Short-Cut Results Links for May 22-26

As always, below are our quick links to what's happening this weekend in the sport.

Happy Memorial Day weekend everyone!

Yesterday:
NCAA Division II Championships: Results
Update: Evans fastest qualifier in 1500 prelims with 4:31.82, Henderson, Stangler advance #3 in 100m and steeple, respectively.
Update: Mokaya qualifies #3 in 1500 with 3:51.47.

NCAA Division III Championships: Men * Women
Update: Marks takes 2nd in men's discus; 2007 champ Guidry out in women's discus prelims.

Friday:
NCAA Division II Championships: Results
Update: Hensel defends pole vault title, Stelten 4th, Rains 6th.
Update: Remitz wins men's shot put; Devine 3rd in women's shot.
NCAA Division III Championships: Men * Women
Update: Lundstrom 2nd in heptathlon, Kay 5th.
Update: Erichsen 2nd in steeplechase.
Update: O'Connell wins hammer, puts Tommies in team lead after Day 2.

Saturday:
NCAA Division II Championships: Results
NCAA Division III Championships: Men * Women

Sunday:
MDRA Mississippi 10 Miler: Results

Monday:
Brian Kraft Memorial 5K (Team Circuit): Results

Finnerty 4:08.76, Carlson 4:09.02 at Lake Conf.

The news of the fast 1600 meter marks recorded by Burnsville's Rob Finnerty and Rosemount's Jordan Carlson at the Lake Conference Championships had bounced around places like Dyestat's Minnesota talk pages, HERE, since right after Wednesday's meet. Word was Finnerty had edged Carlson and that the time was fast.

Official results, however, are still to appear in the internet universe.

A respected source tells us that the University of Wisconsin-bound Finnerty clocked 4:08.76 to edge Carlson's 4:09.02. Carlson's mark has appeared on RaceberryJam's Boys Honor Roll, HERE, so we're pretty confident about the times.

Finnerty's mark is a slight improvement over his 4:08.84, converted mile PR from 2007, but doesn't move him from his #4 position (Behind Garry Bjorklund, Nick Schneider, and Steve Holman) on the Minnesota all-time high school list for 1600m, HERE, compiled by Bill and Tim Miles. Carlson's mark moves him to #6 all-time, just .02 behind Garrett Heath.

Carlson, who will attend Notre Dame next year, doubled back from his 1600m effort to win the Lake Conference 800m in 1:53.44, just ahead of teammate Obai Hussein at 1:53.89.

We ultimately expect full results of the meet to appear on the Lakeville South Boosters web-site, HERE.

Update: You can find boys results HERE, girls results HERE, and team scores HERE ... courtesy of the Bloomington Jefferson track web-site.

NCAA Meets Open Today in Division II and III

It's now the weekend in the year for the Sheena Devines, Jennifer Hensels, Shara Guidrys, and Lisa Browns of the world to shine.

National Championships in the small school divisions of the NCAA open today, and those national title winners and a host of other Minnesota hopefuls will compete through Saturday. Mount San Antonio College in Walnut, California hosts the Division II meet; UW - Oshkosh is the site of the Division III meet.

Bemidji State's Sheena Devine , the defending champion in the shot put outdoors and a three-time NCAA Division II indoor champion enters Friday's shot put competition as only the #9-seed with a 48-0 1/2 mark. Rival Jessica Selby-Tallman of Missouri Southern -- read about her battles with Devine HERE -- is the top seed at 50-4 1/2.

Defending D2 outdoor pole vault champion Jennifer Hensel of Minnesota State Moorhead, the #2-seed at 13-7 1/2, expects her national meet competition to be rather local. The #1-seed in the competition is MSU Mankato's Katelin Rains, the two-time indoor champion and the D2's all-time highest vaulter. Rains enters Friday's competition at 13-11 1/2. Rains' teammate Lauren Stelten, the D2 indoor runner-up, is seeded #5.

Other prime Minnesota contenders in the NCAA Division II Championships include: Brittany Henderson of Mankato, seeded #3 in both the 100 and 200 meters, Roseau native Heidi Evans, the #1-seed in the 1500m, Moorhead's Ashley Roemer the #4-seed in the high jump, Mankato's Denise Mokaya the #8-seed in the 800m, teammate Josh Robertson the #4-seed in the high jump, and Bemidji's Joe Remitz, the #2-seed in shot put.

