Feb. 25, 2006
3000 meters: unseeded section
Winner: Dan N… (Penn State)
“I’ve been running a lot of miles and my training has been really up and down, but to go out there and run it, it felt much more natural. I’m more of a distance runner, so to get in and win a race like that, it’s more suited to me and it felt really good. I was really happy with it. I’ve just had a few really up and down past couple of years, so it felt good to win the race, but also know that there are a lot of quicker guys with better times. It’s a good way to start the season for me.”
Shot Put
Winner: Karl Erickson (Minnesota)
“Coming into this meet, I knew it was going to be my last Big Ten Indoor meet. I had the farthest distance (in the Big Ten) coming into the meet, and I wanted to keep it that way during the meet and win. It feels good to get a shot-put title. I hope to continue doing it after college. We still have a lot of season left, but it’s just been a lot of fun. I’m lucky to have been a part of Big Ten track and field.”
Long Jump
Winner: Matty Gorman (Iowa)
“It feels great. Coming into Iowa as a sophomore and winning a Big Ten championship this early is just big. I thought this was out of my reach, but now that I’ve grabbed it, it’s an excellent feeling. This year, compared to last year, I’ve been taking care of my body a whole lot better; eating right, drinking right, sleeping good amounts of time…just those little things day by day. My goal for the rest of the season is that I just want to best my best. I’d still like to get over 25-5. Hopefully, I will get stronger and be able to reach that goal.”
3,000 meters: seeded section
Winner: Chris Solinsky (Wisconsin)
“I didn’t know what exactly was going to happen. I knew I was in pretty good shape, but I didn’t know the record was going to fall. My main goal was to come in and win a Big Ten title because I hadn’t done that yet. The time came with the victory, so I couldn’t be happier about that. I’m going to do a few more workouts, try to get a little stronger, and use this as a motivator and confidence booster going in to Nationals. Hopefully, I can duplicate this and maybe run a bit better down at Nationals.”
Distance Medley Relay
Winner: Ohio State
“We just ran hard. We’re going to focus on Nationals, then going to outdoor season. We’ll start a training block and get refocused.”