As thoughts turn to fall and a new school year, the Minnesota men's cross country team gears up for another run at a goal that has through past successes become the expected. This goal is simple, though it takes plenty of dedication and good old hard work to accomplish. The goal of the 2004 Golden Gopher season is to end the year at the NCAA Championships, extending the Minnesota streak at the national meet to eight consecutive seasons.

"With health and good luck, this team has the potential to be as good as any I've coached here at Minnesota," head coach Steve Plasencia said. "Every season has its turns, successes and challenges. Having competed at seven straight NCAA meet means what it means -- we've been among the top teams in the nation for a long time. If you sit on the doorstep long enough, you'll get a breakthrough. While we were pleased to advance to the NCAAs last year, we weren't pleased with our performance there. We can do more and especially with a healthy All-American in Andrew Carlson, a solid high placer, returning, we feel we are in a good position to do just that."

Minnesota returns eight letterwinners from the 2003 squad that placed 26th at the NCAA meet. Highlighting the veterans are a solid core of six Gophers who have all-region honors on their resumes. This is the experience Plasencia will look to help his squad move up the standings in the Big Ten Conference and the NCAA Championships.

"Our six all-region runners are a great foundation to build upon for this team," said Plasencia. "They know what it takes to get to the NCAA Championships, and that's where we want to be each and every season."

The Golden Gophers will get a boost from the return Andrew Carlson, an All-American and a fifth-year senior who missed the 2003 campaign with a sports hernia injury. Carlson captured medalist honors at the 2003 NCAA Midwest Region Championships, before placing 32nd at the national meet. He was the first Golden Gopher to add his name to the list of Minnesota All-Americans since Dave Morrison in 1984.

"Andrew is back as a more mature and stronger runner," adds Plasencia. "When healthy, he is one of the top runners in the Big Ten. We're excited to have him back."

Carlson, a two-year team captain, returned for the outdoor track season in 2004 and earned his first trip to the NCAA Track & Field Championships in the 5,000-meter run. During the season, he eclipsed the school record in the event, a record that had stood for 27 years.

In Carlson's absence a year ago, the Gophers needed some young talent to take a step forward and they received just that from Antonio Vega. As a redshirt freshman in 2003, Vega emerged as one of the Gophers' top runners, finishing as the top Gopher at the Big Ten Championships and garnering all-region honors with a ninth-place showing at the regional meet. With a year of experience, look for big things from Vega in the upcoming season.

"You don't expect a redshirt freshman to do what Antonio did last season, but he stepped in an filled a huge void," said Plasencia. "He's coming off a great summer of training and we expect he will develop further in the program this fall."

Minnesota also have four other all-region performers aiming at making the 2004 season the best of their careers. Senior Ryan Ford has been a consistent force for the Gophers throughout his career and has garnered all-region honors in each of the past two seasons.

"Consistency is exactly the word I think of when I think of Ryan Ford," said Plasencia. "He has the ability to run well in distances from the 800 meters to the 10K. The diverse nature of his running talent is not common."

In past seasons, fifth-year senior Martin Robeck earned alol-region cross country accolades a year ago but primarily used the cross country season to train for track. Now that the multiple All-American's track career at Minnesota is over, Robeck has one season to put all his energies into training for a cross country season.

The fifth returning Gopher with all-region honors is junior Ryan Malmin. Malmin placed 10th at the 2002 NCAA Midwest Region Championships but struggled with injuries early in 2003. Once on pace, he just missed all-region honors a year ago, placing 26th before finishing as Minnesota's top runner at the NCAA Championships.

Senior Erik Grumstrup is another experienced runner that has consistently made an impact on the Gophers' lineup. Grumstrup is the sixth Gopher with an all-region award, coming in the 2002 season. With the large number of experienced upperclassmen on the Gopher roster this fall, Grumstrup may redshirt the season and return to captain the 2005 squad.

Two other seniors, Michael Bialick and Josh DoBell are additional returning letterwinners who will add depth to the Gopher roster. Juniors Ben Hanson and Trent Riter are back and looking to break into the traveling roster. Both are standouts on the track with Riter an U.S. Olympic Trials finalist in the 800 meters and Hanson and indoor All-American in the distance relay.

Despite the talented returners in the upper classes, Plasencia is hoping to see several of members of the freshman and sophomore classes to make a push for the top seven. Tom Schmidt and Michael VanBeusekom are sophomores with a year of experience behind them. Luke Bryant, Todd Johnson and Eddie Kibera make up the freshmen redshirt class and have the goal of following Vega's example for last season.

"We have a large group of underclassmen on the team this season and we look for them to learn from our talented upperclassmen," said Plasencia. "These are guys you'll see in future seasons leading this team and carrying on the tradition. We do expect several of them to step up this season though. We look for Tom Schmidt and Luke Bryant to contend for top lineup spots, and of our true freshmen, Justin Grunewald and Luke Walker may be able to contribute immediately."

