The start of a new season always brings a little excitement in the air, and it was no different on Saturday when the Gophers got their season started. With a little excitement, some new faces and that same electricity, the race was underway.  

The Minnesota men’s cross country team finished second at the Indiana Open 8K in Bloomington, Indiana to start its 2017 season, with three Gophers placing in the top ten. 

“Our trio of top-10 finishers did a nice job to lead the way, and I was pleased with the way a lot of our younger guys competed,” head coach Steve Plasencia told Gopher Sports. “Overall, it was a promising performance for what’s coming up this year.”

Indiana (21 points) finished first in the overall team standings, with Minnesota (50), Miami Ohio (60), Ohio State (94), and Wisconsin (140) trailing behind.

Charlie Lawrence (25:07.9) finished fifth, Evan Ferlic finished sixth (25:08.0), and Connor Olson (25:14.5) earned a ninth-place finish to lead the Gophers, while Alec Basten (25:36.2), Joey Duerr (25:45.2), and Nick Rink (25:46.2) rounded out the top-20 in 14th, 16th, and 17th place, respectively.

Alex Plasencia (26:04.1) and Derek Wiebke (26:06.0) finished the race in 25th and 26th place, respectively.  Shane Streich (26:31.2) finished 38th, Hamza Ali (26:39.9) finished 41st, and Owen Hoeft (26:40.6) placed 42nd for Minnesota.

The Gophers are set to race again Sept. 8, as they return for the Oz Memorial at Les Bolstad Golf Course in Falcon Heights, Minnesota for their first home event.

“Today was an excellent opportunity to get a look at this course — it’s a rugged, tough course,” Plasencia told Gopher Sports. “I’m glad our guys had a chance to see it and try it out ahead of the conference meet.”