University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
2015 Big Ten Cross Country Championships
Gophers Garner Three All-Big Ten Honors
11/1/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
Nov. 1, 2015
Results: 2015 Big Ten Championships
CHICAGO (GopherSports.com) - Three Gophers earned All-Big Ten honors including First Team honoree Adam Zutz, who ran the fifth fastest eight-kilometer time in program history, as the University of Minnesota men's cross country team finished third at the 2015 Big Ten Championships on Sunday morning at Sydney R. Marovitz Golf Course.
Zutz was joined by Second Team All-Big Ten honorees Aaron Bartnik and Obsa Ali - marking the fourth time in program history that the Gophers have celebrated three or more all-conference honorees (all under current Director of Men's Track & Field and Cross Country Steve Plasencia).
Minnesota totaled 98 points to finish third at the conference meet behind only Michigan with 63 points and Illinois with 81. Purdue senior Matt McClintock paced the field with a winning time of 23:12.1.
"We had a nice team performance today," Plasencia said. "I'm very happy for Adam and Aaron - they've been leaders for us for a long time and it's great to see them rewarded for their efforts. Likewise for Obsa - he's done a great job stepping up and contributing for the team this year."
A redshirt senior captain from St. Francis, Minn., Zutz hit a personal eight-kilometer for the second meet in a row on Sunday, crossing the finish line at 23:40.0 to finish seventh. Zutz, who has now scored in 15-straight meets for Minnesota, picked up his first career All-Big Ten accolade with the performance.
Bartnik, meanwhile, picked up his second-straight all-conference honor after finishing as a First Team performer one year ago. The redshirt senior captain finished 12th on Sunday with a time of 23:52.8 - less than a second off his personal record. Bartnik is the first Gopher to repeat as an All-Big Ten honoree since Chris Rombough and Hassan Mead in 2007 and 2008 (Rombough was an all-conference honoree for three-straight seasons, earning the accolade in 2006 as well).
A sophomore from Richfield, Minn., Ali had a personal record on Sunday to pick up his first career all-conference honor. He finished just behind Bartnik in 14th with a time of 23:54.1.
Charlie Lawrence and Eric Colvin closed out the meet's scoring for the Maroon & Gold in 32nd and 33rd, respectively. Lawrence came across the finish line at 24:15.5 while Colvin finished in 24:17.2.
Matt Welch (59th, 24:47.7), Christian Skaret (71st, 25:00.7) and Riley Macon (77th, 25:07.9) also ran for Minnesota.
The Gophers return to action on Friday, Nov. 6 as the defending champions at the Fall Finale in Collegeville, Minn. In addition to last year's team title, Minnesota has boasted the last three individual champions at the meet.
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Players Mentioned
