The Golden Gopher men’s cross country team placed two runners in the top six finishers in placing second at the BYU Autumn Classic in Provo, Utah, on Saturday. No. 26 Minnesota, competing without several of its top runners, was second with 41 points, while No. 17 BYU won the title with 20 points.

Senior Mike Torchia paced the Gophers with a fourth-place finish, covering the 4-mile BYU course in a time of 20 minutes, 32.7 seconds. Sophomore Pieter Gagnon ran a great race as well, placing sixth in 20:37.8.

Others scoring for the Gophers were Sean Olson in 13th (21:02.4), Andrew Larsen in 14th (21:03.7) and Erik Truedson in 15th (21:07.3). Larsen and Truedson are redshirt freshmen who ran their first collegiate races.

BYU junior Miles Batty captured medalist honors with a time of 19:49.9.

“I didn’t do our guys any favors in this opening meet,” said Golden Gopher head coach Steve Plasencia. “We ran at altitude (4,600 feet) with the temperatures in the low 90s. This meet was a stiff challenge but I’m pleased with how our team battled.”

The Gophers will compete at home next Friday at the Oz Memorial Run at 5:45 p.m. at Les Bolstad Golf Course in Falcon Heights, Minn.


BYU Autumn Classic – 4 miles
Saturday, Sept. 4, 2010
BYU Cross Country Course
Provo, Utah

1  BYU    1-2-4-6-7-(8)-(9)    20
2  Minnesota    3-5-10-11-12-(13)-(15)    41
3  San Bernardino Coll.    14-16-17-18-19-(20)-(21)    84

Top 10 Individuals
1  Mike Batty (BYU)    19:49.9
2  Cameron Levins (Unatt)    19:54.4
3  Rex Shield (BYU)    20:23.3
4  Mike Torchia (Minn.)    20:32.7
5  Alden Bahr (BYU)    20:35.1
6  Pieter Gagnon (Minn.)    20:37.8
7  Jared Rohatinsky (BYU)    20:40.5
8  Jonathan Kotter (BYU)    20:50.9
9  Nathan Ogden (BYU)    20:53.9
10  Josh Adams (BYU)    20:56.4

Other Gopher Finishers
13  Sean Olson    21:02.4
14  Andrew Larsen    21:03.7
15  Erik Truedson    21:07.3
20  Kevin Lachowitzer    21:22.4
25  Mike McFarland    21:33.7
26  Paul Hilsen    21:34.0
27  Steve Sulkin    21:39.0