University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
2015 Big Ten Indoor Track & Field Championships
Wieland, Hechsel Win B1G Titles
2/28/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
Link: Final Big Ten Indoor Results Link:Photo Gallery
GENEVA, Ohio (Gophersports.com) -The University of Minnesota men's track & field team picked up a pair of Big Ten titles over the final day of competition at the 2015 Big Ten Indoor Track & Field Championships including a new school heptathlon record from Luca Wieland.
With Wieland winning the heptathlon title and Mitchell Hechsel picking up the 600 meter title, the Gophers closed out the weekend at the Spire Institute with 76 team points to finish third in the conference competition behind only Nebraska with 127 points and Illiinois with 86.
"Our guys have had a great attitude all year long, and it was great to see things pay off for the team this weekend," Minnesota Director of Men's Track & Field and Cross Country Steve Plasencia said. "Obviously, we had two remarkable performances from Luca and Mitch, but it was rewarding to see how many guys stepped up for us this season to contribute to the team score."
Wieland closed out the weekend in stellar fashion for the Minnesota men's track & field team, winning the Big Ten heptathlon title and setting a new school record for the event in the process. A sophomore from Berlin, Germany, Wieland totaled 5,787 points to unseat Benjamin Jensen's score of 5,769 for the school record - a performance that had stood for 17 years. The win stands as Minnesota's first conference title in the heptathlon since R.J. McGinnis in 2010.
Wieland led all heptathlon competitors in the shot put with a toss of 14.44 meters (47-04.50 ft.) and the 60-meter hurdles at 8.23. The sophomore also finished second in the high jump at 2.08 meters (6-09.75 ft.), fourth in the 60 meters at 7.08, fourth in the long jump at 6.98 meters (22-11.00 ft.), fifth in the pole vault at 4.60 meters (15-01.00 ft.) and eighth in the 1,000 meters at 2:48.99.The win from Wieland picked up 10 points while Jamie Crum's sixth-place finish in the heptathlon added another three points as the Maroon & Gold.
Meanwhile, Hechsel's winning time of 1:16.26 now stands as the fourth-fastest time ever at the University of Minnesota. The Gophers nabbed 18 points in the event as Hechsel and Nate Roese finished first and second, respectively. Roese clocked a 1:16.47 - good enough for sixth all-time at Minnesota.
Minnesota also picked up nine points in the weight throw with a fourth-place finish from senior captain Justin Barber (21.26 meters, 69.09.00 ft.) and a fifth-place finish from Gian Ferretti (20.85 meters, 68-05.00 ft.). The Maroon & Gold also had two finalists in the 800 meters to net seven team points as Goaner Deng came in fifth at 1:50.55 and Bradley Johnson finished sixth at 1:50.70.
Ryan Lockard's sixth-place finish in the high jump (2.08 meters, 6-09.75 ft.) added another three points as did the 4x400 meter relay team of Roese, Hechsel, Deng and Johnson, who finished sixth at 3:11.32.
Blayne Dulian finished seventh in the mile with a time of 4:13.36 while Brad Neumann also finished in seventh-place finish in the 200 meters, clocking a 21.54. The two finishes netted the Gophers another four team points. Aaron Bartnik added one team point with an eighth-place finish in the 5,000 meters with a time of 14:06.15.
Players Mentioned
