Gearman Named Big Ten Athlete of the Week

Minnesota Golden Gopher uber-jumper Derek Gearman was named the Big Ten's Field Event Athlete of the Week after high jumping 7-0 1/2 at the Sun Angel Classic in Tempe, Arizona last weekend. Gearman (pictured) now has NCAA Midwest Regional qualifying marks in the long, triple, and high jumps.

Elsewhere ... The North Central Conference named Minnesotan's Rachel Stangler of Augustana and Kali Erlandson and Jim Dilling of Minnesota State among its Athletes of the Week. Stangler clocked 11:08.99 in the steeplechase, Erlandson high jumped 5-8 3/4, and Dilling cleared 7-4 1/4 in the high jump in meets last weekend.

The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference tabbed Minnesotan's Kawaskii Bacon of Concordia-St. Paul and Zac Preble and Sheena Devine of Bemidji State among its Athletes of the Week. Bacon ran a 21.32 200m and was a member of the Golden Bears 41.64 4 x 100 relay, Preble scored 6,487 points in the decathlon, and Devine put the shot 47-1 3/4.

The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference named St. John's Chris Erichsen, Gustavus' Andy Klaers and Lisa Brown, Carleton's Kelsey Barale, and Concordia-Moorhead's Heather Schuster its Athlete of the Week. Erichsen clocked 9:05.84 in the 3000m steeplechase, Klaers threw 160-6 and and 159-6 for the discus and hammer throw, respectively, Barale ran 11:15.34 in the steeplechase, Schuster clocked 4:39.34 in the 1500m, and Brown, the defending NCAA Division III champion in the event, threw 146-1 in the javelin.

Photo courtesy of the University of Minnesota.