Heat sheets for the D2 meet can be found here: WOMEN * MEN

In the D3 meet, University of St. Thomas discus thrower Shara Guidry hopes to recapture the magic that brought her the national title last year in Oshkosh. In 2007, she won the event after entering the competition seeded at #9. This year? Guidry is again ranked #9 entering tonight's competition.

At the 2006 D3 meet, Gustavus Adolphus College's Lisa Brown won the national title with a 154-6 mark on her final throw of the competition. Last year, the Lake Crystal native finished second with 152-3. Brown, a junior, enters Saturday's competition with the longest throw in D3 this year -- 158-5.

Other Minnesota title contenders in the D3 meet include: Bethel's Marie Borner the #5-seed in the 1500m, Concordia-Moorhead's Leah Kay, the #6-seed in the heptathlon, St. Thomas teammates Erin Sprangers and Katie Theisen, the #6 and #7-seeds in the 800m, St. Thomas' Derek Marks, the #2-seed in the discus throw, St. John's Chris Erichsen, the #3-seed in both the steeplechase and the 5000m, and teammate Eric Diley the #3-seed in the long jump.

Heat sheets for the D3 meet can be found here: WOMEN * MEN

Plasencia Talks About His Big Ten Champions

We were especially impressed by the University of Minnesota's men's distance and middle distance runners at last weekend's Big Ten Championships. Three members of Steve Plasencia's crew earned Big Ten titles. Hans Storvick won the 800 meters, Hassan Mead won the 5000m, and Chris Rombough, a former Big Ten cross country champ, won the 10,000m.

We asked Plasencia for his impressions of his champions and their victories.

DtB: Three Big Ten champions in the middle and long distance events, how surprising was that to you?

Plasencia: Chris, Hans, and Hassan have all been having very good seasons up until this point so it is not like their races just came from nowhere. But competition is tough in the Big Ten, so to have them all win in the same meet was about as positive as it could have played out.

DtB: Can you describe the basics of how the three of them won their races?

Plasencia: Chris followed a slow but uneven pace until between 6,000 and 7,000m, then made a move with a 66 lap after which he did not feel good but had two Wisconsin runners who clung behind him not allowing him out of the lead. With under 1,200m remaining, Landon Peacock of Wisconsin made a big move with around a 30 second 200. At that point it looked like Chris might be 4th with three Wisconsin runners ahead. With around 700m remaining it became apparent Peacock had over-extended himself and that those behind had a chance to catch him. Chris dug in and with around 300m to go he assumed the lead in fought off a challenge from Andrew Lacy down the stretch glancing over his shoulder a couple of times in the last 50m. It was an exciting race.

Hans wanted to make a move around 500m and use his strength over the last 300. As it turned out coming off of the break line he and his teammate Logan Stroman were at the lead. Hans continued to lead through a 54.3 at 400m. On the backstretch, Adam Hairston from Iowa challenged but Strovick held him off and continued to lead all the way to the finish. It was a strong race which he led wire to wire.

Hassan was the only contender in the 5,000m who was not trying to complete some sort of a double in the meet. Thus we wanted the pace to be honest. Trent Hoerr from Illinois set an early pace with Chris Rombough following 10m behind and Hassan back at in the front of the main group. After 800m Rombough assumed the lead. There was a strong head wind on the backstretch. Rombough led for the next six to seven laps with his final lap in the lead being 65. Excluding Hassan, the rest of the field was gapped by 30-40m. At that point Hassan took over and ran laps of 67, 68 and continued to extend his lead to about 60m. He held that until the finish running 65.2 on his last 400 well clear of anyone else. It also was a fun race to watch, particularly if you are a Minnesota fan.

DtB: Tell us a little something about each of them that explains why they're having the success they are?

Plasencia: They each are willing to do what it takes to be good runners. For Hans that means being able to handle tough speedwork. He is very strong and tolerates a lot of work on his hard days. Chris and Hassan train together a lot, along with Mike Torchia and Forrest Tahdooahnippah. They seem to enjoy their running and also are not adverse to taking a hard workout on the track, roads or on grass. While different in their degree of tension around racing, all focus well and pay attention to details in race preparation. They usually come ready to race.

DtB: Regionals are up next. What will be the keys for success for the three of them there?

