Picture of 2011 Big 10 Champions - Iowa Hawkeyes

Recap of 2011 Big 10 Championships

#1 Iowa Hawkeyes

The Iowa Hawkeyes pulled off a shocking upset victory at the Big Ten Championships this weekend. Though Iowa was considered a threat going in, all eyes were on the Minnesota Gophers as they put up point after point all weekend. After a quiet first day, the Hawkeyes positioned themselves for a title run behind championship performances from Troy Doris in the triple jump, Matt Byers repeat win in the javelin, and sophomore Justin Austin’s school and facility record of 20.46 in the 200 meters. Meanwhile, Hawkeye veterans Eric Sowinski (2nd) and Adam Hairston (6th) scored some big points in one of the most competitive Big Ten (or any other conference for that matter) 800s in years. The real excitement however came down to the 4x400 as Iowa trailed Minnesota by just .5 points heading into the event. The race went all the way to the wire as senior Steven Willey of Iowa finished two places ahead of the Gophers squad, securing the overall team title. Most of the Hawkeyes contributors this weekend are expected to return next season, but time will tell if they can continue to compete for Big Ten championships. They pulled off an astonishing victory at home as they brought in a little over 110 points on the final day of competition, but repeating such a performance on the road year after year is where the real challenge begins. That being said, congrats to all the Hawkeyes, especially coach Larry Wieczorek who was a member of the last championship team from all the way back in 1967, on a great weekend at the Cretzmeyer track.

#2 Minnesota Gophers

The Gophers looked strong all weekend as they hoped to continue their newly found dominance among the Big Ten. The meet saw the brilliant return of junior Hassan Mead who doubled back for 3rd place in the 5000m after a decisive victory in the 10000m Friday night. Mead, who had spent a great deal of time on the shelf over the last year has been quietly coming along since late indoor season, but now it looks as though he has returned to near top form. Meanwhile, the Gophers’ 400 + 800 crews made a serious statement as they scored three runners in each event. The Gophers also managed to place four of their competitors in the top 8 in the men’s decathlon competition. This is a very young, very dangerous team. Factor back in recent red shirt mile sensation Ben Blankenship and you’ve got a team with quite a few heavy hitters and tons of depth in field.

#3 Ohio State Buckeyes

The Buckeyes demonstrated yet again that they can consistently compete for a podium spot as they scored 109 points to secure third place. Year after year, Ohio State finds a way to get it done, persevering as other teams implode and finishing a step or two off from the champions. Aside from the championship performances of Thomas Murdaugh in the 400 and a 4x400m victory, the Buckeyes fought hard with a lot of guys stepping up to grab some points. Cory Leslie and Jake Edwards took advantage of a wide-open 1500 race to capture 4th and 5th while Demoye Bogle and Barron Witherspoon earned 3rd and 5th respectively in the 110m hurdles. In the field, the Buckeyes got some help from the second place performance of Michael Hartfield in the triple jump as well as a 5-6 finish from Will Lauricella and Bryan Bunnell in the Javelin.

#4 Indiana Hoosiers

The Indiana Hoosiers had some great performances across the board as they had a couple individual champions in addition to their fourth place team showing. The distance men started the show by placing three in the top four of the steeplechase. Leading the way was junior De’Sean Turner followed closely by teammates Andrew Poore and Andy Weatherford. For many years, the Big Ten steeple was traditionally one of the weakest events in the conference, but in the last couple years it seems that everyone has a sub 9 guy or two…for now though the Hoosier harriers seem to have a bit of a stranglehold on the event. Andrew Poore had a strong showing in a loaded 5000m by taking second place while teammate Ben Hubers, fresh off of a victory in the 1500m, finished fourth. The Hoosiers also narrowly missed out on a victory in the 4x100m relay coming in .09 seconds behind Illinois. Like the Gophers, IU would have greatly benefited from the services of their red shirted star, Andy Bayer, as well as high jump phenom Derek Drouin. Despite the absences however, the Hoosiers had an impressive showing to say the least this weekend.

