University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers to Honor Seniors at Home Finale
2/18/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
| 2016 Snowshoe Open | |||||||||||
| Date | Friday, Feb. 19 | ||||||||||
| Time | Field Events: 3:30 p.m. CT | Running Events: 4:40 p.m. CT | ||||||||||
| Location | UoM Fieldhouse | Minneapolis, Minn. | ||||||||||
| Meet Links | Heat Sheets | Schedule | Live Results | ||||||||||
| Social Media | @GopherMCCTF | Facebook | ||||||||||
MINNEAPOLIS (GopherSports.com) -- The University of Minnesota men's track & field program closes out its home schedule on Friday evening with the Snowshoe Open at the University of Minnesota Fieldhouse on campus. Field events get underway at 3:30 p.m. CT with running events starting at 4:40 p.m. A full meet schedule is available in the table above.
Gophers to Honor 2016 Senior Class
Minnesota's final home meet of the season is always a memorable one -- particularly for the school's senior class, which will be honored during competition at the University of Minnesota Fieldhouse. The Maroon & Gold will celebrate the college careers of seniors Goaner Deng, Luke Johnson, Aaron Bartnik, Adam Zutz, Trevor Yedoni, Nick Sgarbossa, Gemechu Godi, Christian Skaret and Sean Donnelly.
Johnson Continues Notable Senior Season
Senior captain Luke Johnson opened the season with three-straight wins in the shot put in the month of January to earn USATF Minnesota Athlete of the Month honors. His winning streak came to an end last week at the Iowa State Classic, but the thrower had plenty of reason to celebrate his runner-up finish. His effort upped his personal record in the shot put to 19.48 meters (63-11.00 ft.). Furthermore, the mark stands as the eighth-best performance in the NCAA this year while Johnson moves up to third on Minnesota's all-time top performers list.
Lockard, Bachinski Go 1-2 in the High Jump
Ryan Lockard topped teammate Nick Bachinski in a jump off for the Iowa State Classic high jump title as the Gophers claimed the top two finishes. Both Minnesota jumpers hit 2.15 meters (7-00.50 ft.) with Lockard marking a new personal record and Bachinski matching his personal record on Saturday.
Johnson Named USATF Minnesota Athlete of the Month
Senior captain Luke Johnson won all three shot put competitions he participated in during the month of January to earn USATF Minnesota Athlete of the Month honors. The native of Red Wing, Minn., posted his second-straight titles at both the Northwest Open and the Jack Johnson Invitational before helping Minnesota defend its Border Battle title against Wisconsin with a personal record to win the Minnesota vs. Wisconsin Dual. The senior hit 18.98 meters (62-03.25 ft.) to win the event, moving Johnson up to fourth on Minnesota's all-time top performers list.
Three to Lead in 2016
The Gophers have tabbed a trio of seniors to serve as team captains this season with Luke Johnson(Redwing, Minn.), Goaner Deng (Apple Valley, Minn.) and Adam Zutz (St. Francis, Minn.) earning the honor for the Maroon & Gold.
Wieland Returns as NCAA Champion
Minnesota All-American junior Luca Wieland set a school record to win the NCAA heptathlon title last year with 6,070 points -- the eighth-most points ever by a collegiate athlete in the event, while his two-point win over Georgia's Garrett Scantling marked the closest finish in NCAA championships history. Wieland's national championship is the 13th individual NCAA title in program history. A native of Saarbrucken, Germany, the sophomore is just the fourth Gopher in the program's 117-year history to sweep the Big Ten multi-events titles -- joining Benjamin Jensen (1997), Travis Brandstatter (2005) and R.J. McGinnis (2010). Wieland originally broke Jensen's 17-year old school record with 5,787 points to win the Big Ten heptathlon title (later re-set his own record at the NCAA meet) and added the Big Ten decathlon title with 7,635 points -- the 10th-most points ever by a Gopher in the event.
Gophers Bring Back Three All-Americans
The Maroon & Gold bring back a trio of All-Americans from last year's squad including Wieland's national championship performance in the heptathlon. During the outdoor season, Minnesota earned an additional pair of All-America honors. Goaner Deng picked up his second career All-America accolade (first was as a member of the 4x400 meter relay team in 2013) with his performance in the 800 meters while Gian Ferrettiadded his first career All-America showing in the hammer throw, marking the fifth-straight season Minnesota has carried an All-American in the event.
Strength in the 600
Not only did Gophers Mitch Hechsel and Nate Roese finish first and second in the Big Ten indoor 600 meter finals last year, the duo also tallied the fastest times in the event nation-wide. Hechsel's winning time of 1:16.26 was the NCAA's top mark last year -- just beatin Roese's runner-up time of 1:16.47.
Remembering Roy Griak
For the first time in more than half a century, the University of Minnesota men's track & field team will head into competition without Roy Griak on its coaching staff. The legendary coach passed away in July after dedicating his life to the University of Minnesota and the sports of cross country and track & field. A Minnesota alum, Griak spent more than 50 years on the Gophers coaching staff including 33 as head coach of the men's track & field and cross country programs. In that time, he guided the Gophers to three Big Ten titles, three national champions, 47 All-Americans and 60 Big Ten champions.
Players Mentioned