Plasencia: I haven’t really thought about it much yet. But again being able to compete in strong competition, in weather conditions that might or might not be ideal, and adjusting to whatever situation presents itself, will be huge in any success we might have.

Meet Ashley Anklam on Running Minnesota

Our friend Chad Austin at Running Minnesota has just posted THIS new interview on his fine web-site. He caught up with Ashley Anklam, the Holy Angels and Drake University alum who was the top American finisher last month at the Boston Marathon.

Anklam, currently a medical student at the University of Minnesota, finished 15th at Boston in 2:48:43.

Tuesday News Round-Up

So they aren't lost in the shuffle of another busy week of running and track in Minnesota, here are some miscellaneous and sundry news items that have come to our attention ...

Racewalking on TV ... WCCO Channel 4's Rosen's Sports Sunday featured THIS story on a local racewalking organization. Though it not mentioned in the video clip, so far a racewalker -- Carleton College alum Philip Dunn -- is the lone Minnesota member of the 2008 US Olympic Track and Field team.

Kabia, Radocaj named USATF Athletes of the Month ... USA Track & Field Minnesota announced that Gopher stars Ibrahim Kabia and Ruby Radocaj are USATF Minnesota's Athletes of the Month for May.

Kabia, a University of Minnesota junior, was recognized for his victory in the 100 meters at the Drake Relays last month. Kabia, a Champlin Park High School alum, clocked 10.44 to win the title at the 99th running of the Des Moines, Iowa event. Last weekend in Champaign, Illinois, Kabia won the Big Ten 100m title.

Radocaj, a senior at Minnesota, was honored for her victory in the javelin throw at the Drake Relays. Radocaj, who was the runner-up at the Big Ten Championships, threw 179-11 to win at Drake.

The UMAC Honors Its Best ... The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference recently named Megan Croatt of the University of Minnesota-Morris and Alex Tuttle of St. Scholastica its Performers of the Meet at the UMAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships held in Superior, Wisconsin earlier this month.

Croatt won at 100 and 200 meters and carried the baton on Morris' victorious 4 x 100m relay team. Tuttle won the 400m and 800m and anchored the Saints' winning 4 x 400m relay team.

Northwestern coach Steve Thiessen was named men's coach of the year by the UMAC; Kirk Nauman of St. Scholastica was named the women's coach of the year.

Results from the meet are available here -- MEN * WOMEN

Twin Cities Marathon Fills 11,000 Runner Field

Registration closed Monday for the 27th running of the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon.

11,000 runners representing all 50 states, Canada, Mexico, and 14 other countries are entered in the October 5th event. Registration numbers were increased by 500 participants this year to accommodate the growth in interest in marathons across the country, officials said.

Like its Duluth counterpart Grandma's Marathon, Twin Cites filled more slowly this year than in recent years. This year's race closed in 33 days; the 2007 event closed in 19 days and the 2006 race filled in 15 days.

TCM Race Director Brian Mastel doesn't see cause for concern in the reduced pace, however.

"We did fill slower than the last two years," he said, "but we also had a pretty significant change in registration: online only, we opened registration almost 3 weeks earlier in the year than we ever have, and increased our field by 500 spots. If you throw out the last two years - '06 was the 25th [anniversary of the event] and '07 fed off the excitement of closing in 15 days - with the added 500 we actually closed quicker than we did in '04 and '05 (28 and 29 days)."

Mastel feels nation-wide marathon participation demographics are still strong.

"I track the finisher numbers for the top 100 or so marathons in the country and even with the LA Marathon and Georgia Marathon (both down 3,100 and 2,200 respectively) marathon participation across the country is actually up for the first 5 months compared to last year," he said.

(You can read Grandma's Marathon executive director Scott Keenan's archived comments on registration for his race HERE.)

Still Spots on the Starting Line ... Runners still wishing to take part in the 2008 Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon can reserve spots through the Fundraiser Entry Program benefiting Youth Fitness Partners of the marathon. These organizations include: Bolder Options, Migizi Communications, and the YWCA of Minneapolis.

150 additional marathon entries are available to support these partners. Interested participants can register online at mtcmarathon.org beginning this Thursday at 12:00 p.m. For the $95 price of registration, plus a $100 tax-deductible donation, the first 150 entries received will gain entry into the race.

