Gophers head track and field coach Phil Lundin was named coach of the year by the Big Ten following his team’s first indoor conference championship in school history.
Lundin won the award for the first time. Michigan’s Kevin Sullivan was named Athlete of the Year, while Jeremy Allen of Iowa won Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
Athletes qualify for NCAAs
Three of Lundin’s athletes will compete at this weekend’s NCAA Indoor Championships, as will Aubrey Schmitt of the women’s team.
Junior men’s pole vaulter Vesa Rantanen qualified with a mark of 17 feet, 2 3/4 inches at the NCAA Last Chance meet Saturday in Ames, Iowa.
Rantanen, who finished sixth at last year’s outdoor championships, is competing in his first national indoor meet.
Staffan Strand (high jump) and Tye Harvey (pole vault) will also be competing for Minnesota’s men’s team. Both athletes took second at last year’s championships.
Schmitt, meanwhile, qualified for the women’s NCAA Championships in the shot put with a throw of 52-5 over the weekend at the Last Chance meet.
Women’s golf takes ninth
The Gophers women’s golf team placed ninth on Tuesday in the 17-team Peggy Kirk Bell Invitational in Windermere, Fla.
Minnesota finished with a two-round score of 653. Campbell won the meet with a score of 604.
Amy Dahle, Melanie Lepp and Kristi Weichert all fired two-round scores of 163 to lead the Gophers. Their scores were tied for 34th among individual golfers.
Baseball coaches to hold clinic
Gophers baseball coaches will hold their annual coaches’ clinic Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. in the Bierman Athletic Building.
Minnesota head coach John Anderson, assistant coaches Rob Fornasiere, Mike Dee and J.T. Bruett and Cumberland (Wis.) High School coach Mark Fuller will speak at the clinic.
The cost is $15 for pre-registration and $20 the day of the clinic. For more information call the Gophers baseball office at 625-1060.

— Michael Rand