The Gophers men’s track team has reached the last stop on the road to the Big Ten championship meet: home.

Minnesota will host the Minnesota Open at 2 p.m. tomorrow at Bierman Track.

Many of the Gophers’ biggest stars will be taking the weekend off to rest for the conference championship.

The Big Ten conference championship meet will be held next Friday, Saturday and Sunday on campus at the University of Illinois-Champaign.

The Gophers will have the opportunity to improve upon last year’s second place conference finish.

To do so, the Gophers will need stellar performances from All-American team captain Ibrahim Kabia; Cross Country All-Americans Forrest Tahdooahnippah, Chris Rombough and Hassan Mead; and standout phenom thrower Aaron Studt.

Field events will begin at 2 p.m., with running events beginning at 4 p.m.

Women compete in final regular season meet

It has been a long and successful season for the Minnesota women’s track team, and they will make their last regular season stop at the Minnesota Open today at Bierman Track.

The Gophers, ranked No. 10 in the nation by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, will compete next weekend at the Big Ten championship meet.

They will have the opportunity to win the Big Ten outdoor championship just three months after winning the indoor conference championship.

The Gophers season has seen its share of broken records. Arguably the most impressive is the 21 athletes the team has qualified for the NCAA Midwest regionals.

The previous record, 19, was set by the 2006 Big Ten champion Gophers team.

Many of the Gophers’ star performers will rest this weekend to prepare for the conference championship meet.

The Gophers women will, perhaps, face their biggest competition at the Big Ten championship meet from Penn State, which the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association currently rank No. 12 in the nation.

Field events will begin at 2 p.m., with running events beginning at 4 p.m.