Minnesota, Illinois, and Nebraska sit at the top of the heap.

By Adam Hensley
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The Big Ten will kick off the track and field indoor season starting in January. In a conference loaded with talent, only the top teams can battle for a top-three spot.

Minnesota finished third in last season’s men’s indoor Big Ten meet.

One reason for its success was junior Luca Wieland of Saarbrücken, Germany, who won the heptathlon with a school record 5,787 points.

This season, Wieland won the heptathlon at the Opener at St. Scholastica. Following the meet, he was named the national Athlete of the Week by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross-Country Coaches Association.

Not only will Wieland defend his Big Ten title, he will also defend his national title.

However, Wieland is not the only Gopher to keep an eye on. In last season’s indoor conference championships, juniors Mitch Hechsel and Nate Roese finished first and second in the 600 meters.

Sophomore Brad Neumann finished seventh in the 200 meters in his first college conference meet. At the time, he was the only freshman in the finals.

Senior Goaner Deng and junior Bradley Johnson also placed fifth and sixth in the 800.

Finishing second in the meet, Illinois went on to win the outdoor Big Ten meet, beating Nebraska.

In the indoor meet, senior Ian Barnett led the way for the distance team. He finished in the top five in both the 3,000 and 5,000 meters.     Three Illini runners finished in the top 12 in the 3,000 meters.

Iowa head coach Layne Anderson knows that the Big Ten is one of the most dominant conferences in track and field, especially when it comes to long distance.

“The Big Ten is historically good in the distance events,” he said. “You have to be an NCAA [championship]-level distance runner to potentially score in any distance event.”

Illinois did just that, with its group in the top half of the event.

Another key event for Illinois was the 4×400-meter relay. The Illini took home the crown, and three of the four runners will return this season, putting them in a prime position to repeat.

Aiming to repeat as indoor champions, Nebraska proved why it deserves to be on top.

Head coach Gary Pepin, entering his 36th season, believes his team has what it takes to be one of the best in the country.

“[Our goal is to] win the Big Ten Championships and finish in the top 10 in the NCAA Championships,” he said. “For us to win the conference championship, it will take a full team effort. We cannot rely on just a couple key people.”

One of those key people, Cody Rush, has battled an injury. The senior team captain sprinter missed most of the fall training with injury, but he is beginning his training after recovering.

Pepin has high praise for his seniors, Oladapo Akinmoladun and Rush, citing their leadership.

“Rush and Akinmoladun are real team players,” he said. “[They have] strong work ethics and are leaders throughout their work and competition accomplishments.”

In the 2014 indoor conference championship, Akinmoladun placed first in the 60-meter hurdles. Rush finished fifth in the 200 and fourth in the 400.

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