University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
2017 Big Ten Indoor Track & Field Championships
Wiebke Wins B1G Mile Championship
2/25/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
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GENEVA, Ohio (GopherSports.com) - Derek Wiebke captured the Big Ten title in the mile competition and Nate Roese broke the school 600-meter record on Saturday as the University of Minnesota men's track & field program closed out competition at the 2017 Big Ten Indoor Track & Field Championships.
Behind Wiebke's win in the mile and runner-up performances in the distance medley relay, the 600 meters and the 800 meters, the Maroon & Gold finished fifth with 67.5 points while Indiana won the men's team title with 112 points.
Minnesota's largest point total came in the mile as the Gophers garnered 15 points behind Wiebke's conference title - his first as a Gopher. A native of Kasson, Minn., Wiebke ran a personal record 4:01.85 to lock up 10 points for Minnesota after helping the distance medley relay team to a second-place finish on Friday night. The Gophers also picked up five points from Shane Streich, who finished fourth with a personal record of his own at 4:03.91. Wiebke's performance puts him fifth all-time on Minnesota's top performers list.
"I'm really happy for Derek. He's certainly worked hard to get to this point, and he deserves the recognition," Minnesota Director of Men's Track & Field and Cross Country Steve Plasencia said. "He's a guy who works hard in everything he does, and he's gotten better and better each year."
Meanwhile, Roese's runner-up finish in the 600 meters saw the senior from Woodbury, Minn., break Harun Abda's school record while adding eight points to the Gophers' cause. The senior, who also finished second in the event two years ago, crossed the finish line at 1:15.55, besting Abda's mark of 1:15.86 from the 2012 conference championships.
The Gophers also picked up runner-up finishes in the 800 meters and the 5,000 meters with Mitch Hechsel posting a personal record of 1:48.23 in the 800 meters and Obsa Ali finishing the 5,000 meters in 14:05.69. Both performances added eight points to the team score.
Meanwhile, Ryan Lockard and Nick Bachinski combined for 8.5 points in the high jump with Lockard finishing fourth and Bachinski coming in fifth. Mac Riedy and Jon Tollefson each added a point to the team score with an eighth-place showing in the weight throw and the 60-meter hurdles, respectively.
Minnesota's 4x400 meter relay team of Brad Neumann, Roese, Hechsel and Jackson Wellenstein closed out the meet with a fifth-place finish and a season-best time of 3:06.79 to net four points.
The Gophers started the day with 14 points after a runner-up showing in the distance medley relay and Glen Harold's third-place finish in the pole vault.
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Players Mentioned