“Runners looking for a great fall race come to the Twin Cities for the terrific community support, the beautiful fall weather and for a top-quality marathon experience,” TCM executive director Virginia Brophy Achman said in a media release. “We are excited to offer a limited number of additional spots in the marathon as we help raise funds for our community partners."

Gopher Teams 3rd, 5th at Big Ten Outdoors

Big Brown won this weekend, but not Big Maroon.

The University of Minnesota women's hoped-for triple crown of Big Ten cross country, indoor and outdoor track titles fell short at the finish line Sunday as the Gophers finished 3rd at the Big Ten Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Champaign, Illinois.

Penn State won the title with 151 points, Michigan was second with 118, and the Gophers followed with 113.5.

The Gophers gathered individual titles from heptathlete Liz Roehrig, who amassed 5855 points to break her own school record in the event, and 800 meter star Heather Dorniden, who had finished 2nd in the 1500m earlier in the day Sunday. Liz Podominick (shot and discus), Ruby Radocaj (javelin), and Caitlin Roemholdt (high jump) also earned runner-up points for the team.

“This is a tough meet, one where you have just keep battling,” head coach Matt Bingle said. “Penn State came up big in some events and had the overall depth to take the team title. We weren’t able to match it. Still, we had some outstanding individual efforts this weekend. It’s nice to see Heather (Dorniden) and Liz (Roehrig) win individual titles since they are so unselfish at this meet, thinking only of team first."

Penn State's win does give Minnesotans something to cheer about -- the Nittany Lions coach, Beth Alford-Sullivan, is a Hopkins High School graduate and a former University of Minnesota cross country team captain.

Gopher men earn four individual titles ... Although the Gopher men's 5th place finished at Big Ten put them further down the final standings than the program has been used to lately, the young squad returns with lots of champion's hardware. Juniors Ibrahim Kabia (100m), Hans Storvick (800m), and Chris Rombough (10,000m) along with true-freshman Hassan Mead (5000), won Big Ten titles.

Kabia's win in the 100m is only the second time a Golden Gopher has won the event in Big Ten Outdoor Championship history.

“Our program is used to high team finishes, but I was extremely proud to see four of our young men win Big Ten titles,” out-going men's head coach Phil Lundin said. “This whole team is returning next year and I expect to see more golden performances from them in the future."

Michigan edged four-time defending champs Wisconsin for the team title.

You can find day-by-day coverage of the meet via the Gopher track and field web-sites below ...

Women: Day 1 * Day 2 * Day 3

Men: Day 1 * Day 2 * Day 3

Results from the meet are HERE.

Short Cut: Results Links for May 16-18

There's triple crown talk in the air.

Sure, Big Brown might earn the second jewel of horse racing's famous three-feat Saturday at the Preakness. But, closer to home, Minnesota track and field fans are eager to see if "Big Maroon" can make it three-for-three this weekend in Champaign, Illinois. The Golden Gopher women, conference champs in cross country last fall and indoor track this winter, could become only the third school in Big Ten women's history to accomplish the school-year title trifecta.

The Gopher women enter the meet with six five #1-seeds: Jamie Cheever in the steeplechase (she's also slated to race the 1500m and 5000m), Liz Roehrig (high jump and heptathlon), Alicia Rue (pole vault), Liz Podominick (discus), and Ruby Radocaj (javelin.)

In the men's meet, the Gophers sport #1-seeds in shot put (Aaron Studt) and 5000 meters (Hassan Mead) on a squad that looks to build on its 5th place finish at the Big Ten Indoor Championships. The meet, of course, is men's coach Phil Lundin's final Big Ten Championship at the helm of the Gophers. Lundin is leaving the U to coach at St. Olaf after the end of the season.

Action at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships begins this afternoon. Performance lists, heat sheets, and the event schedule are up on the meet's web-site, HERE.

The Minnesota Gopher media folks also put together great info packages for the meet HERE for women and HERE for men.

The Gophers aren't the only thing going on this weekend, of course. Below are DtB's results links for the Big Tens and the rest of the weekend's important action ...

Friday:
Big Ten Outdoor Championships: Live Results
Update: Rombough wins 10,000, McGinnis, Roehrig lead multis, Gopher men lead.

North Central Last Chance Meet: Startlists * Thursday Results * Friday Results

True Team State Meet: Results
Update: Eden Prairie edges Mounds View for Class AAA boys title ... see Star-Trib story HERE. Eastview wins girls Class AAA.

