Gopher Men Finish 7th in Madison

The #17-ranked University of Minnesota men's cross country team finished 7th at the Wisconsin Adidas Classic in Madison yesterday, out-legging four teams ranked above them in the latest NCAA poll.

The Gophers scored 309 points at the meet. Host Wisconsin, the #2-ranked team in Division I, won the meet with 66 points.

Senior Hassan Mead led the Gopher charge with a 5th-place finish on the 8K course in 23:31. Mead was the top Big Ten finisher in the race.

Lawi Lalang of Arizona won the race in 23:11.

Gopher junior Pieter Gagnon and sophomore Andrew Larson, running together, took 51st and 52nd-place, both in 24:32. Freshman Marcus Paulson clocked 24:41 for 75th. Sophomore Erik Truedson was 126th in 24:59 as the team's fifth man. Junior Travis Burkstrand (224th 25:58) and senior Bob Nicolls (247 26:30) rounded out the Minnesota varsity.

"I thought our guys did really well today," head coach Steve Plasencia said. "We beat some teams that were ranked ahead of us and that should help us in the rankings. It was a good test for us at the midway point of the season."

Minnesota topped #9 North Carolina State (11th with 372 team points), #10 Oregon (14th with 448) #13 Northern Arizona (8th with 332) and #16 Georgetown (24th with 609).

The Gopher men were the third-best Big Ten team in the field, behind the Badgers and #7 Indiana, which finished 5th, with 271 points.

Find complete men's results HERE.

Gopher Women 20th ... The #21-ranked University of Minnesota women's team finished 20th at the Adidas Classic, tallying 520 points.

Senior Stephanie Price led the team, finishing 16th in 20:30 over the 6K course. Freshman Molly Kayfes finished 102nd in 21:19, Sophomore Ashlie Decker was 118th in 21:27, classmate Katie Moraczewski was 133rd in 21:34, and another sophomore. Maggie Bollig, was 151st in 21:40 to round our the Gopher top-five.

"We were pleased with Stephanie's performance today," head coach Gary Wilson said. "It was a disappointing team day in the championship race. We have to be a lot more mentally tough than what we were today or we will have a very disappointing end of the year. The team has to do a gut check and decide how they want the championship part of the season to go."

Two more sophomores rounded out the varsity: Laura Docherty was 200th in 21:56, while Missa Varpness was 295th in 23:42.

The University of Washington, ranked only #24 entering the meet, won with 199 points. #1-ranked Villanova finished 4th with 232 points.

The Gophers finished 3rd among Big Ten teams at the meet.

Find complete women's results HERE.