University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Big Ten Outdoor Championships
Wieland Poised to Repeat at B1G Meet
5/13/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
May 13, 2016
Results | Photo Gallery
LINCOLN, Neb. (GopherSports.com) - Halfway through the decathlon competition at the 2016 Big Ten Outdoor Track & Field Championships and Gopher All-American and Big Ten champion Luca Wieland is poised to defend his conference crown, leading the field with 4,284 points.
A native of Saarbrucken, Germany, Wieland paced the competition in two of Friday's five decathlon events - the long jump at 7.71 meters (25-03.50 ft.) for 987 points and the shot put at 14.43 meters (47-04.25 ft.) for 775 points. The junior opened the day with a fourth-place finish in the 100 meters at 10.83 for 899 points and added an additional 859 points with a second-place showing in the high jump at 2.06 meters (6-09.00 ft.). He closed out the opening day with a personal record in the 400 meters, netting 784 points in eighth with a time of 50.67. Ben Holcomb totaled 2,842 points for the Gophers in the decathlon and currently sits in 16th through five events.
Wieland, who swept the Big Ten multi-event titles last year and won the 2015 NCAA heptathlon title, won last year's Big Ten decathlon title with 7,635 points - the fourth highest point total in school history. All-American Jack Szmanda owns the school decathlon record with 7,862 points - set at the 2012 Big Ten Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
Meanwhile, senior thrower Sean Donnelly gave the Maroon & Gold their first team points of the meet with a runner-up performance in the hammer throw. Donnelly cleared 68.22 meters (223-10 ft.) on a windy day in Lincoln to finish behind three-time defending conference champion Chukwuebuka Enekwechi of Purdue at 69.39 meters (227-08 ft.).
The winds later delayed the 10,000 meter race with senior captain Adam Zutz adding a seventh-place finish in 30:01.28 to give the Gophers an additional two team points.
With two events scored, the Maroon & Gold currently sit in third place with 10 points.
Minnesota continues competition at the 2016 Big Ten Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Saturday and Sunday at Ed Weir Stadium in Lincoln, Neb.
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Players Mentioned