Saturday:
Big Ten Outdoor Championships: Live Results
True Team State Meet: Results
Update: New Prague boys, Totino Grace girls win Class AA; St. Croix Lutheran boys, Luverne girls win Class A.

Healthy Kidney 10K: Results
Update: Carlson 13th in 29:51.

Sunday:
Big Ten Outdoor Championships: Live Results
Adidas Track Classic: Results
Update: Deatherage 5th, Tollefson 10th in 1500m ... Goucher 4th in 3000m in 9:00 ... Leer runs 3:38.

Also:
Find other collegiate conference meet results HERE.
Update: Gits, Garrett Heath win Pac 10 titles.

USATF-Mn Features Emily Brown Interview

The USA Track and Field Minnesota web-site is featuring an interview with Team USA Minnesota's Emily Brown as the latest installment of its "Road to Beijing" series. Running Minnesota's Chad Austin conducted the interview.

Explaining where her recent breakthrough came from, the U of M grad offered Austin the following ...

"At Minnesota, as at most colleges, the ultimate goal is to win team championships. We were a team that was very focused on winning Big Ten titles and I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. I was also in a position to run in a number of Regional and National meets. Although winning championships and qualifying for NCAA’s are both markers of a successful season, they also require a runner to do a lot of racing and have multiple or sustained peaks throughout all three seasons. Each year I had a lengthened season; the time I had to rebuild my base got shorter and shorter. Now that I am out on my own, my racing has been much less and I haven’t had to be top shape for any particular race yet. I had a very long period to build my base and increase my mileage and I think that is the main reason why I am running better than I did in college."

You can read the full interview HERE.

Photo of Brown leading Rasa Troup at the Drake Relays by Gene Niemi.

Reusse and USATF-Mn on Van Norman

Heather Van Norman, the Minnesota high school sprinting phenom who won the Class A 100, 200, and 400 meter titles for four straight years from 1985 to 1988, is back in the news.

The Star-Tribune's Patrick Reusse was reminded of the Windom star after Texas high schooler Bonnie Richardson single-handedly won a state team title last weekend. Van Norman (pictured) did the same thing in Minnesota in 1987 when her triple was enough to earn Windom the MSHSL title. Windom won again in 1988 with Van Norman's 30 points and those of a 3rd-place 4 x 800m relay.

You can read the Reusse column HERE.

A story on Van Norman that I wrote two years ago for Minnesota Running & Track is republished, HERE, on the USATF - Minnesota web-site. Then, I caught up with Van Norman as she and the Tulane University track team she coaches were recovering from Hurricane Katrina.

Photo courtesy of Tulane University.

Minnesotans in Action Tonight in La Crosse

We usually save our results links for Friday, but we anticipate lots of important marks tonight at the UW - La Crosse Last Chance Meet. Among a passel of MIAC entrants looking to improve their chances of making the NCAA Division III Championships -- or simply notching a nice PR -- are a handful of post-collegiates ramping up for the Olympic Trials.

Among the headliners are ... Former Gopher ace Mitch Potter who is slated to run the 400m ... Team USA Minnesota's Matt Gabrielson, Brad Lowery, and Antonio Vega who are entered in the 5000m ... USA Champion Shani Marks and training partner Amanda Thieschafer who will compete in the triple jump ... And, training partners April Phillips and Bryan Tolcser who will compete in the hammer throws.

Full startlists are available HERE.

Results are available HERE.

Update: Marks wins TJ with 45-2 1/2, Thieschafer 2nd with 43-10 1/2 ... Potter wins 400m in 46.66 ... Team USA Mn 5000m 1-2-3: Gabrielson 14:10, Vega 14:11, Lowery 14:16 ... Phillips hammers 186-9, Tolcser 209-3.

Small Colleges Name Award Winners

Minnesota's small college conferences have named their outstanding athletes and coaches of the year on the heels of last weekend championship meets. Here's a run-down of the best and brightest from the North Central Conference, the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, and the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference ...

NCC: Heidi Evans, a Roseau High School alum who competes for the University of North Dakota, and Kelvin Rodgers of Minnesota State - Mankato where named the conference's Outstanding Athletes. Evans won the 1500m (4:31.77) and 3000m (10:06.71) at the championships. Rodgers, a sophomore from O'Fallon, Illinois, won the long jump (23-7 1/4), 100-meter dash (10.60), and 200-meter dash (21.57) individually and was part of the winning 4x100 meter relay. Because of the weather-accelerated schedule, all four events took place in the span of just a few hours on Friday evening.