#5 Wisconsin Badgers

The Badgers struggled early, dashing their hopes for yet another title brought back to Madison. However, the team rallied hard and was able to put up some solid performances in the last two days of competition. At the end of a rough first day, the sophomore trio of Mohamed Ahmed, Maverick Darling and Elliot Krause took 2-3-4 in the 10000m to remind the rest of the thin-clads that no one’s walking away with easy points in the distances. The Badgers also managed some solid points in the relays as the 4x100m finished third as they attempted to challenge for a repeat victory after last year’s surprise win. Despite having a solid middle distance crew, the Badgers couldn’t live up to their own expectations in the 800. It started in the prelims with three Gophers bouncing All-American Zach Mellon out of the final and continued as senior Zach Beth was unable to repeat his first round performance. Sophomore Rob Finnerty had a nice showing in the 1500m placing third as he continues to carry the weight of the Badger’s great mile tradition. The Badgers also had nice performances from David Grzesiak who snuck in for third in the decathlon. One of the more surprising victories of the weekend was Wisconsin’s Reed Connor who captured his first Big Ten title in the 5000m run. Meanwhile, teammates Landon Peacock and Maverick Darling followed closely in fifth and sixth place respectively to salvage a few points. The Badgers will surely look to improve upon a disappointing finish as they look forward to hosting the outdoor meet in Madison next spring.

#6 Penn State Nittany Lions

The Nittany Lions finished sixth this weekend behind strong showings from standouts Casmir Loxsom, Blake Eaton, Joe Kovacs and Ryan Foster. Sophomore sensation Loxsom clocked a victory in the 800m with a facility record of 147.7 while teammate Sam Borchers had a great performance as he finished in fourth place. Opting to use his talents for the longer metric mile, 800 man Ryan Foster placed a very respectable second place in the 1500m with a time of 3:50.15. Senior Blake Eaton repeated as champion in the shot put while teammate Joe Kovacs again finished behind Eaton for a nice one two punch from Penn State.

#7 Illinois Illini

The Illini finished near to the bottom of the conference for the umpteenth time, but despite their overall showing they had several stellar performances that offer a lot of hope for the future. National Champion Andrew Riley won his second straight 110m hurdles in addition to leading off for the winning 4x100m team. Also returning is junior Stanley Azie who finished second in both 100m and 200m dashes while senior teammate Cody Wisslead captured his first Big Ten title in the 400m hurdles. Junior Kyle Engell managed a 5th place in a steeplechase dominated by cream and crimson. It was unfortunate that junior Colin Mickow couldn’t repeat something as impressive as last year’s third place performance in the 10k, but with plenty of time left to compete hopefully we’ll hear from him yet again. The rest of the Illini meanwhile will look to fill in the gaps and hopefully make a much needed impact.

#8 Purdue Boilermakers

The Boilermakers continued their streak of back of the conference finishes this past weekend, but not without some incredible performances from a few of their athletes. Sophomore Geoff Davis endured tough jumping conditions to win his first Big Ten title in the high jump. Senior Bill Hardcastle was unable to defend his 2010 discus title, but he still turned in a very respectable second place showing as he looks ahead to the post season. Ladd Mercer and Jacob Palmer were Purdue’s lone representatives as far as distance points are concerned. The bottom line is Purdue needs to finds itself a niche and start building a team around it. They can usually turn in some solid throws and field events, but this is the Big Ten and there are plenty of others who have proven time and time again that they can do it better.

#9 Michigan Wolverines

The Wolverines had a disappointing weekend as newcomer Alex Gibby got his first taste of a Big Ten outdoor meet. In the distances, Craig Forys grabbed a single point in the 5000m run while teammate and fellow standout Bobby Aprill had some troubling performances. The Wolverines did manage to throw down some solid performances in the 110m and 400m hurdles, but overall this team doesn’t have much to write home about after this weekend. They are young though and just beginning a building process in their usually rich distance tradition. The Wolverines didn’t have much to show this weekend, but they’ll navigate their way back toward the top…the question now is when?

#10 Michigan State Spartans

Neighboring college Michigan State also had a rough time out as they came home with a last place finish. Outside of a few performances, such as freshman Zack Hill’s fourth place showing in the shot put or Derik Peterman’s third place finish in the pole vault, the Spartans overall execution left them well behind 9th place Michigan. This is a team that had a lot of guys finishing events between 9th and 12th place. If the Spartans can figure out how to translate those out of contention finishes into some small points across the board they could potentially compete with the middle of the pack as they continue to build and plan how to get out from underneath the Big Ten.

#11 Northwestern Wildcats

Despite several world record performances, the Wildcats of Northwestern remained at the lowly 11th place spot. Although it should be noted that the University actually has no Men’s Track & Field or Cross Country Teams, this last place finish is a certain travesty the likes of which have never been seen by the usually dominant Wildcat squad.