University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Bob Timmons Dual Classic
Bartnik, Zutz Lead Gophers to Opening Win
9/1/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
LAWRENCE, Kan. (GopherSports.com) - Redshirt senior captains Aaron Bartnik and Adam Zutz paced the Bob Timmons Dual Classic field on Tuesday as the University of Minnesota men's cross country program won the 2015 season opener with four runners in the top 10 and all six competitors in the top 25.
With the win, Minnesota snaps host Kansas' streak of 11-consecutive wins at the season-opening meet.
"We've been looking forward to this meet for a long time, and you could tell our team was ready to compete," Director of Men's Track & Field and Cross Country Steve Plasencia said. "It's always great to start the season with a win, and now we want to build some momentum off of this performance."
Bartnik, a native of Eden Prairie, Minn., picked up his second career individual title after clocking a 19:08.7 in his first career six-kilometer race with the Gophers. The First Team All-Big Ten and NCAA All-Region honoree, whose first career win came at the 2013 Fall Finale, now has six top-10 finishes in eight career races while leading Minnesota in all of them.
But Zutz certainly didn't make it easier for his fellow captain on Tuesday night.
The St. Francis, Minn., native finished one-tenth of a second behind his teammate at 19:08.8 for the runner-up spot - tying for Zutz's top finish with the Gophers (2014 Oz Memorial, also a six-kilometer race) and giving the redshirt senior his second career top-10 finish.
Redshirt junior Riley Macon added his third career top-10 finish with an eighth-place showing and a time of 19:33.0 while redshirt sophomore Matt Welch posted his second top-10 finish at Minnesota by finishing ninth in 19:34.4.
Eric Colvin closed out the scoring for Minnesota by finishing 22nd at 20:12.5 while Cole O'Brien finished 24th at 20:20.8.
The Gophers return to action with the 2015 home opener, the Oz Memorial on Friday, Sept. 11 at Les Bolstad Golf Course in Falcon Heights, Minn.
Players Mentioned
