University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Baldy Castillo Invitational
Johnson Wins 800 as Gophers Take Third
3/21/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
Link: Results
TEMPE, Ariz. (GopherSports.com) - Bradley Johnson won the 800 meters and anchored a runner-up finish in the 4x400 meter relay on Saturday as the University of Minnesota men's track & field program finished third overall in the outdoor season opener at the 2015 Baldy Castillo Invitational.
A sophomore from Brookfield, Wis., Bradley Johnson clocked a 1:50.35 to pace Saturday's 800 meter competition and hold off Gaines Kinsey of Texas A&M by 0.09 seconds. The win added 10 points to Minnesota's weekend total of 72, behind the Aggies' 187 and just six points off host Arizona State's 78 in the runner-up position.
"Overall, I thought we put together a good showing to open the outdoor season. This is a very competitive meet year in and year out, and it's a great way to kick things off for us," Minnesota Director of Men's Track & Field and Cross Country Steve Plasencia said. "Brad Johnson has certainly come on strong in the last couple weeks for us a true sophomore, and it was great to see him have a big weekend."
The Gophers later closed out the day with a second-play showing in the 4x400 meter relay when Nate Roese, Mitch Hechsel, Goaner Deng and Bradley Johnson combined for a 3:10.14, just over four seconds behind Texas A&M's winning relay squad.
Meanwhile, the Gophers combined for 14 points in Saturday's discus competition behind Luke Johnson's second-place finish. Luke Johnson hit 52.91 meters on his fourth attempt of the day while Justin Barber finished fifth at 52.66 meters and Mark Jennings came in seventh at 51.53 meters.
Minnesota also picked up eight points in the 400 meter dash as Mitch Hechsel finished third at 47.55 and Goaner Deng clocked a 48.27 to come in seventh.
Brad Neumann added four points in the 200 meters with his fifth-place finish at 21.23 and helped the 4x100 meter relay team finish fourth at 40.83 along with Jordan Charles, Gemechu Godi, Trevor Yedoni, Roese and Quinton Coleman.
Jordan Charles finished fifth overall in the triple jump at 14.30 meters for four points while Ryan Lockard added two points in a three-way tie for sixth in the high jump at 2.03 meters. Yedoni finished seventh in the long jump at 7.11 meters for an additional two points.
The Gophers opened the weekend with an impressive win in the hammer throw by Gian Ferretti, who set a new Minnesota record at 68.94 meters (226-02 ft.) on Friday.
Players Mentioned
