-up Joey Schwecke and third-place finisher Brock Spandl. McGinnis owns the top seed with an NCAA automatic qualifying score of 5,753 points. The Gophers also have redshirt freshman Jack Szmanda competing and he owns the sixth seed. The Michigan Wolverines’ tandem of Frank Shortwell (seeded second) and Cliff Miller (seeded fifth) has their sights set on ruining the Gophers’ plans. Shortwell is a two-time Big Ten multi-event champion, including the 2008 heptathlon crown.
The heptathlon a test of endurance and strength over the course of seven events and two day will contest the 60 meters, the long jump, the shot put and the high jump on Saturday. The heptathlon will conclude on Sunday with the 60-meter hurdles, the pole vault and the 1,000-meter run.
On Sunday, after 18 hard-fought events, the 2010 Big Ten team champion will be crowned. The host Golden Gophers are the defending champion after capturing five individual titles and dominating the meet held at Penn State a year ago. Minnesota on paper is the favorite to repeat as the Gophers’ arsenal includes three Big Ten individual champions and a total of 87 of their 135 points from the 2009 meet return.
The Big Ten Championships, however, are always difficult to predict. Perennial contender Wisconsin, who won eight consecutive crowns up to 2008, seems to have reloaded and will once again raise the level of competition for the team crown to the highest level. Amazingly, Wisconsin isn’t even among the top-25 ranked teams in the nation. If you use the ranking as an indicator of success in this meet, No. 7 Indiana and No. 11 Penn State would get the favorable nod as favorites to claim Big Ten gold. Ohio State is certainly a fifth team that will have something to say about who hoists the trophy on Sunday as well.
The first day of the Championships will see five Big Ten event champions crowned, three in the field events and two on the track. The first four events of the heptathlon will kick off the Big Ten Championships, starting with the 60-meter dash.
The long jump competition will be an exciting one with six placewinners from a year ago returning led by defending champion senior Rayme Mackinson of Wisconsin. Mackinson was the 2008 runner-up before stepping up to the top of the award stand with a leap of 23-7 1/4 a year ago. Mackinson is seeded fourth entering the Championships. The top seed heading into the Big Ten meet goes to Michigan sophomore Robert Peddler. Peddler placed third in the long jump at both the indoor and outdoor Big Ten Championships in 2009. A rookie leaper to watch is Ohio State freshman Korbin Smith.
Look for the shot put to be a battle between defending champion Aaron Studt of Minnesota and Penn State junior Joe Kovacs. Studt won both the indoor and outdoor Big Ten shot put titles last season and was honored as the 2009 Big Ten Field Event Athlete of the Indoor Championships. He went on to NCAA runner-up honors as well. Kovacs, however, owns the top seed with an effort of 63-3 1/4. Penn State has a chance to score big points in this event as junior Blake Eston is seeded third coming in. Michigan’s Sean Pruitt, the defending champion in the weight throw, is seeded fourth and placed eighth in the shot put last season.
The pole vault may very well be the event to watch in the first day of competition. Indiana senior Jeffrey Coover is the defending champion and the top seed having cleared an NCAA automatic qualifying height of 18-0 1/2 this season. Minnesota junior Ben Peterson, the 2008 Big Ten champion who missed the 2009 season with an injury, is back and seeded second. Overall seven of eight placewinners from 2009 return: runner-up Minnesota’s Joe Plencner and Purdue’s Eric Sparks among them. Coover, Peterson and Sparks have all cleared over 17-5 this season.
We turn our attention to the day-on finals on the track – the 3,000 meters and the distance medley relay.
Minnesota took a major hit with the news that All-American Hassan Mead will miss the Big Ten Championships with an Achilles tendon injury. Mead was the defending Big Ten champion in both the 3,000 and 5,000 meters.
With Mead on the sidelines, Wisconsin’s Craig Miller is the favorite in the 3,000 meters. Miller ran a sensational time, an NCAA qualifying time, of 7:49.94 at the Washington Husky Classic earlier this season to mark the top seed coming into the Big Ten meet. He placed second in the event a year ago and went on to NCAA runner-up accord in the mile. The Gophers will look to senior Chris Rombough to come up big in Mead’s absence. Rombough earned All-America honors in the 3,000 meters last season and ran a school-record time of 7:54.57 at the Husky Classic. Rombough placed third at Big Tens last year. Indiana’s Andrew Poore finished fourth in 2009 and should be in the mix, as well as, Ohio State senior Jeff See. See has earned All-America honors in the mile and 1,500 meters during his Buckeye career.
The distance medley relay will conclude the first day’s competition. The race is 4,000 meters in length and has legs of 1,200 meters, 400 meters, 800 meters and 1,600 meters so it’s more a display of middle-distance talent. Indiana has run the fastest time coming into the meet at 9:38.39, a full 10 seconds quicker than second-seeded Illinois. A foursome from Michigan captured the Big Ten title in 2009.
The heptathlon is an event in which Minnesota hopes to tally huge points in once again. The Gophers swept the top three places a year ago and all three heptathletes return in champion R.J. McGinnis, runner-up Joey Schwecke and third-place finisher Brock Spandl. McGinnis owns the top seed with an NCAA automatic qualifying score of 5,753 points. The Gophers also have redshirt freshman Jack Szmanda competing and he owns the sixth seed. The Michigan Wolverines’ tandem of Frank Shortwell (seeded second) and Cliff Miller (seeded fifth) has their sights set on ruining the Gophers’ plans. Shortwell is a two-time Big Ten multi-event champion, including the 2008 heptathlon crown.
The heptathlon a test of endurance and strength over the course of seven events and two day will contest the 60 meters, the long jump, the shot put and the high jump on Saturday. The heptathlon will conclude on Sunday with the 60-meter hurdles, the pole vault and the 1,000-meter run.
Players Mentioned
JS
/ Men's Track & Field
DIS
/ Men's Track & Field
PV
/ Men's Track & FieldPV
/ Men's Track & Field
DIS
/ Men's Track & Field
JU
/ Men's Track & Field
PV
/ Men's Track & Field
THR
/ Men's Track & Field
PV
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