University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Head to NCAA Midwest Regional
11/13/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
| 2014 NCAA Midwest Regional | |||||||||||
| Date | Friday, Nov. 14, 2014 | 12 p.m. | ||||||||||
| Location | Newman Golf Course | Bradley University | Peoria, Ill. | ||||||||||
| Tickets | Admission is free. | ||||||||||
| Distance | Women: 6K, 12 p.m. | Men: 10K, 1 p.m. | ||||||||||
| Coverage | Meet Central | Results | USTFCCCA Regional Site | ||||||||||
| Notes | GopherSports.com | ||||||||||
Nov. 13, 2014
The University of Minnesota men's cross country team returns to action this Friday at the 2014 NCAA Midwest Regional in Peoria, Ill. Bradley University hosts this year's regional at Newman Golf Course.
New Blood for the Gophers
After graduating five seniors from last year's squad, Minnesota will bring a new crop of competitors to the regional meet in 2014. In similar fashion to the Big Ten competition earlier this month, the Gophers return three runners with regional experience in Adam Zutz (two-time competitor), Alex Brend and Christian Skaret.
Bartnik Earns First Team All-Big Ten Honors
Junior Aaron Bartnik has paced the Gophers in each of his last races starting with last year's Fall Finale, where the Eden Prairie, Minn., native won his collegiate debute. Bartnik blocked a personal eight-kilometer record of 23:52.6 at the 2014 Big Ten Cross Country Championship to finish seventh -- earning First Team All-Big Ten honors in the process. The accolade stands as Minnesota's first First Team All-Big Ten honor since 2010 (Ben Blankenship). Bartnik will make his NCAA debut on Friday with the NCAA Midwest Regional serving as his first career 10-kilometer race.
Zutz Stays Hot
Fellow junior Adam Zutz enters Friday's race as the Gophers' most-experienced competitor in the NCAA field, having ran in the regionals as a redshirt freshman in 2012 (46th, 31:28.76) and as a sophomore in 2013 (42nd, 31:19.2). The St. Francis, Minn., native has continued to push himself this season -- posting personal eight-kilometer records in each of his last three races including a 24:23.1 (33rd) at the 2014 Big Ten Cross Country Championship earlier this month. Zutz also set a new personal six-kilometer record in his runner-up finish at the Oz Memorial (19:05.0) to open the season, meaning the junior has ran a new personal record in each race this season.
Celebrating Gopher Cross Country History
The University of Minnesota celebrates a pair of notable cross country anniversaries during the 2014 season. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Gophers' 1914 Big Ten cross country title as well as the 50th anniversary of the team's 1964 Big Ten cross country title. The 1914 title represented Minnesota's second conference crown (1909) in just the seventh year of Big Ten competition while Fred Watson won his second of three straight individual Big Ten titles that year for Minnesota. Meanwhile, the 1964 title marked the Gophers' third conference title with then-head coach Roy Griak leading the team to the title in just his second year at the helm. Griak continues to work with the program and is in his 51st year with the Gophers.
Success Under Plasencia
Now in his 19th season at the helm of the Minnesota men's cross country program, Director of Men's Track & Field and Cross Country Steve Plasencia has continued to guide the Gophers program to successful season after successful season. During his 18-year tenure, the Gophers have earned 14 NCAA Championship bids as well as three NCAA regional titles. Plasencia has also coached the Gophers to a total of 12 All-America honors and 29 All-Big Ten honors. A two-time All-American for the Gophers, Plasencia still holds the school record for a 10-kilometer race.
Last Time Out - Fall Finale
The Maroon & Gold are coming off the program's third team title of the year at last weekend's Fall Finale in Collegeville, Minn. Minnesota paced the seven-team, eight-kilometer race with a perfect score of 15. Matthew Jergenson led the way for the Gophers with an individual title -- his first as a Gopher -- and a time of 25:13. Minnesota has now posted three-straight individual champions at the meet (Blayne Dulian in 2012, Aaron Bartnik in 2013). Matt Welch came in second (25:25) followed by Cole O'Brien (25:38), Derek Wiebke (25:41) and Eric Colvin (26:21).
Up Next - NCAA Championships
A solid performance by the Gophers at Friday's NCAA Midwest Regional could earn the Maroon & Gold a berth to the NCAA Championships next Saturday, Nov. 22 in Terre Haute, Ind. The two top teams from each of the nine regionals automatically advance to next week's competition while the remaining 13 teams are selected based on head-to-head performances against teams already in the NCAA championships field. Additionally, the top four individual finishers in each region who did not make it to NCAAs as part of a team will also be invited to the meet.
Players Mentioned
