TEAM USA MINNESOTA

MINNEAPOLIS -- In his role as coach of the Team USA Minnesota distance running center, Augsburg College track and field/cross country head coach Dennis Barker will have two of his athletes competing at the IIAF World Outdoor Track and Field Championships, to be held in Berlin, Germany, Aug. 15-24.

Matt Gabrielson will be competing in the men's marathon competition, after finishing second at the USA Men's Marathon Championship, a race hosted by the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon last October. He is one of five members of the U.S. men's marathon team that will compete at the World Championships.

Katie McGregor will be competing in her third World Championships in a row in the women's 10,000-meter run, after finishing third at the U.S. Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the event on June 25. A three-time national champion at the distance, her qualifying time was 32:08.04.

Barker has served as coach of Team USA Minnesota since it was established in 2001 as one of several regional training centers for national, international and Olympic-caliber distance runners. Team USA Minnesota runners, primarily from Minnesota and the Upper Midwest, train at Augsburg and the nearby University of Minnesota. Thirteen athletes currently train with Barker for Team USA Minnesota.

In his eight years with Team USA Minnesota, Barker has coached 10 athletes who have competed in 22 events at the IIAF World Championships in cross country, indoor/outdoor track and road racing. Eleven of his athletes have achieved a total of 36 top-three finishes in U.S. championship events. One of Barker's most famous Team USA Minnesota runners is Minnesota native Carrie Tollefson, who competed in the 2004 Athens Olympics in the women's 1,500 meters.