Gagnon, Torchia make up potent duo

It is rare to find a pair of runners who regularly talk about things as far-reaching as fluid dynamics of blood flow in the heart or tubular velocity of blood vessels while on training runs.
Rarer still are such intellects that run six-kilometer races in under 25 minutes.
Pieter Gagnon, a mechanical engineering major, is the sophomore member of the duo seemingly defined by their proximity — both intellectually and on the course.
He and senior captain Mike Torchia have become good friends through the sport, as well as through their respective academic endeavors.
“I’m sure that the intellectual level of conversations they’d have on a distance run is one that I couldn’t engage in,” head coach Steve Plasencia said. “They might reach into some topics that I’d have no business being a part of.”
Torchia, a medical school hopeful, admits that conversations between the two can get “pretty nerdy every once in a while.”
Runners on the team generally train in pairs, and beyond their academic endeavors, the Gagnon-Torchia duo has ascended to near the height of the team. They run similar times and are near the top of the team’s top-seven roster.
“I couldn’t ask for much more of a training partner,” Torchia said. “He’s consistent, and he’s always there. He’s never going to shy away from the work.”
Gagnon ran cross country for Washburn High School in Minneapolis, but wasn’t what coach Plasencia described as one of the “elite few” high school recruits.
“As a coach, you don’t have the crystal ball to see [athlete’s futures],” Plasencia said. “You look for guys who might come along, and Pieter has equaled or exceeded expectations that I’ve had for him.”
Plasencia added it’s what every coach hopes will happen with runners upon entering college.
Part of the problem may have been level of competition. Gagnon did enough in high school to land himself on Minnesota’s radar, but really took off against tougher competition, and training, once he got there.
The partnership with Torchia played a big part in that training. The pair runs hard even on “recovery runs,” quasi-off-days in between hard workouts, which Plasencia said is indicative of elite-level runners.
“It goes back to synergy,” Torchia said. “After summer workouts, you no longer take for granted the fact that you have training partners.”
Especially with star runner Hassan Mead out for the season, the duo will need to score points at the pre-NCAA meet for the Gophers to have a chance at an at-large qualifier bid later in the season.
“We are doing well with what we have to work with,” Gagnon said. “We do have more depth this year than we have in years past and we’re pleased with what we’re seeing so far.”