University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Texas Invite
Gophers Total Seven Titles on Saturday
4/11/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
Link: 2015 Hamline Invitational Results Link: 2015 Texas Invitational Results
AUSTIN, Texas (Gophersports.com) -- The University of Minnesota men's track & field program finished second at the 2015 Texas Invitational on Saturday at Mike A. Myers Stadium while totaling seven titles on the day between a pair of meets.
"We continue to grow and build as a team, and that's what's important at this time of year," Minnesota Director of Men's Track & Field and Cross Country Steve Plasencia said. "We had a number of big performances today at Texas and at Hamline, and we need to keep building momentum off that in the upcoming weeks."
The Gophers totaled 97 points at the Texas Invitational with three event titles while host-school Texas won with 187 points.Â
Goaner Deng contributed 20 points with an individual title in the 800 meters and then adding a second title as part of the 4x400 meter title squad. Deng set a new outdoor personal record in the 800 with a time of 1:49.36 and then clocked a 3:09.23 in the 4x400 with Nate Roese, Mitch Hechsel and Rashawn Fountain. Roese and Hechsel added six points in the 400 meters by finishing fifth (47.39) and ninth (48.45), respectively, while Fountain added three points with a sixth-place finish in the 400 hurdles (53.39).
The Maroon & Gold scored 21 points in the weight throw with three competitors finishing in the top four. Gian Ferretti hit 66.17 meters (217-01 ft.) to win the event while Viktor Stelter came in third at 57.39 meters (188-03) and Mac Riedy finished fourth at 55.63 meters (182-06 ft.).Â
Brad Neumann contributed 10 points individually with a pair of top-10 performances in the 100 meters (eighth, 10.63) and the 200 meters (seventh, 21.24) and added another four points as part of the 4x100 meter relay with Quinton Coleman, Gemechu Godi and Trevor Yedoni (40.97).Â
Meanwhile, Ben Holcomb also picked up a pair of top-10 finishes to add five points to the team score. Holcomb finished eighth in the long jump (6.47 meters, 21-02.75 ft.) and 10th in the 110-meter hurdles (15.88) while Jamie Crum was once spot (16.17) for two points.Â
Glen Harold (pole vault, 5.11 meters, 16-09.25 ft.), Jordan Charles (triple jump, 14.04 meters, 46-00.75 ft.) and Justin Barber (discus, 55.21 meters, 181-02 ft.) all put up third-place finishes for six points each. Mark Jennings (discus, 51.45 meters, 168-09 ft.) and Jamie Crum (javelin, 41.83 meters, 137-03 ft.) each added a point while Jennings also picked up five points with a fourth-place finish in the shot put (17.25 meters, 56-07.25 ft.).Â
The Gophers also picked up four titles at the Hamline Invitational including a trio of meet records in the 800 meters, the shot put and the hammer throw.
Luke Johnson set a new Hamline Invitational record to win the shot put, also setting a personal record at 18.05m (59-02.75 ft.). The Gophers actually put two throwers in the top five of the shot put as Bryan Bjerk finished fifth at 14.92 meters (48-11.50 ft.) and the duo posted top-five finishes in the discus as well. Johnson hit 54.40 meters (178-06 ft.) to finish second while Bjerk came in fourth at 48.46 meters (159-00 ft.). Sam Elsner won the event as an unattached competitor -- setting a new meet record at 56.60 meters (185-08 ft.). He also came in third in the hammer throw at 52.34 meters (171-09 ft.).Â
Jeffrey Cottrell added a third meet record in the 800 meters with his winning time of 1:51.54 -- a new personal record for the senior while Tony Joyer came in ninth at 1:56.38. Matthew Rosen finished tied for fourth at 1:54.48 as an unattached competitor.
Nick Bachinski picked up Minnesota's fourth title in St. Paul on Saturday -- hitting a new personal record to win the high jump at 2.08 meters (6-09.75 ft.)Â
The Gophers also had four runners in the top-10 of the 1,500 meters with Adam Zutz leading the pack in second at 3:53.79. Cole O'Brien came in seventh at 3.56.36 while Sam Carlson came in fourth (3:55.72) and Obsa Ali came in fifth (3:55.75) -- both as unattached competitors.Â
Andrew Ajaluwa (6.61 meters, 21-08.25 ft.) and James Travis (6.52 meters, 21-04.75 ft.) came in fourth and fifth in the long jump as unattached competitors.Â
Players Mentioned
