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Duwell, Mead lead Minnesota at NCAA Championships

The women and men finished 10th and 24th, respectively.
file photo
file photo

In what head coach Gary Wilson deemed the toughest field of his 25-year career, the Gophers women’s cross country team continued their run of consistency at the NCAA Cross Country Championships. Qualifying after winning the NCAA Midwest Regional, Wilson’s squad entered the Championships hoping for a top-15 finish. Against a loaded field, Minnesota accomplished its goal, finishing 10th. âĂ„ĂşWeâĂ„Ă´re thrilled,âĂ„Ăą Wilson said. âĂ„ĂşEverybody ran like a team. They pulled energy from each other, and that was the strategy for today; they did an awesome job.âĂ„Ăą Leading the way for the Gophers was Megan Duwell . The teamâĂ„Ă´s top performer all year, the final cross country race of the seniorâĂ„Ă´s career ended with a seventh-place individual finish. Finishing the 6-kilometer race in a time of 20:07, Duwell earned her second All-America honors, set a new Minnesota record and had the highest-ever finish for a Gophers runner. âĂ„ĂşShe just ran a perfect race,âĂ„Ăą Wilson said. âĂ„ĂşShe ran probably the best cross country race of her life today.âĂ„Ăą Also running their last race as Gophers were Heather Dorniden and Amy Laskowske . Dorniden finished the race 67th, good for second on the Minnesota team. Like Duwell, Wilson considers Dorniden to have run her best race of the year at the Championship meet. âĂ„ĂşThatâĂ„Ă´s her best national finish by far,âĂ„Ăą Wilson said. âĂ„ĂşItâĂ„Ă´s a nice way for her to go out and end her career here.âĂ„Ăą For the second-straight meet, Laskowske showed she deserved a spot on the Gophers roster. After struggling at the Big Ten Championships with a 38th-place finish, Laskowske bounced back with a ninth-place finish at the Midwest Regionals. At the NCAA Championships, the senior finished a solid 71st and third among Minnesota runners. âĂ„ĂşAmyâĂ„Ă´s had really two great races in a row,âĂ„Ăą Wilson said. âĂ„ĂşSheâĂ„Ă´s a gamer; she doesnâĂ„Ă´t say very much, but sheâĂ„Ă´ll produce.âĂ„Ăą The 10th-place finish extends a remarkable streak of consistency for the Gophers team. Minnesota now has five consecutive top-12 finishes at the NCAA Championships, joining Illinois as the only two schools currently on such a streak. Considering the depth of this yearâĂ„Ă´s field, Wilson considered this yearâĂ„Ă´s finish the best among the previous five. âĂ„ĂşI think it was, just because the depth of the field,âĂ„Ăą Wilson said. âĂ„ĂşYou just have to keep your wits about you and realize if youâĂ„Ă´re in the top 100, youâĂ„Ă´re doing well. Obviously itâĂ„Ă´s a talented field. We could not be happier.âĂ„Ăą On the menâĂ„Ă´s side, after getting one of the final at-large bids into Championships, the Gophers finished 24th out of 31 teams. The issue plaguing head coach Steve PlasenciaâĂ„Ă´s squad all season surfaced again at the Championships. MinnesotaâĂ„Ă´s fifth runner was Mike McFarland , who finished 185th; the distant finish ended up costing the Gophers on Monday. âĂ„ĂşA lot of it comes down to, we just gave up so many points at fifth that it just was hard to do things,âĂ„Ăą Plasencia said. âĂ„ĂşWe just have to get deeper, and thatâĂ„Ă´s what weâĂ„Ă´ll do.âĂ„Ăą Minnesota did receive strong performances by its top four runners, three of whom placed in the top 100. Leading the way was Hassan Mead. The junior capped a dominant season with a 16th-place finish. Finishing inside the top 40, Mead earned his third All-America distinction. The three All-America awards put Mead in select company, joining a teammate from a year ago, Chris Rombough, as the only two three-time cross country All-Americans in Minnesota history. âĂ„ĂşHassanâĂ„Ă´s one of the premier guys in the nation,âĂ„Ăą Plasencia said. âĂ„ĂşHeâĂ„Ă´s one of the young, rising guys in America distance running.âĂ„Ăą Mead will be returning next year, and though he dominated the cross country circuit this year, Plasencia hinted the junior could be even more dominant in his final season next year. âĂ„ĂşI donâĂ„Ă´t think youâĂ„Ă´ve seen his best day at the University, and I know he hasnâĂ„Ă´t seen his best day as a runner yet,âĂ„Ăą Plasencia said. âĂ„ĂşItâĂ„Ă´s exciting for all of us to be associated with a guy of those abilities, especially being what a good quality person he is.âĂ„Ăą Running his final race at Minnesota was Matt Barrett . The senior finished 96th and after years of battling injuries was rewarded for his hard work with a solid senior season. âĂ„ĂşMatt Barrett has a heart the size of a lion,âĂ„Ăą Plasencia said.

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