Lloyd Ness ran track-and-field and cross-country for the Gophers back in the day. He was an All-America in 1981 for the cross-country team, helping Minnesota to a 12th-place finish at the NCAA meet. He was also an NCAA track-and-field All-America in the 10,000-meter run.
His daughter, Bailey, a senior at East Ridge, is following his footsteps.
"My dad tried to not push the U, but it was pretty obvious that he wanted me to go there," Bailey said. "It was definitely my decision in the end when I decided that the U was the school that I wanted to go to.
"I loved the team and the coach. I felt like they were a great fit for me. I also loved the location of the school."
She appears to be a fit with the Gophers, too.
"Bailey had a phenomenal senior cross-country season after struggling with iron issues as a junior," Gophers track-and-field coach Sarah Hopkins said in a release. "She ran a sub-14:00 4k to win the Suburban East title and was a top-40 finisher at the Nike National Championships. She is a tough runner who is only scratching the surface of how good she can be. Bailey is a second-generation Gopher cross-country runner, as her dad is an alum and former Big Ten champion in the 10,000-meter. I am so excited to see the journey that Bailey creates for herself during the next four years."
After addressing an iron deficiency, Ness put together an impressive campaign this past year. She won the 2013 Suburban East Conference cross-country title and also qualified for the Nike Cross Nationals, one of the most prestigious events in the country.
Ness ran a 14:54.5 at the cross-country state meet, good for 16th place overall. Her teammate, Emily Betz, ran a 14:33.1, which put her at fifth place as an individual. The Raptors, as a team, finished fifth in the state.
