Connor Olson

Photo by: Craig Lassig

Class:
Redshirt Senior
Position:
Distance
Hometown:
Maple Grove, Minn.
High School:
Wayzata HS

PRONUNCIATION

2019 Cross Country • Redshirt Senior Season: Named Academic All-Big Ten • earned third letter in cross country • competed in five meets for the Gophers • opened the season by running 21:33.3 at the four-mile Oz Memorial to finish 11th • led the Maroon & Gold with a 22nd-place performance at the Griak Invitational, clocking a time of 25:25.2 • finished 193rd at Pre-Nationals with a time of 25:46.8 • recorded an 8K career-best time of 24:58.6 at the 2019 Big Ten Cross Country Championships, scoring for Minnesota with a 47th-place finish • closed out the season by finishing 98th at the NCAA Midwest Regional, running 32:50.2.

2020 Indoor Track & Field • Redshirt Senior Season: Named Academic All-Big Ten • earned third letter in track & field • competed in the mile run and the 3,000 meters for the Gophers • recorded a fourth-place finish in the mile at the Minnesota Cold Classic for his best finish of the season • finished 11th in the 3,000 meters at the Larry Wieczorek Invitational.

2020 Outdoor Track & Field • Redshirt Senior Season: The 2020 outdoor track & field season was canceled on March 12, 2020, when the Big Ten and NCAA announced they were ceasing competitions and championships because of COVID-19 public health concerns.

2018 Cross Country • Redshirt Junior Season: Named Academic All-Big Ten • ran in four meets for the Gophers, scoring at the Oz Memorial and the Griak Invitational • placed sixth individually and helped Minnesota to a team title at the Oz Memorial in the season opener with a time of 20:33.0 • finished 24th overall at the Griak Invitational after clocking a time of 25:12.8 • closed out the season with a 163rd-place finish at Pre-Nationals (25:49.5) and an 89th-place performance at the Big Ten championships (25:48.9).

2019 Indoor Track & Field • Redshirt Junior Season: Finished third in the mile run at the Snowshoe Open, running 4:15.48.

2019 Outdoor Track & Field • Redshirt Junior Season: Named Academic All-Big Ten • competed in the 1,500 meters and the 5,000 meters • finished third in the 1,500 meters at the Minnesota Men's Twilight with a time of 3:53.38, his top performance and finish of the season • finished fifth in the 1,500 meters at the Tomcat Twilight • ran 14:45.75 in the 5,000 meters at the Stanford Invite.

2017 Cross Country • Redshirt Sophomore Season: Named NCAA All-Region honoree • named Academic All-Big Ten and USTFCCCA All-Academic honoree • earned second letter in cross country • competed in five races for Minnesota, factoring into the team score three times • opened the campaign by finishing fifth at the IU Open (25:14.5) • placed 75th at the Griak Invitational (27:10.8) • came in 140th at the Wisconsin Nuttycombe Invitational (24:59.7) • matched his 8K personal record of 24:59.0 at the Big Ten Championships, finishing 29th • finished 25th at the NCAA Midwest Regional with a 10K career-best time of 29:43.39 to rank third all-time at Minnesota.

2018 Indoor Track & Field • Redshirt Sophomore Season: Competed in the mile run, the 3,000 meters and the 5,000 meters with two top-10 finishes • finished seventh in the mile at the Jack Johnson Classic (4:14.97) • finished seventh in the 3,000 meters at The Dual (8:32.31) • ran 14:24.75 in the 5,000 meters at the Iowa State Classic.

2018 Outdoor Track & Field • Redshirt Sophomore Season: Named Academic All-Big Ten • competed in the 1,500 meters, the 5,000 meters and the 10,000 meters with two top-10 finishes • ran a season-best 5,000 meters of 14:19.65 at the Cardinal Classic • finished seventh in the 1,500 meters at the Baldy Castillo Invitational (3:52.28) • finished fourth in the 5,000 meters at UCLA (14:30.50) • clocked a 10,000 meter time of 31:52.84 at the Big Ten championships • earned second letter in track & field.

