University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Big Ten Indoor Track & Field Championships
Gophers Climb to Third-Place Finish at B1G Meet
2/27/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
Final Results
GENEVA, Ohio (GopherSports.com) - Behind Second Team All-Big Ten performances from Goaner Deng, Gian Ferretti and Ryan Lockard, the University of Minnesota men's track & field team climbed from 11th to finish third in the final day of competition at the 2016 Big Ten Indoor Track & Field Championships.
The Gophers combined for 72 points over the two-day event at the SPIRE Institute, one point behind runner-up Wisconsin with 73 points and one-point ahead of fourth-place finisher Michigan with 71 points. Nebraska captured the 2016 conference team crown with 116 points.
"As a conference, the Big Ten gets better and better each year. The competition keeps getting tougher, and you have to fight harder to score at this meet," Minnesota Director of Men's Track & Field and Cross Country Steve Plasencia said. "We found a way to score points today when we needed them including a couple guys who stepped up and were a welcome addition to our team score."
A two-time All-American for the Gophers, Deng headlined an 11-point showing for the Maroon & Gold in the 800 meters. The senior captain finished second in the finals with a personal record of 1:47.13 - moving Deng to third all-time at Minnesota. Freshman Shane Streich added three points with his sixth-place finish of 1:50.41.
Ferretti, also an All-American for Minnesota, added a runner-up performance in the weight throw with his personal record of 21.62 meters (70-11.25 ft.). The finish, which gave the Gophers eight points, moves Ferretti up to third on Minnesota's top performers list.
Minnesota's biggest contribution came in the high jump as Lockard and Nick Bachinski finished second and third, respectively, for 14 team points. Lockard's leap of 2.19 meters (7-2.25 ft.) was a personal record while Bachinski matched his personal record of 2.15 meters (7-00.50 ft.).
The Gophers also picked up 11 points behind two noteworthy performances in the 600 meters. In an incredibly fast final, Mitch Hechsel clocked a 1:16.21 to finish third while Nate Roese came in fourth at 1:16.29.
Derek Wiebke stepped up with six points in the mile run as the sophomore put together a third-place finish in 4:09.31.
The Maroon & Gold also added personal records from true freshman Jack Wellenstein, who added two points in the 400 meters with a time of 46.99 (tying for seventh all-time at Minnesota) and Jordan Charles, who added a point in the triple jump with a mark of 14.82 meters (48-07.50 ft.). Likewise from Ben Holcomb, who totaled 5,245 for an important two points in the heptathlon after defending champion Luca Wieland pulled out of competition, and Obsa Ali, who finished the 5,000 meters in 14:08.32 (sixth all-time at Minnesota) for a sixth-place finish. Ali and Aaron Bartnik (eighth, 14:09.14) combined for four points.
The Maroon & Gold closed out the day with a sixth-place finish in the 4x400 meter relay as Wellenstein, Roese, Deng and Hechsel ran a 3:08.69 to pick up four final points.
Minnesota opened the day with nine points after Luke Johnson finished fourth in the shot put (18.64 meters, 61-02.00 ft.), Wieland finished eighth in the long jump (7.26 meters, 23-10.00 ft.) and the distance medley relay team of Streich, Wellenstein, Hechsel and Wiebke came in sixth (9:48.87).
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Players Mentioned
