University of Minnesota Athletics
Gopher Men's Track Defends Big Ten Title Again
5/16/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
Minnesota tallied 145 points, to 124 by runner-up Wisconsin and 115 for third-place Ohio State. The Gophers scored two athletes in the triple jump and 5,000-meter run providing a insurmountable 20-point lead over the Badgers by the last event, the 4x400-meter relay.
After three Gophers celebrated individual crowns – Micah Hegerle in the hammer, Ben Peterson in the pole vault and R.J. McGinnis in the decathlon – in the first two days of competition, it was the sheer number of placewinners that pushed the Gophers over the top on championship Sunday.
The triple jump and 5,000-meter run were pressure-packed events. The Gophers have built a 63-point lead heading into Sunday. Wisconsin won the 4x100-meter relay and grabbed the top two spots in the 1,500-meter run and quickly closed the gap on Sunday. The Gophers countered with three important runner-up performances by Trey Davis in the shot put, Raymond Blackledge in the triple jump and Chris Rombough in the 5,000-meter run, as well as a big scoring output in the 800 meters.
After placing third in the discus on Saturday, Davis enjoyed another career day on Sunday in the shot put. Davis landed a career-best throw of 60-0 1/2 on his third throw of prelims and held the lead until the fifth round of throws in the final. Davis’ toss ranks eighth in school history.
Blackledge, a fifth-year senior, sailed past the 50-foot mark for the first time in his career. He was eighth after the prelims, jumped to third after his first attempt of the final and then up to second with his final jump of 50-2, the eighth-best leap in Minnesota history. Oladipo Fagbemi matched Blackledge’s distance of 50-2, but took third since Blackledge’s second-best jump was farther.
Rombough’s performance in the 5,000 meters was dramatic since at early stages of the race four Wisconsin Badgers were at the front of the pack. Rombough ran a tough, strategic race clocking a time of 13 minutes, 52.48 seconds outlasting each and every one of the Badgers. Rombough also placed second in the 10,000-meter run on Friday. Mike Torchia added a sixth-place finish in the 5,000 meters for the Gophers with a time of 14:04.02.
Minnesota picked up 14 points in the 800-meter run. Travis Burkstrand (1:49.30) edged teammate Harun Abda (1:49.36) for third place. David Pachuta was the third scorer, placing sixth in 1:49.67. Burkstrand’s and Pachuta’s times were career bests.
Ben Blankenship finished third in the 1,500-meter run, helping to outset the Badgers’ outburst in the event. Blankenship posted a time of 3:44.21.
Both the Gophers’ 4x100-meter and 4x400-meter relays contributed fourth-place finishes. The 4x100 relay of Sean King, Cameron Boy, Ryan Todhunter and Fagbemi ran a time of 41.43 seconds. The 4x400 relay of John Holton, Logan Stroman, Pachuta and Abda ran a seaon-best time of 3:08.66.
Paul Hoplin added a fourth-place showing in the javelin with a throw of 206-5.
“I’m proud of this team,” said Golden Gopher head coach Steve Plasencia. “We had some great performances from a lot of people this weekend. What can I say, we did it again!”
Players Mentioned
