University of Minnesota Athletics
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/ Men's Track & Field
Distance
/ Men's Track & Field
Photo by: Christopher Mitchell / Sport Sho
Best of 2019-20: Basten's School Record
4/22/2020 5:13:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Men's Track & Field, Women's Cross Country, Women's Track & Field
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Golden Gopher track & field and cross country program had many memorable moments in 2019-20 worth revisiting and celebrating despite the indoor season ending and the outdoor season being canceled on March 12, 2020, when the Big Ten Conference and NCAA announced they were ceasing competitions and championships because of COVID-19 public health concerns.
One of those memorable moments was redshirt junior Alec Basten breaking the school eight-kilometer cross country record at Lehigh's Paul Short Run in Bethlehem, Pa., on Oct. 5, 2019.
A native of Green Bay, Wis., Basten ran 23:26.7 to finish third individually in a stacked field during his season debut for the Maroon & Gold – snapping the school record with one of four personal records for the Gophers that day. Jack Manderscheid's personal record of 23:40.4 that day also pushed the distance runner up to seventh all-time in the eight-kilometer rankings for the Gophers.
"It was the first race of the year for me, so we wanted to just open up…I found myself a little farther ahead than I thought I would be, and at that point, I was committed to a faster pace race," Basten said while adding he wasn't aware he had broken the school record immediately after the race.
"I thought the time was wrong originally."
It wasn't.
The record-breaking performance was even sweeter considering the previous record holder was Gophers great Hassan Mead, who ran 23:29 during the 2011 cross country season.
"Any time you can say you broke a record held by Hassan Mead – an Olympian and an all-time great – you know you did something special," Minnesota head men's cross country coach Steve Plasencia said.
Basten would go on to earn Second Team All-Big Ten and NCAA All-Region honors before representing the University of Minnesota at the 2019 NCAA Cross Country Championships. The redshirt junior led the Gophers in each of his five races last season and has paced the Maroon & Gold in all 10 of his competitions over the last two years. Academically, he earned his third career Academic All-Big Ten honor in cross country this season along with his first career USTFCCCA All-Academic selection. He is also eligible to become a three-time CoSIDA Academic All-District honoree later this year.
In addition to his school eight-kilometer cross country record, Basten also ranks second all-time at Minnesota in the 3,000 meter steeplechase, fifth in the indoor 5,000 meters, sixth in the 10 kilometers for cross country and eighth in the outdoor 5,000 meters.
One of those memorable moments was redshirt junior Alec Basten breaking the school eight-kilometer cross country record at Lehigh's Paul Short Run in Bethlehem, Pa., on Oct. 5, 2019.
A native of Green Bay, Wis., Basten ran 23:26.7 to finish third individually in a stacked field during his season debut for the Maroon & Gold – snapping the school record with one of four personal records for the Gophers that day. Jack Manderscheid's personal record of 23:40.4 that day also pushed the distance runner up to seventh all-time in the eight-kilometer rankings for the Gophers.
"It was the first race of the year for me, so we wanted to just open up…I found myself a little farther ahead than I thought I would be, and at that point, I was committed to a faster pace race," Basten said while adding he wasn't aware he had broken the school record immediately after the race.
"I thought the time was wrong originally."
It wasn't.
The record-breaking performance was even sweeter considering the previous record holder was Gophers great Hassan Mead, who ran 23:29 during the 2011 cross country season.
"Any time you can say you broke a record held by Hassan Mead – an Olympian and an all-time great – you know you did something special," Minnesota head men's cross country coach Steve Plasencia said.
Basten would go on to earn Second Team All-Big Ten and NCAA All-Region honors before representing the University of Minnesota at the 2019 NCAA Cross Country Championships. The redshirt junior led the Gophers in each of his five races last season and has paced the Maroon & Gold in all 10 of his competitions over the last two years. Academically, he earned his third career Academic All-Big Ten honor in cross country this season along with his first career USTFCCCA All-Academic selection. He is also eligible to become a three-time CoSIDA Academic All-District honoree later this year.
In addition to his school eight-kilometer cross country record, Basten also ranks second all-time at Minnesota in the 3,000 meter steeplechase, fifth in the indoor 5,000 meters, sixth in the 10 kilometers for cross country and eighth in the outdoor 5,000 meters.
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