University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Run to a Perfect Finish in Sacramento
9/10/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
Sept. 10, 2011
The Golden Gopher men's cross country team was clicking on all cylinders today at the Hornet Jamboree, as they won the opening race of the season with a perfect score of 15 points. Minnesota finished with the top five runners in the morning 4-mile race hosted by Sacramento State University.
Junior Pieter Gagnon, senior Hassan Mead and sophomore Andrew Larsen, took the top spots after finishing together at 19:28.
Sophomore Erik Truedson ran a great race as well finishing in fourth at 19:33 and red shirt freshman Marcus Paulson clocked in at 19:34 for fifth place.
"I thought overall we had a pretty good performance," Gopher head coach Steve Plasencia said. "I wanted the guys to stay in a pack for the first 2 and half miles and they did just that."
Sophomore Steve Sulkin placed eighth with a time of 19:42. Seniors Bob Nicolls finished in 16th (19:53), Paul Hilson came in at 18th (20:01) and Sean Olson crossed the line in 21st (20:11) to round out the Gopher lineup.
"The guys have worked hard all summer long and they certainly showed that today," Plasencia said. "I think we are in good shape to have a good season as long as we can stay healthy."
Fresno State finished second on the day with 91 points and host Sacramento State finished with 93 points to round out the top three.
The Gophers will have a week off before competing at home on Saturday September 24 at the 26th Roy Griak Invitational at Les Bolstad Golf Course.
Players Mentioned
