This March, sophomore Luca Wieland captured the NCAA and Big Ten heptathlon titles - breaking his own University of Minnesota record in the process.But just months earlier, an injury made him contemplate quitting the sport for good."The beginning of this indoor season, we started out with the Jack Johnson meet [and] I couldn't finish it because of my hamstring injury that I had last year," Wieland said. "I was really frustrated, I didn't believe it would get better."After having what he called a bad first year in track, Wieland thought he made the wrong decision to come to Minnesota from his home country Germany.But he decided to give it time to get accustomed to the new environment."I think you just need that one year to get used to the distance, the training," Wieland said. "I think that's what happened with me, and I'm really glad that I made this decision [to come to the U.S.]. It paid off."Director of Men's Track & Field and Cross Country Steve Plasencia noticed the change in Wieland's confidence and ability since his first year in the program."Luca has an incredible work ethic and an attention to detail that goes above and beyond the typical college athlete," Plasencia said. "The growth that he's shown since he's arrived on campus has been nothing short of awesome."Wieland is Minnesota's first-ever national heptathlon champion and currently holds the Big Ten's best decathlon score, which is also 10th best in the nation, after finishing second at this year's Drake Relays."Luca certainly cemented his place in our program's history, and we couldn't be happier for him," Plasencia said. "He's such a hard-working guy, it's rewarding to see him succeed on such a big stage."After a record-setting indoor season, Wieland said he has more confidence in himself, but still feels like the same person he was before his success."People ask me all the time, `how have things changed for you now that you're a national champ?' I never know how to answer because nothing really changed," Wieland said. "You have that success but it's the same - you go to practice as the same guy, you go to class as the same guy."A few weeks after the national championship, Wieland suffered from what doctors thought was mono, but ended up being an intense cold. This sickness, paired with a previous stress fracture in his foot, took him out of practice for a few weeks.He's starting to get back to regular practices, but says his preparation is still off."It's kind of frustrating because people expect me to do well in the outdoor season too, expect me to go to nationals," Wieland said. "It's frustrating not to be at 100 percent, but I think that's just part of the multi [event] life."Luckily for Wieland, he has a year to prepare for his dream of going to the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Portland, Oregon next spring. As a sophomore, he also has a year after that to accomplish his many goals."I'm really ambitious, I always have high expectations for myself," Wieland said. "I really want to do well for the team at Big Tens, but nationals is more of an individual thing. If it doesn't go well, it's not the end of the world. I'll come back next year even stronger."