Minnesota Men Win Team Title, Women Take Third in Big Ten Champs

Hassan Mead won the 5 and 10K titles and the team swept to a resounding victory in the Big Ten Outdoor Track Championships at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium in Columbus, Ohio on Sunday. The women waged a spirited battle with Michigan and Penn State, but came up just short to end up third in the team competition.

The Gopher men increased their lead each day of the meet with wins on the Sunday from Mead(14:20.75) in the 5K and Aaron Studt(61' 6.25") in the shot put. Sprinter Ibrahim Kabia contributed a second in the 100(10.44) and a sixth in the 200(21.44). Chris Rombough duplicated his third place finish in the 10K in the 5K(14:25.98), while Ben Blankenship took fourth in both the 5K(14:26.15) and 1,500 meters(3:58.48).

Despite being disqualified in both the four by 100 and four by 400 meter relays, the men scored 130 points, beating runner-up Ohio State by 27 points. The team championship gives first year head coach Steve Plasencia a perfect record in Big Ten track championships as the men and women took the conference indoor crowns this year.

The team race came down the the final event, the four by 400 relay, with the Nittany Lions edging the Wolverines by one place to win the team crown by a miniscule quarter of a point 139 to 138.75. Minnesota finished with 131.5 points. While the Gopher women outscored their rivals handily in the distance events, both Penn State and Michigan had the advantage in the field events, and Penn State was dominant in the sprints.