University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Snowshoe Open
Gophers Win 10 Events at Snowshoe Open
2/20/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
Link: 2015 Snowshoe Open Results
MINNEAPOLIS (Gophersports.com) - The University of Minnesota men's track & field team picked up 10 titles at the Snowshoe Open on Friday night in the Gophers' final home meet of the year.
"We continued to get better tonight, and that's what we need to do heading into the indoor championship season," Minnesota Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Steve Plasencia said. "Ten titles is a great way to wrap up the home season, and I was happy to see some of our guys hit notable marks as we look towards Big Tens next week."
The Gophers honored its senior class during the final meet of the year at the University of Minnesota Fieldhouse, and fittingly, Minnesota's two senior throwers came up big for the Maroon & Gold in the final home meet of their careers.
Senior captain Mark Jennings set a new personal record of 18.50 meters (60-08.50 ft.) to win Friday's shot put competition, one of three Gophers to finish in the top five. Onyi Afoaku finished second as an unattached competitor at 18.02 meters (59-0.50 ft.) while Bryan Bjerk came in fourth at 15.84 meters (51-11.75 ft.).
Meanwhile, fellow senior captain Justin Barber paced a dominating performance by the Gophers in the weight throw with four of the top five performances. Barber hit 20.73 meters (68-00.25 ft.) to best Gian Ferretti's 19.84 meters (65-01.25 ft.). Mac Riedy came in fourth at 18.90 meters (59-04.25 ft.) while Viktor Stelter finished fifth at 17.89 meters (58-08.50 ft.).
While the senior throwers took the spotlight on Friday, a Minnesota newcomer also continued to find his way to the top of the podium in the pole vault competition. Gophers freshman Glen Harold earned his third-straight individual title, clearing five minutes for the second time this season at 5.09 meters (16-08.25 ft.). Tyler Tappe came in third at 4.79 meters (15-08.50 ft.) with Luca Wieland tying for fourth at 4.64 meters (15-02.75 ft.).
On the track, Bradley Johnson posted his second-fastest time of the season to set the tone for a 1-2-3-4 finish by the Maroon & Gold. Johnson crossed the finish line at 1:52.23 ahead of Mitch Hechsel at 1:52.30, Christian Skaret at 1:54.90 and Wayde Hall at 1:55.65.
Ryan Lockard and Danny Schiller finished first and second, respectively, in the high jump at 2.09 meters (6-10.25 ft.) and 1.99 meters (6-06.25 ft.) with the Gophers posting the top three finishers in the 5,000 meters as Riley Macon (15:08.98) bested Charlie Lawrence (15:24.69) and Eric Colvin (15:38.68). In the 600 meters, Rashawn Fountain finished first at 1:19.84 followed by teammate Jeffrey Cottrell at 1:21.27. Minnesota also picked up individual titles from Trevor Yedoni in the long jump (7.07 meters, 23-02.50 ft.) and Ben Holcomb in the 60-meter hurdles (8.30) while the 4x400 meter relay team of Nate Roese, Mitch Hechsel, Goaner Deng and Bradley Johnson finished first with a time of 3:15.47.
Players Mentioned
