In one of their last home meets of the season despite having just started competition, the Gophers men’s and women’s track and field teams both won in their own building.
The men won with 134 points and the women with 147.5, over a selection of regional teams and South Florida.
The men’s team took home five titles in its more than 30-point victory over second-place Iowa, but head coach Steve Plasencia said he thinks his team can do much better.
“We made some progress today, but we’ve got a lot more progress to make,” Plasencia said.
Minnesota had a strong presence in the 600-meter run, led by sophomore Goaner Deng. Deng won the race with a time of 1:19.75.
“I was pleased with the 600-meter runners,” Plasencia said.
After his breakout season last year, senior John Simons won the mile in 4:07.31.
The Gophers narrowly edged Iowa for the 4×400-meter relay victory. Deng, senior Jacob Capek, redshirt freshman Rashawn Fountain and redshirt freshman Austin Salargo finished in 3:18.33, just one-hundredth of a second faster than the Hawkeyes.
The Gophers had a strong showing in field events, with junior Justin Barber winning the weight throw at 20.21 meters.
Sophomore Jamie Crum and redshirt freshman Nick Bachinski finished first and second in the heptathlon with 4,869 and 4,711 points, respectively.
Senior Zach Siegmeier placed second in the pole vault at 5.32 meters.
“There were some good things,” Plasencia said, “but we need a lot more.”
Brooks wins another title
The women’s team won the meet by more than 40 points over second-place Iowa, but it claimed only one title over the weekend.
The title went to senior Alena Brooks, who won the 800-meter run by nearly five seconds at 2:08.16.
Redshirt freshman Erin Hawkins had a strong showing on the weekend, placing fourth in the 60-meter dash and sixth in the 200-meter dash.
Senior Megan Geyen finished second in the 400-meter dash with a time of 56.48 seconds. She was fifth in the 200-meter dash at 25.22.
Senior Laura Docherty placed second in the mile at 4:53.35.
Before the meet, women’s head coach Matt Bingle said the meet would be a good test early in the season.
“We want to put our kids in a good pressurized situation to see where they’re at,” he said. “To see how they respond to some good competition.”
