Two runners for the Gophers — John Simons in the men's mile and Alena Brooks in the women's 600 — won individual titles in the Big Ten indoor track and field championships in Geneva, Ohio.
Both are seniors, but their victories had little in common. Simons won a tactical, slow-paced race. Brooks set a conference record.
Simons' time was 4 minutes, 15.73 — almost 12 seconds slower than what he ran in the preliminaries. Marcus Paulson, another Gopher, was sixth (4:17.51) in the finals.
Jon Lehman of the Gophers took second in the weight throw. He threw 74-5 on his second-to-last attempt in the finals. Teammate Justin Barber took eighth (66-5).
Goaner Deng was third in the 800 (1:50.44). Wally Ellenson, who recently left the men's basketball team to focus on the high jump, placed fourth. He cleared 6-11½ on his third try. Nate Roese was sixth in the 600 (1:17.95). Minnesota's 4x400 relay took eighth (3:11.91).
Wisconsin, with four individual champions, repeated as the team champion with 122.5 points. Nebraska was second with 110. The Gophers were sixth with 57.
In the women's conference meet, Brooks, the top seed, won the 600 in 1:26.73, but Minnesota's best event was a much longer race.
Molly Kayfes, Laura Docherty and Liz Berkholtz were second, third and fifth in the 5,000, respectively. Michigan's Erin Finn won the race by almost 30 seconds over Kayfes (16:21.06).
