Coach Phil Lundin set a clear but daunting goal for his six track and field athletes at the NCAA outdoor championships over the weekend.

He wanted each athlete to finish in the top eight of their event and earn All-America honors. Lundin’s vision was nearly fulfilled.

After setting a school record time in the preliminaries, Minnesota’s 4×400-meter relay team of Mitch Potter, Andy Wohlin, Mikael Jakobsson and Tom Gerding finished fifth, garnering All-America honors for each runner.

In addition, Gerding made the finals in the 400-meter dash, finishing sixth and earning his third All-America accolade as a Gopher. Last year, Gerding became Minnesota’s first-ever All-American in a sprint event.

Though he remained in fourth place through seven events, Lyndon McDowell slipped to a 12th place finish in the decathlon. Adam Steele, the alternate on the relay team, did not participate.

Schmitt finished 6th in the discus, 11th in the shot put and 12th in the hammer throw. She earned All-America honors with her top-eight performance in the discus.

Junior Linda Lindqvist came in 11th in the javelin.

Nash finishes 13th

Freshman Simon Nash, the lone University golfer to advance to the final two rounds of the NCAA championships, finished in a tie for 13th place.

Nash shot par or better in all four rounds and his finish is the best for a Minnesota golfer since Adam Dooley came in 12th at the 1999 championships.