A large contingent of eight true freshmen will join the squad in 2004, most looking to redshirt the season. They are Severyn Claymore, Matthew Damico, Justin Grunewald, Gerg Koniges, Matt Parker, Ben Puhl, Seijen Takamura and Luke Walker. As thoughts turn to fall and a new school year, the Minnesota men's cross country team gears up for another run at a goal that has through past successes become the expected. This goal is simple, though it takes plenty of dedication and good old hard work to accomplish. The goal of the 2004 Golden Gopher season is to end the year at the NCAA Championships, extending the Minnesota streak at the national meet to eight consecutive seasons.

"With health and good luck, this team has the potential to be as good as any I've coached here at Minnesota," head coach Steve Plasencia said. "Every season has its turns, successes and challenges. Having competed at seven straight NCAA meet means what it means -- we've been among the top teams in the nation for a long time. If you sit on the doorstep long enough, you'll get a breakthrough. While we were pleased to advance to the NCAAs last year, we weren't pleased with our performance there. We can do more and especially with a healthy All-American in Andrew Carlson, a solid high placer, returning, we feel we are in a good position to do just that."

Minnesota returns eight letterwinners from the 2003 squad that placed 26th at the NCAA meet. Highlighting the veterans are a solid core of six Gophers who have all-region honors on their resumes. This is the experience Plasencia will look to help his squad move up the standings in the Big Ten Conference and the NCAA Championships.

"Our six all-region runners are a great foundation to build upon for this team," said Plasencia. "They know what it takes to get to the NCAA Championships, and that's where we want to be each and every season."

The Golden Gophers will get a boost from the return Andrew Carlson, an All-American and a fifth-year senior who missed the 2003 campaign with a sports hernia injury. Carlson captured medalist honors at the 2003 NCAA Midwest Region Championships, before placing 32nd at the national meet. He was the first Golden Gopher to add his name to the list of Minnesota All-Americans since Dave Morrison in 1984.

"Andrew is back as a more mature and stronger runner," adds Plasencia. "When healthy, he is one of the top runners in the Big Ten. We're excited to have him back."

Carlson, a two-year team captain, returned for the outdoor track season in 2004 and earned his first trip to the NCAA Track & Field Championships in the 5,000-meter run. During the season, he eclipsed the school record in the event, a record that had stood for 27 years.

In Carlson's absence a year ago, the Gophers needed some young talent to take a step forward and they received just that from Antonio Vega. As a redshirt freshman in 2003, Vega emerged as one of the Gophers' top runners, finishing as the top Gopher at the Big Ten Championships and garnering all-region honors with a ninth-place showing at the regional meet. With a year of experience, look for big things from Vega in the upcoming season.

"You don't expect a redshirt freshman to do what Antonio did last season, but he stepped in an filled a huge void," said Plasencia. "He's coming off a great summer of training and we expect he will develop further in the program this fall."

Minnesota also have four other all-region performers aiming at making the 2004 season the best of their careers. Senior Ryan Ford has been a consistent force for the Gophers throughout his career and has garnered all-region honors in each of the past two seasons.

"Consistency is exactly the word I think of when I think of Ryan Ford," said Plasencia. "He has the ability to run well in distances from the 800 meters to the 10K. The diverse nature of his running talent is not common."

In past seasons, fifth-year senior Martin Robeck earned alol-region cross country accolades a year ago but primarily used the cross country season to train for track. Now that the multiple All-American's track career at Minnesota is over, Robeck has one season to put all his energies into training for a cross country season.

The fifth returning Gopher with all-region honors is junior Ryan Malmin. Malmin placed 10th at the 2002 NCAA Midwest Region Championships but struggled with injuries early in 2003. Once on pace, he just missed all-region honors a year ago, placing 26th before finishing as Minnesota's top runner at the NCAA Championships.

Senior Erik Grumstrup is another experienced runner that has consistently made an impact on the Gophers' lineup. Grumstrup is the sixth Gopher with an all-region award, coming in the 2002 season. With the large number of experienced upperclassmen on the Gopher roster this fall, Grumstrup may redshirt the season and return to captain the 2005 squad.

Two other seniors, Michael Bialick and Josh DoBell are additional returning letterwinners who will add depth to the Gopher roster. Juniors Ben Hanson and Trent Riter are back and looking to break into the traveling roster. Both are standouts on the track with Riter an U.S. Olympic Trials finalist in the 800 meters and Hanson and indoor All-American in the distance relay.

Despite the talented returners in the upper classes, Plasencia is hoping to see several of members of the freshman and sophomore classes to make a push for the top seven. Tom Schmidt and Michael VanBeusekom are sophomores with a year of experience behind them. Luke Bryant, Todd Johnson and Eddie Kibera make up the freshmen redshirt class and have the goal of following Vega's example for last season.

"We have a large group of underclassmen on the team this season and we look for them to learn from our talented upperclassmen," said Plasencia. "These are guys you'll see in future seasons leading this team and carrying on the tradition. We do expect several of them to step up this season though. We look for Tom Schmidt and Luke Bryant to contend for top lineup spots, and of our true freshmen, Justin Grunewald and Luke Walker may be able to contribute immediately."

A large contingent of eight true freshmen will join the squad in 2004, most looking to redshirt the season. They are Severyn Claymore, Matthew Damico, Justin Grunewald, Gerg Koniges, Matt Parker, Ben Puhl, Seijen Takamura and Luke Walker.