University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
NCAA Championships
Gophers Finish 19th at NCAAs
11/21/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
Link: 2015 NCAA Championships Results
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (GopherSports.com) - The No. 16 University of Minnesota men's cross country program closed out the season at the 2015 NCAA Championships on Saturday afternoon, finishing 19th at the national meet behind top-100 finishes from Obsa Ali and Adam Zutz.
Using seven Minnesota natives in the program's first trip to the NCAA championships since 2011, the Gophers totaled 464 points for the 10-kilometer course at E. P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park.
"I couldn't be more proud of the way our team pushed itself over the last month of the season in order to get back to the NCAA championships," Minnesota Director of Men's Track & Field and Cross Country Steve Plasencia said. "We had another great effort across the board this afternoon, and it was great to see the team's dedication and hard work pay off with a chance to compete for a national title."
A native of Richfield, Minn., Ali clocked a 30:53.5 on Saturday as the Second Team All-Big Ten and All-Region honoree came in 91st to pace the Maroon & Gold.
Zutz, a First Team All-Big Ten and All-Region honoree from St. Francis, Minn., was three spots back in 94th after running the course in 30:54.4.
All-Region honoree and Foley, Minn., native Charlie Lawrence finished 103rd with a time of 30:59.9 while Eden Prairie, Minn.'s Aaron Bartnik - a two-time All-Big Ten and All-Region honoree - ran a 31:17.5 to finish 135th.
Christian Skaret, running out of Minnetonka, Minn., closed out the Gophers scoring for the national championships in 163rd with a time of 31:32.3.
Eric Colvin (227th, 32:31.1) and Matt Welch (243rd, 33:09.2) also ran for the Maroon & Gold on Saturday.
All Gophers with the exception of Bartnik were making their NCAA championships debut for Minnesota.
Syracuse captured the 2015 NCAA title with 82 points while Oregon's Edward Cheserek won his third-straight individual national title with a time of 28:45.8.
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Players Mentioned
