A pair of Minnesotans won NCAA Division III Track and Field titles over the weekend.St. Thomas junior Mike Hutton ruled the 800-meters at the D3 meet in Grinnell, Iowa, while the state's top prep triple jumper all-time, Mike Sandle, lorded over his event for the University of Wisconsin - River Falls.
Hutton, an Apple Valley High School alumnus, clocked 1:52.26in the final to edge Wabash College's Jake Waterman who ran 1:53.55. Hutton clocked 1:51.39 in the prelims at the meet, entering the final as the fastest qualifier.
Hutton led his St. Thomas team to a 5th-place finish at the meet.
"It's just awesome having my twin brother here, my girlfriend. my family," Hutton said afterward. "My teammates are the best group of guys to be around. A bunch of them drove down. I love the school, you guys are awesome."
There's a post-race video interview with Hutton HERE.
Sandle, the former Eden Prairie star, marked 50-6 to win the triple jump in his first NCAA Championship appearance. The freshman edged fellow Minnesotan Eyo Ekpo of St. Thomas who jumped 50-2.
Sandle led the competition from his first jump of 48-10 1/4; his second mark of 50-4 was enough to win. He landed his top mark of the day on his fifth attempt.
"I was very impressed with his composure and competitive edge as a freshman at such a high level meet," UW-River Falls coach Aaron Decker said of Sandle. "He has a real future in the sport. He finished in the best possible way by bringing home a new lifetime best, a school record, and an NCAA title. I couldn't think of a better finish to his first collegiate season."
There's video of a post-meet interview with Sandle HERE.
Find complete NCAA Division III results HERE.
Gopher Men 18th at D1 ... The University of Minnesota men's team finished 18th at the NCAA Division I Championships in Nampa, Idaho. The squad entered the meet ranked #8.
"The guys who competed for us today all scored points for the team and made All-American," Gopher coach Steve Plasencia said. "Scoring points in an NCAA championship is never an easy task."
Four individuals and a relay team earned All-American honors for the maroon and gold by finishing in the top eight places.
On Friday, Hassan Mead finished 7th in the 5000-meter run in 13:51.98. On Saturday, Minnesota sophomore Micah Hegerle finished 7th in the weight throw with a toss of 68-1 1/4, improving one place from last year.
Gopher senior David Pachuta finished 6th in the 800-meter finals in 1:49.52. The Minnesota 4 x 400-meter relay of Kevin Bradley, John Holton, Pachuta, and Harun Abda clocked in at 3:07.74 to finish sixth overall.
Find complete D1 results HERE.
Beniak Paces Augie to DMR Title ... Former Zumbrota-Mazeppa star Travis Beniak helped lead Augustana (South Dakota) to a national title in the distance medley relay at the NCAA Division II Championships in Mankato.
Beniak, who was a qualifier to the championship in the mile individually, ran the lead-off 1200-meter leg for the Vikings. The team of Beniak, Khor Kong, Henrik Hansson, and Tom Karbo clocked 9:49.06 to win the event by more six seconds.
More than a dozen Minnesotans earned All-America honors at the D2 meet.
Find complete results HERE (men) and HERE (women).
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