Mankato men's coach Mark Schuck earned Coach of the Year honors. His Mavericks completed an NCC triple crown for the school year, winning cross country, indoor, and outdoor track titles in what is the final year of competition for the conference.

You can read the NCC media release HERE.

NSIC: Minnesotans claimed the field events Athlete of the Year honors in the NSIC. Bemidji State thrower Joe Remitz earned the accolade for men after wining the shot put, finishing second in the discus, and taking third in the hammer. Remitz, a North Branch native, set a new NSIC record with his shot put win of 61-6 3/4.

Minnesota State Moorhead’s Ashley Roemer earned the same distinction for women, The Maple Lake alum was a triple winner for the Dragons in the heptathlon (4,755 points), high jump (5-6), and 800 meters (2:15.36), and was a member of the winning 4 x 400m (3:59.88) and 4 x 800m (9:13.36) relay teams.

You can read the NSIC media release HERE.

MIAC: Joe Sweeney, who's University of St. Thomas women have won each and every MIAC Outdoor Championship -- 25 in all! -- was named the MIAC women's coach of the year. He cross country, indoor, and outdoor squads have now won 60 MIAC titles. Fittingly, Tommie women earned Outstanding Women's Track Athlete and Field Athlete honors after the meet. Nikki Arola won the award on the track after she earned wins in the 200m (25.91) and 400m (56.81). Arola also ran on the winning 4x100m (48.47) and 4x400m (3:55.24) relays.

Shara Guidry won titles in the discus and shot put. Guidry claimed the shot put title with a throw of 40-7 and took home top honors in the discus, where she is the defending NCAA Division III champion, with a throw of 142-11. Guidry also took second in the hammer with 152-11.

Gustavus Adolphus College's Lisa Brown won the Outstanding Performance of the Meet award for women for winning the javelin with a meet record-setting mark of 158-5. Brown was the Division III champion in the event in 2006 and is currently ranked #1 among Division III national meet qualifiers.

On the men's side, Hamline University's men's coach Lynden Reder was named Coach of the Year. Reder's squad placed 3rd in the contest, behind champions St. Thomas and runners-up St. John's.

Johnnies swept the Outstanding Athlete Awards. Chris Erichsen took the honors on the track after scoring 28 point for his team by winning the steeplechase and 5000m and finishing second in the 10,000m to a teammate. Erik Diley earned the distinction in the field for winning the long jump in 23-11 1/2 and finishing second int he triple jump in 46-2 1/2.

The Tommies' P.J. Theisen (who was recently featured in THIS College Sporting News story) earned the Outstanding Performance of the Meet award for his body of work at the championship. He won the 400 hurdles in 52.63, a time currently ranked second in Division III. Theisen also anchored the winning 4x100 relay in 42.18 and added a second in the long jump in a season-best 23-8, which ranks sixth in Division III. Theisen also took second in the 110 high hurdles (14.66) and third in the triple jump (45-10 3-4). He also ran on the runner-up 4x400 relay.

You can read the MIAC women's media release HERE ... the men's is HERE.

Podominick, Peterson Named Athletes of the Week

Univerisity of Minnesota thrower Liz Podominick and pole vaulter Ben Peterson have been named Big Ten Field Event Athletes of the Week for their exploits at the Minnesota Open last Friday.

Podominick won a pair of events on Friday: She landed her season-best effort in the shot put winning with a toss of 52-0 3/4 and added a discus win with a throw of 169-0. The weekly conference honor is the third of the season for the Lakeville native and ups the Gopher women's season-long total to 11.

Peterson, a Cody, Wyoming native, was honored for winning the pole vault competition at the meet with a career-best height of 16-10 3/4. Peterson’s vault is the fifth-best in school history and improves his NCAA Midwest Region Championships qualifying mark. The Gopher men collected five Big Ten weekly awards during the season. The weekly award is Peterson's first.

The Gopher squads are making final preparations for this weekend's Big Ten Outdoor Championships in Champaign, Illinois.

Master Official Larry Zirgibel Dead at 60

Larry Zirgibel, a familiar face at track meets across Minnesota, died Friday.

