University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Minnesota Open
Gophers Claim 12 Titles in Opener
1/14/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
Full Results
MINNEAPOLIS (GopherSports.com) - The No. 18 University of Minnesota men's track & field program kicked off the 2017 indoor campaign with 12 titles at the Minnesota Open on Saturday afternoon at the University of Minnesota Fieldhouse on campus.
The Gophers throwers added a pair of titles in assistant coach Matt Conly first home event with the Maroon & Gold while the rest of the field competitors added four event titles. The runners led the way for Minnesota with six titles at the 2017 home opener.
On the track, Rashawn Fountain and Josh Tracy both factored into a pair of victories - making up half of the winning 4x400 meter relay squad and adding an individual title to boot (Fountain won the 400 meters at 50.49 while Josh won the 600 meters by more than four seconds at 1:20.53). The pair joined with Matthew Baker and Jonathan Webb to win the 4x400 meter relay at 3:20.26 while Chris Trotter, Lucas Trapp, Clayton Johnson and Alec Basten took the runner-up spot (3:24.50). Matt Rosen led a 1-2-3 finish for the Maroon & Gold in the 800 meters (1:53.51) followed by unattached runners Chris Trotter (1:54.75) and Lucas Trapp (1:55.02) while the Gophers claimed seven of the top eight finishers in the mile with Joey Duerr pacing the pack in first at 4:16.06. Jon Tollefson won the 60-meter hurdles (8.21) while Ben Holcomb finished third (8.40).
In the high jump, Minnesota boasted the top four finishers led by All-American Ryan Lockard (2.09 meters, 6-10.25 ft.). Nick Bachinski was the second-place finisher (2.04 meters, 6-08.25 ft.) followed by unattached newcomer Ben Gucinski (1.99 meters, 6-06.25 ft.) and Jacob Buller (1.99 meters, 6-06.25 ft.).
Sammie Houston led the charge for the Gophers in the long jump with a win (6.91 meters, 22-09.00 ft.), the first of four Gophers on the podium. Unattached freshman Mason Roomes came in second (6.89 meters, 22-07.25 ft.) followed by Buller (6.88 meters, 22-07.00 ft.) and Andrew Ajaluwa (6.51 meters, 21-04.25 ft.). The Gophers also grabbed the top two finishes in the pole vault as Glen Harold hit a new personal record for the event crown (5.13 meters, 16-10.00 ft.) followed by teammate Tyler Tappe in second (4.74 meters, 15-06.50 ft.). James Travis won the triple jump by more than six feet with his top attempt (14.16 meters, 46-05.50 ft.).
Mac Riedy added his second title of the season with a win in the weight throw (19.02 meters, 62-05.00 ft.) while Jonathan Tharaldsen (17.12 meters, 56-02.00 ft.) and unattached rookie Kieran McKeag (15.47 meters, 50-09.25 ft.) finished first and second, respectively, in the shot put.
The Maroon & Gold return to action next Saturday, Jan. 21, with the third annual Minnesota/Wisconsin Dual in Madison, Wis. The Gophers have won the first two Border Battle duals - capturing the inaugural title in Madison during the 2015 season and repeating in Minneapolis last year.
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Players Mentioned
