Gopher's 10th at NCAA's!!

We just returned from the NCAA Cross Country Championships in Terre Haute,
Indiana where the gophers placed 10th in the country!  The team was ranked 13th
entering the meet and improved on the ranking to make it 5 straight years with a
top 12 team finish. Only one other team in the country, fellow Big Ten power
Illinois, has finished in the top 12 for the past five years (they finished 12th
on Monday).


Coach Wilson talks to flotrack about the streak:
http://www.flotrack.org/videos/coverage/view_video/235833-the-2009-ncaa-d1-cross-country-championships/214715-minnesota-coach-gary-wilson-continuing-the-streak-at-the-2009-ncaa-xc-championships)www.flotrack.org/videos/coverage/view_video/235833-the-2009-ncaa-d1-cross-country-championships/214715-minnesota-coach-gary-wilson-continuing-the-streak-at-the-2009-ncaa-xc-championships

Senior All-American Megan Duwell had a historical day for Minnesota finishing
7th, the highest any gopher has finished in school history! Megan also broke her
own school record running 20:06 for 6k.


Megan talks about her race and the team:
http://www.flotrack.org/videos/coverage/view_video/235833-the-2009-ncaa-d1-cross-country-championships/214711-megan-duwell-minnesota-7th-2009-ncaa-xc-championships)www.flotrack.org/videos/coverage/view_video/235833-the-2009-ncaa-d1-cross-country-championships/214711-megan-duwell-minnesota-7th-2009-ncaa-xc-championships

Minnesota was the highest finishing Big Ten school followed by Illinois in 12th,
Penn State 14th, Michigan State 26th, Michigan 27th, Ohio State 29th and Indiana
31st.



The team is now on a much deserved break and will have two weeks to rest and
relax before training begins for indoor track!

Gary Wilson Named Midwest Coach of the Year!

For the third straight year, Gary Wilson was named Midwest Region Coach of the Year! The honor is voted on by all of the schools in the region.

CONGRATULATIONS WILS :)

Gopher Women Earn Midwest Region Three-Peat!

The Gopher Women's Cross Country team re-wrote the Minnesota record books three times today at the Midwest Regional Cross Country Meet.

First, the team won its third straight Midwest Region Title, upsetting higher ranked Illinois who had bested the gophers twice this season, and Iowa State who beat the gophers at the Roy Griak Invitational earlier in the year. This gives the women an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships one week from Monday! It is the Gophers 5th straight NCAA appearance!!

Secondly, ALL SEVEN of Minnesota's runners finished in the top 25 and were names All-Region by the coaches association! It is the first time in school history that all seven runners have acheived this honor in the same season. The four seniors in the group each earned the third honor of their careers! Proving how rare that kind of team depth is, Minnesota is one of only two teams in the country today to accomplish that feat.

Finally, Gopher Senior All-American Megan Duwell broke Minnesota's 6k school record running the course in 20:14, breaking the existing school record by 5 seconds. Duwell came through the 5k in 16:50 and kept pressing to a 2nd place finish!