The Boyceville, Wisconsin resident, who was to be the starter at the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championships last weekend, suffered an apparent heart attack on Thursday and was pronounced dead on Friday. MIAC officials observed a moment of silence in his honor at the meet.

Zirgibel, 60, was a USA Track and Field master official who served the sport both locally and nationally. He is survived by his wife Donna, who is also a USATF master official.

Zirgibel will be buried this afternoon in La Crosse, Wisconsin

Zirgibel's obituary from the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram can be found HERE.

Condolences may be offered HERE.

Chris Lists: Top HS Boys Distance Performances

It's True Team State week in the Minnesota high school track and field universe, so let's kick off anticipation for those Friday and Saturday contests with updated boys distance running performance lists from DtB's own Chris Marshall.

As always, amendments and corrections are welcome.

800m:
Obai Hussein Rosemount 1:55.85 True Team Section
Nick Hutton Apple Valley 1:56.30 True Team Section
Kevin Bradley Mounds View 1:56.62 Bob Stewart Invitational
Zach Mellon Buffalo 1:56.90 Hamline Elite-Meet
Andy Richardson Irondale 1:56.99 True Team Section
Isaac Veldkamp Eden Prairie 1:57.00 Lakeville Mega Meet
Jordan Carlson Rosemount 1:57.14 True Team Section
Robel Kebede Minneapolis South 1:58.00 True Team Section
Danny Docherty Cretin-Derham Hall 1:58.68 True Team Section
Charlie Lapham Armstrong 1:58.77 True Team Section
Harun Abda Fridley 1:59.04 Hamline Elite-Meet
Jake Sorby Bemidji 1:59.23 Moorhead
John Holt Roseville 1:59.23 Hamline Relays
Dominick Rosario Edina 1:59.34 True Team Section
Reid Gilbertson Stillwater 1:59.52 Bob Stewart Invitational
Tim Erickson Austin 1:59.80 Big 9 Triangular

1600m:
Jordan Carlson Rosemount 4:13.07 Lake Relays
Andy Ricahrdson Irondale 4:15.16 Hamline Elite-Meet
Rob Finnerty Burnsville 4:15.29 Hamline Elite-Meet
Danny Docherty Cretin-Derham Hall 4:20.61 St. Thomas Invitational
Andy Papke-Larson Bemidji 4:21.94 True Team Section
Tyler King Lakeville North 4:22.35 True Team Section
Obai Hussein Rosemount 4:22.54 Lake Relays
Travis Burkstrand Eastview 4:22.77 St. Thomas Invitational
Luke Delaney Brainerd 4:22.79 True Team Section
Robel Kebede Minneapolis South 4:22.86 True Team Section
Travis Beniak Zumbrota-Mazeppa 4:23.52 Hamline Elite-Meet
Brian Wille Rochester Century 4:24.17 Hamline Elite-Meet
Dom Rosario Edina 4:25.70 Hamline Elite-Meet
Thomas Ruttger Brainerd 4:25.73 True Team Section
Pieter Gagnon Minneapolis Washburn 4:26.30 Hamline Elite-Meet
Ryan Baumgartner Blaine 4:27.34 True Team Section
Erik Truedson Bemidji 4:29.28 Grand Rapids Triangular
Mike Hutton Apple Valley 4:29.87 True Team Section

3200m:
Danny Docherty Cretin-Derham Hall 9:20.64 Wildcat Invitational
Jordan Carlson Rosemount 9:23.18 Hamline Elite-Meet
Pieter Gagnon Minneapolis Washburn 9:26.49 Minnesota/ROTC
Andy Richardson Irondale 9:28.5* Knights Triangular
Erik Truedson Bemidji 9:31.00 True Team Section
Tyler King Lakeville North 9:31.92 Hamline Elite-Meet
Ryan Baumgartner Blain 9:37.0* Pony Relays
Thomas Ruttger Brainerd 9:45.15 True Team Section
Tyler Rose Brainerd 9:45.28 True Team Section
Danny Ducharme Wayzata 9:45.93 True Team Section
Mahad Hassan Willmar 9:46.9* Willmar Optimist
Jeremy Drenckhahn Wayzata 9:48.25 Hamline Elite-Meet
Drew Paradis Alexandria 9:48.3 Alexandria Quad
Ryan Nichols Stillwater 9:49.2 Pony Relays

* = hand time