University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Jack Johnson Invitational
Gophers Add Nine Titles at Jack Johnson
1/31/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
Link: Jack Johnson Classic Results
MINNEAPOLIS (Gophersports.com) - The University of Minnesota men's track & field program added another nine titles to its season total over the weekend as the Gophers continued the home schedule with the Jack Johnson Classic.
"We're pleased with the way our guys performed this weekend, but we're not satisfied," Minnesota Director of Men's Track & Field and Cross Country Steve Plasencia said. "We had a number of good showings, but we need to keep improving as we head towards the championship season."
Among the team's titles over the weekend was the 600 meters, which saw the Gophers boasted the top four finishers in the event on Saturday with Nate Roese pacing his teammates with a winning time of 1:18.84. Rashawn Fountain was just behind Roese at 1:19.24 followed by both Jeffrey Cottrell at 1:20.31 and Goaner Deng at 1:20.84.
Roese, Fountain and Deng, along with 400 meter champion Mitch Hechsel (49.21) then turned from adversaries to teammates to win the 4x400 meter relay in 3:16.61.
After picking up his third-straight 200 meter title on Friday night to open the weekend, redshirt freshman Brad Neumann added his third-straight 60-meter dash title on Saturday. Neumann improved his personal record with a 6.81 in the event and has now won a total of six events in his first three meets of the season.
The Gophers also shined in the throwing events as Justin Barber set a new meet record in the weight throw, winning the event with a heave of 21.21 meters (69-07.00 ft.) while Gian Ferretti followed as the runner-up at 20.56 meters (67-05.50 ft.). Likewise in the shot put where Luke Johnson and Mark Jennings finished first and second, respectively. Johnson cleared 18.41 meters (60-05.00 ft.) while Jennings hit 17.91 meters (58-09.25 ft.).
The Maroon & Gold added a pair of titles in pole vault events with Glen Harold winning the seeded competition at 5.12 meters (16-09.50 ft.) and Nick Sgarbossa claiming the unseeded title at 4.62 meters (15-01.75 ft.).
Minnesota also picked up top finishes in the 800 meters as Blayne Dulian finished second at 1:54.19 while Derek Wiebke came in third in the mile at 4:09.92, just off the winning time of 4:09.74 in a very tight race. Ryan Lockard also finished third in the high jump at 2.04 meters (6-08.25 ft.).
Minnesota also picked up an individual title on Friday in the unseeded pole vault on Friday night as Nick Sgarbossa cleared 4.62 meters (51-01.75 ft.) while Trevor Yedoni finished third in the long jump with a leap of 7.02 meters (23-00.50 ft.).
Players Mentioned
