University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
NCAA Outdoor Championships
All Six Gophers Earn All-America Nods
6/8/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
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EUGENE, Ore. (GopherSports.com) - The University of Minnesota men's track & field program sent six competitors to the 2016 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Hayward Field.
All six will come home with All-America honors.
"It's not easy to become an All-American given the competition at this meet, and our guys certainly earned it today," Minnesota Director of Men's Track & Field and Cross Country Steve Plasencia said. "They've all been great contributors for us this year, great representatives of our program and the University of Minnesota, and it's great to see them get rewarded "
Already an eight-time NCAA Division III All-American, Sean Donnelly added his first Division I accolade with a fourth-place finish in the hammer throw - the best finish ever by a Gopher in the event (topping Quentin Mege's fifth-place showing in 2012). The Willoughby, Ohio native hit 71.28 meters (233-10 ft.) on his first attempt of the day to also claim the top performance by a Gopher at the national championships (besting Micah Hegerle's 66.15 meters (217-00 ft.) in 2013). Additionally, Wednesday's performance stands as the third best throw in program history behind two of Donnelly's own throws earlier this season including his school record of 74.35 meters (243-11.00 ft.) in his Maroon & Gold debut.
With Donnelly's fourth-place finish and First Team All-America accolade, the Gophers have now carried an All-American in the hammer throw each of the last six seasons while all eight honors in program history have come during that stretch.
"There's no question Sean had a great year for us - a historic year," Plasencia said. "He had a lot of success in Division III, but to come in and have the impact he had this year at the Division I level, we were very impressed."
Meanwhile, Mitch Hechsel continued a similar successful trend in the 800 meters, earning Second Team All-America honors as the Maroon & Gold have now listed an All-American in the event in five of the last six years (seven of the program's nine All-America accolades in the 800 meters have come during that stretch). The redshirt junior from Apple Valley, Minn., finished 14th on Wednesday with a time of 1:48.42.
"For a kid from Apple Valley who has had to earn everything he's gotten, it was great to see Mitch grab that All-America honor," Plasencia said. "He grew and matured so much this year, we're excited to see how he comes back next season."
Minnesota closed out the night with the 4x400 meter relay team of Brad Neumann, Nate Roese, Goaner Deng and Jack Wellenstein clocking a 3:06.95 to finish 16th. The Second Team All-America relay team posted their fastest three times of the season in their last three races.
Deng, a redshirt senior captain from Rosemount, Minn., closed out his collegiate career with his fifth All-America nod while Neumann, Roese and Wellenstein each earned their first career All-America nods.
"Goaner was a redshirt freshman for us the last time we earned All-America honors from the 4x400, so it's kind of special to see him go out with another one," Plasencia said. "He's been a great leader for us, he's done a great job working with the younger guys just like other guys mentored him when he was a newcomer."
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Players Mentioned
