The Gophers have long practiced an open-border policy when it comes to their men's track and field roster. While it's still heavy with athletes from hot dish country — 75 percent of its members claim roots in Minnesota or Wisconsin — it has been adding African and European flavor to the mix for several years.
The ratio will be reversed this week, as the Gophers compete in the NCAA outdoor championships with perhaps the most multicultural squad they have ever has sent to the national meet. Decathlete Luca Wieland of Germany, hammer thrower Gian Ferretti of Italy, Kenyan-born runner Goaner Deng and shot putter Luke Johnson of Red Wing came to the U from all over the globe. Now united under the Gophers' flag, the quartet will travel to Eugene, Ore., to pursue a joint mission as the four-day meet begins Wednesday.
Coach Steve Plasencia has set a goal for each to make the top nine, and his worldly crew already has made a mark on the program this season. Wieland followed up his NCAA indoor title in the heptathlon with a Big Ten championship in the decathlon. Ferretti's first season has included a school record toss of 228 feet, 6½ inches in the hammer throw, while Deng set a personal best in the 800 meters (1 minute, 48.64 seconds) and Johnson did the same in the shot put (61-4¼).
"It's really cool to have guys on the team from different countries,'' said Deng, a junior who earned All-America honors in 2013 as part of the 4x400 relay team. "You get to compete with these guys every day while learning about everyone's different cultures, backgrounds and experiences. We all connect through the sport of track and field, and we all have one common goal.''
Globe trotting
Many Gophers teams now feature international athletes, competing in everything from women's basketball to men's hockey to teams of both genders in golf and tennis. Plasencia said the men's track and field roster typically includes only five or six members born outside the U.S., but many have made a big impact.
During the 1990s, when Plasencia was an assistant coach, the Gophers brought in several Scandinavian athletes — including Martin Eriksson of Sweden and Vesa Rantanen of Finland, who won NCAA indoor titles in the pole vault in 1993 and 1998, respectively. That began a period in which more and more non-Americans became Gophers All-Americas. That trend has continued, with runners such as Hassan Mead (Somalia) and Harun Abda (Ethiopia) and throwers like Quentin Mege (France) among recent U stars.
With the Internet making it easier for the Gophers to find international prospects — and for young athletes abroad to find them — the team continues to expand its recruiting reach. "Our coaches keep an eye on what's going on with the international scene, and they will pursue those athletes,'' Plasencia said. "Some of those will have cultural curiosity, and the NCAA is viewed as a pretty good developmental system for track and field.''
Wieland agreed, saying the U offered him a chance to combine college with a top-notch training environment. He got a few scholarship offers through a service that helps European athletes connect with U.S. college coaches, then chose the U because of its academics and the program's success.
