University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Head to Wisconsin for Border Battle
1/23/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
| Minnesota vs. Wisconsin Dual | |||||||||||
| Date | Saturday, Jan. 24, 2015 | ||||||||||
| Location | The Shell, Madison, Wis. | ||||||||||
| Meet Info | Meet Info | Schedule | Heat Sheets | ||||||||||
| Time | 11 a.m. Field events | 12 p.m. Running events | ||||||||||
| Coverage | Live Results | @GopherMCCTF | ||||||||||
MINNEAPOLIS (GopherSports.com) -- The University of Minnesota men's track & field team returns to action on Saturday with a rare dual meet against Wisconsin in Madison.
Points from Plasencia
On competing in a dual...
"I know the guys in our program are really excited this. The fact that we go up against a team one-to-one and come out with a score and a winner and a loser - it's a little different than the way track & field has evolved over time. It's more about hitting marks with 40 teams at a competition. This small kind of competition is great. You might not want to do it for every meet, but it's definitely something that the sport is moving back towards at least at the collegiate level. And I think it's a good move."
On the Minnesota/Wisconsin rivalry...
"Competing in a dual is new for all of us really, so we're all pretty excited to see how things go this year. For as long as I've been here, we've had a great rivalry with Wisconsin. Both programs have had some great teams and won Big Ten titles, so the history between the two programs over the last 15 or 20 years makes this a really interesting matchup. These are two quality programs and to have them meet head-to-head in a rivalry will be really special. The mantra around here has been "Beat the Badgers," and I'm sure Wisconsin is saying the same thing about us. I heard we are the upside down "W" over there. I expect this to be a relatively close scoring competition."
On competing in the last dual against Wisconsin in 1978...
"That was a long time ago. There were so many dual meets backs then that the concept of running guys for points at dual meets somewhat inhibited a peaking process in prepping for the end of the season. So the fulcrum switched completely and we went completely away from dual meets. I think as track & field tries to define itself as a sport among everything else that's out there, there will be a bit of a drift back to this kind of one-on-one performance. I don't think it will be an every week occurrence, but I do think it's exciting for our program and our fans."
Last Time Out -- Minnesota Open
Minnesota picked up three titles last week in limited competition at the Minnesota Open.
The Gophers topped the weight throw competition with the top two competitors in Justin Barber and Gian Ferritti - both of whom hit personal records. Barber won the individual title at 21.14 meters (69-04 ft.) while Ferretti came in second at 20.79 meters (68-03 ft.).
In the men's shot put, the Gophers posted the top two finishers and three of the top four. Luke Johnson paced the event with a new personal record of 17.41 meters (57-01.5 ft.) with Mark Jennings following closely as the runner up with a toss of 17.37 meters (57-00.00 ft.). Bryan Bjerk finished third in the event at 15.57 meters (51-01.00 ft.).
Minnesota also dominated the pole vault behind Logan Markuson's winning height of 4.88 meters (16-00 ft.). Unattached competitors Tyler Tappe (4.88 meters, 16-00 ft.) and Glen Harold (4.88 meters, 16-00 ft.) finished second and third while Jamie Crum finished eighth for Minnesota at 4.18 meters (13-08.5 ft.) and Ben Holcomb came in 10th at 3.58 meters (11-09.00 ft.).
Barber, Jennings, Dulian to Serve as Captains
Three seniors will serve as captains for the 2015 campaign -- Justin Barber, Blayne Dulian and Mark Jennings.
"As a program, we are very proud to name Mark Jennings, Blayne Dulian and Justin Barber as our team captains for the upcoming season," Plasencia said. "All three are terrific representatives of the University of Minnesota and Gopher Athletics. They've all shown great dedication to our program in the classroom and in competition and will be great leaders for us this season.
Barber and Jennings are two veterans of Minnesota's throwing corps while Dulian, who also served as captain of the cross country team last fall, runs distance for the Gophers.
Next Up -- Jack Johnson Invitational
The Gophers return to action next weekend on campus with the Jack Johnson Invitational at the University of Minnesota Fieldhouse on Jan. 30-31.
Players Mentioned