2016 Cross Country • Redshirt Freshman Season: Named Second Team All-Big Ten • named Academic All-Big Ten honoree • earned first letter in cross country • competed in five meets, factoring into the team score four times • opened the year with a 10th-place finish at the Oz Memorial (20:22.2) • finished 134th at the Roy Griak Invitational (26:54.7) • came in 103rd at the Wisconsin Nuttycombe Invitational (25:02.9) • placed 14th at the Big Ten Championships (24:59.1) • made his NCAA debut with a 29th-place performance at the NCAA Midwest Regional (30:58.0).

2017 Indoor Track & Field • Redshirt Freshman Season: Competed in the mile run, the 3,000 meters and the 5,000 meters • ran 4:12.08 to place sixth in the mile at the Jack Johnson Classic, his top finish and performance of the season in the event • clocked season-best times in the 3,000 meters (8:25.46) and the 5,000 meters (14:27.38) at the Big Ten Championships.

2017 Outdoor Track & Field • Redshirt Freshman Season: Named Academic All-Big Ten • earned first letter in track & field • competed in the 1,500 meters, the 5,000 meters and the 4x1,600 meter relay with a pair of top-10 finishes • finished fifth at the Tomcat Twilight in the 1,500 meters with a time of 3:54.13 • ran 14:15.43 in the 5,000 meters at the Cardinal Classic • helped Minnesota to a fourth-place finish in the 4x1,600 meter relay at Drake Relays (16:42.59).

2015 Cross Country • Freshman Season: Redshirted the 2015 cross country season while running in three meets as an unattached competitor • opened the year with a seventh-place showing at the Oz Memorial, clocking a time of 19:13.0 • placed 81st at the Griak Invitational with a time of 26:29.1 • won the Fall Finale to close out the season at 24:59.

2016 Indoor Track & Field • Freshman Season: Redshirted the 2016 indoor track & field season • finished 12th in the mile run at the Jack Johnson Invitational (4:20.27) as an unattached competitor • finished fourth in the 3,000 meters at the Snowshoe Open (8:30.75) as an unattached competitor.

2016 Outdoor Track & Field • Freshman Season: Redshirted the 2016 outdoor track & field season while posting four top-10 finishes as an unattached competitor • recorded a top time of 3:58.00 in the 1,500 meters at the Hamline Invite • finished as the runner-up in the Tomcat Twilight 5,000 meters at 14:39.20 for his best performance of the season.

High School: Graduated from Wayzata High School in 2015 • the 2013-14 and 2014-15 Gatorade Minnesota Cross Country Runner of the Year • a two-time high school All-American • helped Wayzata win back-to-back MSHSL Class 2A state cross country championships in his final two years as a prep • also claimed the 2014 individual state cross country title as a senior after finishing second as a junior and fifth as a sophomore • his senior performance at the state meet paced Wayzata to a school record 47 points • an eight-time all-state honoree (four cross country, four track) • six-time all-conference honoree (five cross country, one track) • won back-to-back Lake Conference cross country titles as a junior and as a senior • also posted four top-10 finishes at the state track & field meet • set two school records • ran for Bill Miles and Eric Jahn among others as a prep • previously competed at Maple Grove High School • earned a total of 12 letters (six cross country, six track) • closed out his prep cross country career by helping Wayzata to a runner-up finish at Nike Cross Nationals.

Personal: A native of Maple Grove, Minn. • son of Anthony and Sue Olson • has one brother, Tyler • mother and father both ran track and cross country at St. Cloud State • brother ran track and cross country at UW-Eau Claire • lists finishing second as a team at Nike Cross Nationals as his most memorable sports experience.

Olson's Cross Country Career-Bests
10K	29:43.39	NCAA Midwest Regional (Nov. 10, 2017)
8K	24:58.6	Big Ten Championships (Nov. 3, 2019)
6K	19:13.0 (UA)	Oz Memorial (Sept. 11, 2015)
Finish	1st (UA)	Fall Finale (Nov. 6, 2015)