University of Minnesota Athletics
Gopher Men's Track Seeks Three-Peat
2/24/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
Golden Gopher Men's Track This Week:
Big Ten Indoor Track & Field Championships
Saturday-Sunday
Feb. 26 - 27, 2011
Hosted by Illinois
University of Illinois Armory
Champaign, Ill.
2011 Big Ten Indoor Championships
The Minnesota men’s track & field team travels to Champaign, Ill. to compete in the 2011 Big Ten Indoor Track & Field Championships, Feb. 26-27 in the University of Illinois Armory. The action gets underway on Saturday with the running of the heptathlon 60-meter dash at 10 a.m. Finals will be held in five events on the first day. On Sunday, the heptathlon continues with the 60-meter hurdles at 10 a.m. Finals will be held in the remaining 12 events on the second day of the Championships.
BTN Televises Big Ten Indoor Track Championships
The Big Ten Network will televise an hour-long highlight show from Big Ten Men’s Indoor Track & Field Championships on a tape-delayed basis airing on Saturday, March 12. at 1 p.m. CT.
Big Ten Championships History
Minnesota is the two-time defending team champion, winning its third overall team crown a year ago. The Gophers’ first Big Ten Championships Indoor title was in 1998.
Michigan has won the most indoor titles with 26, but has not captured a title since 1994. Wisconsin had won eight straight until dethroned by Minnesota in 2009.
Gophers Bring Experienced Squad Into Meet
The Golden Gophers will bring an experienced squad to the Championships once again this season. Minnesota returns 90.5 of the 160.5 points scored a year ago.
Three Gophers Looking to Repeat
Minnesota celebrated five event champions in winning the 2010 title, three of those champs return looking to defend their Big Ten crowns. Senior pole vaulter Ben Peterson tops the list. Peterson has two indoor title on his resume (2008 and 2010). He swept the pole vault last season adding the outdoor title as well. The Gophers’ other defending champions are in the middle distances with senior Ben Blankenship in the mile and sophomore Harun Abda in the 600 meters. Another Gopher competing with Big Ten titles is Hassan Mead who won both the 3,000 and 5,000 meters in 2009 and is back after missing the 2010 season with an injury.
Minnesota Looks to Keep the Streak Going
The Golden Gophers won both the indoor and outdoor team Big Ten titles in 2009 and 2010. Minnesota is looking to win five straight titles for the first time in school history. Wisconsin is the last team to win three indoor titles consecutively as part of eight straight from 2000 to 2008.
A Long Road Back
Minnesota’s Hassan Mead will compete this weekend after missing both the 2010 indoor/outdoor track seasons and the 2010 cross country due to various health issues. Mead is a six-time career All-American, three in track.
Hegerle Can’t Weight for Big Tens
Sophomore Micah Hegerle was a surprise champion last spring outdoor in the hammer. This season, Hegerle has become one of the premier weight throwers not only in the Big Ten but the nation as well. He comes into the Big Ten meet ranked number-one in the Conference and No. 2 in the nation with a Minnesota record-setting throw of 71-3 1/2. Hegerle has been honored as the Big Ten Field Event Athlete of the Week twice this season.
Versatile Blankenship Chases Mile Title
Senior Ben Blankenship has shown extreme versatility in his running talent. The defending Big Ten champion in the mile and an NCAA track competitor in the mile and 1,500 meters, Blankenship earned All-America cross country honors last fall. This indoor track season, Blankenship owns an NCAA automatic qualifying time in the 3,000 meters with a school-record time of 7:52.52.
18-foot Milestone in Peterson’s Sights
Senior Ben Peterson is a three-time Big Ten champion with indoor titles in 2008 and 2010 and the outdoor title in 2010. Peterson comes into the meet with the top vault in the Big Ten this season of 17-9. Peterson has his sights on bettering the 18-foot milestone during his Gopher career. He has had two attempts at the height in competition, the latest at the Iowa State Classic earlier this month.
Abda a Suprise No Longer
Sophomore Harun Abda may have surprised some people when he won the 600 meters as a true freshman a year ago. This season, Abda is squarely on the radar as one of the top young middle distance runners in the Big Ten. Abda owns the top seed coming into Big Tens with a time of 1:17.85.
Heptathlon Power
Minnesota has owned the heptathlon the last two season sweeping the top three places in the Big Ten Championships the last two seasons. Two-time champion R.J. McGinnis has graduated but the Gophers still have plenty of scoring power in the event. Seniors Brock Spandl and Joey Schwecke and sophomore Jack Szmanda will be the top performers for the Gophers.
Events to Watch for the Gophers
Minnesota needs to score big in these events to contend for the defense of its Big Ten title.
The heptathlon. Minnesota has scored big points (24 in 2010 and 25 in 2009) in the heptathlon. Jack Szmanda was the Big Ten runner-up a year ago and will be competing in his first heptathlon of the season. Brock Spandl was second in 2009 and third in 2010. Spandl is seeded second in the Big Ten with a score of 5,645 from the Bill Bergan Invitational. Schwecke has been collecting personal bests in several events in preparation for Big Tens. He scored 5,551 at the Bergan Invite and is seeded fourth coming into the Conference meet.
The pole vault. The pole vault was another great event for the Gophers last season coming away with 23.5 points. Ben Peterson and Brock Spandl have both bettered 17 feet multiple times this season and are ranked 1-2 in the Big Ten.
The throws. The weight throw holds a lot of potential for the Gophers with top-seeded Micah Hegerle leading the way. With a top throw of 71-3 1/2, he is the only Big Ten thrower to top 70-feet mark this season. Quentin Mege, Tyler Kleinhuizen and Trey Davis have all betted 60 feet and could figure in the scoring as well. Trey Davis is the Gophers’ best bet to score in the shot put. Davis was the outdoor shot put runner-up.
The middle distance events. The Golden Gophers have returning champions in Harun Ab da (600m) and Ben Blankenship (mile). The question here is how can the Gopher depth come into play. Sophomore Nick Hutton has enjoyed a great indoor season. Also look for the Gophers to get some points from the likes of Travis Burkstrand, Andy Richardson, David Pachuta and Max Hanson.
Gophers Ranked No. 20 in USTFCCCA National Poll
Minnesota is ranked No. 20 in the Feb. 22 USTFCCCA National Poll. The Big Ten has six teams ranked: Indiana (No. 3), Penn State (No. 10), Iowa (No. 15), Wisconsin (No. 16) ,Minnesota and Ohio State (No. 22).
Head Coach Steve Plasencia
Minnesota’s Steve Plasencia is in his third season as the Golden Gopher head coach after leading the Gophers to a pair of Big Ten sweeps in his first two seasons as the head coach. Plasencia has served the Gophers’ head men’s cross country coach for 15 season and added the title of head track coach in June of 2008. Plasencia is just the fourth Minnesota head track coach since 1937.
The 2011 Team Captains
The Golden Gopher team captains for the 2011 season are Sean Duling, Joey Schwecke, Hassan Mead and Aaron Studt.
Players Mentioned
