Gophers’ Wilkinson named Big Ten’s Men’s Track Athlete of the Championships

A University of Minnesota men’s track athlete has been named the athlete of the championships for the first time in more than a decade.

Gophers Athletics announced Friday that Matt Wilkinson earned the honor, making him the first Gopher since 2012 to gain that recognition.

Wilkinson was the only male student-athlete to win two Big Ten titles at last weekend’s outdoor championships in Indiana, and the Greenwood native is now the first male athlete to earn the award at outdoor championships since Hassan Mead in 2009.

Wilkinson also became the first Gopher to win both the 3000m steeplechase and the 5000m events at the same championships and the first Big Ten student-athlete to do so since Michigan’s John Mortimer did it in 1998.

Also honored with sportsmanship awards Friday were Marta Kogucki and Seth Eliason.