Wilson Named Big Ten Coach of the Year; Mead Named League's Top Freshman

University of Minnesota women’s cross country coach Gary Wilson was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year, the conference announced today.

Wilson, who has spent 23 years at the women's helm, guided his Gophers to their first-ever Big Ten cross country title last weekend in Columbus, Ohio. Wilson was named the Big Ten Outdoor Track Coach of the Year in 2006, his final season as the team's head track & field coach, when the track team won it's first-ever conference title.

Also honored today by the Big Ten was men's individual runner-up Hassan Mead who was named the conference's Freshman of the Year for men. The Gopher men finished runner-up as a team in the meet.

Moving Up ... On the basis of their strong showings in Columbus, both Gopher teams rose in the NCAA Division I rankings this week. The women moved to #6 in the poll after being ranked #8 going into Big Tens. The Gopher men jumped from #22 to #15, their highest ranking of the season.