Indoor season

In his freshman season, he finished second overall in the Big Ten Conference Meet (23:47.70). In his very first 10K a week later, Mead again finished 2nd overall (29:57) in the Midwest Regional Meet to qualify for the NCAA Nationals. He only finished 43rd in that race (with a time of 30:36), but it was good enough to become Minnesota's first freshman All-American, and he was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year.^[8]

Mead opened his indoor season at the University of Nebraska, where he took third in the 3k with a time of 8:13. On February 16, 2008, Mead ran the second fastest 3,000 meter time ever by a Minnesota runner (8:01.08) at the Husky Invite at the University of Washington. Two weeks later Mead raced at the Big Ten Conference Championships in Madison, Wisconsin. On the first day he took third in the 3,000 meter run, finishing with a time of 8:11, crossing the line behind Brandon Bethke of the University of Wisconsin–Madison and Jeff See of the Ohio State University. The next day, Mead placed second in the 5,000 meter run, finishing in a time 14:22, losing again to Bethke but defeating the Big Ten Cross Country Champion Matt Withrow. His efforts earned him two big ten medals and 2nd Team All-Big Ten Conference for his 5k race.

Outdoor season

Mead made his debut at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon.^[9] He finished his first College outdoor 5K with a time of 13:57.86,^[10] the 7th fastest in school history and his first sub-14-minute 5K. At the Stanford Invitational in May, he bested that time with 13:49.35,^[11] the 3rd-fastest in school history. On May 15, he won the Big Ten Conference Meet by 50 meters, running a 14:12.^[12] Mead had also previously qualified for the NCAA Midwest Regional Meet on several occasions (the standard was 14:12). He finished 5th at regionals, advancing to the nationals with a time of 14:02. In the 5000 meter prelims at nationals, he again finished 5th in his first heat to qualify for the finals 2 days later. He ended up 6th overall, becoming the Gopher men's only All-American for 2008. His time of 13:44.30 also became a new School Record,^[13] and he finished his Freshman season as an All American in 2 sports, and only 14 seconds off of the Olympic Trials "A" standard to automatically qualify him for a chance to go to the Olympics in the 5000.

Cross Country season

On November 2, Mead ran a 24:26 to win the Big Ten Conference CC meet, leading the Gophers to a third-place finish. Mead's success made him the Big Ten Men's Runner of the Year for 2008. On November 15, Mead won the Midwest Regional Cross County Championships in a 10k time of 31:15.65.^[16] Mead placed 31st at the NCAA Nationals, fast enough to be an All-America for the second year in a row.^[17]

Indoor season

Mead made his first waves of the 2009 indoor season on February 14 when he broke the University of Minnesota school record in the indoor 3000 meter run with a time of 7:56.60 at the Husky Invite.^[18] At the Big Ten Indoor Championships in March, Mead won his first indoor Big Ten titles in the 3000m (8:02.61) and the 5000m (13:58.16). His efforts helped the Gophers men's team handily win the Big Ten Conference Indoor title.^[19] Two weeks later Mead competed in the NCAA Indoor Championships in the 3000m, finishing 4th with a new school record time of 7:56.15, and being named All American for the fourth time in his college career.^[20]

Outdoor season

On Saturday, May 2, Mead won his heat at the Stanford Invitational 5K with a lifetime PR of 13:28.45, the same race in which Galen Rupp's American junior record was taken down by Chris Derrick of Stanford. It was his first race at that distance of the season. Two weeks later, Mead won the Big Ten Conference Outdoor titles in both the 5k (14:20.75) and 10k (30:03.21). His performances again helped lead the Gophers men's team to win the Big Ten Conference Championship. On May 29, he won the NCAA Midwest Regional title in the 5K with a time of 14:02.25.^[21] At the NCAA National Championships on June 10, he won his preliminary heat of the 5k in a time of 14:00.79 to advance to finals two days later. The finals were run in very poor running conditions and the entire field ran a very slow race for a national final. Mead ended up finishing 6th overall with a time of 14:09.87, only 9 seconds behind Galen Rupp's winning time.^[22] Mead was named All-American for the fifth time.

Cross Country season

Mead opened his 2009 season on September 26 at Minnesota's Roy Griak Invitational and dominated the soggy course. He sprinted to the lead at the start and never relinquished it, winning by 13 seconds in a time of 24:37.5. Mead defended his Big Ten title by winning with a time of 25:00.2 and earning a Big Ten Runner of the Year Award. Mead was a two-time Big Ten Runner of the Week honoree. Mead was the NCAA Midwest Region champion in a time of 30:31.31.9 which earned him the USTFCCCA Midwest Region Runner of the Year award. Mead served as team co-captain. Mead placed 16th at the NCAA meet (29:50.7) to become the second three-time All-American in Minnesota history. Mead led Gophers to a 24th-place team finish at NCAA Championships.

Injury

On a run in Arizona, Mead suffered an achilles tendon injury in January 2010, thus losing his indoor and outdoor seasons for the 2010 season. Later in September, while building up for the 2010 fall season, Mead suffered a collapsed lung on a run. This put him in the hospital for several weeks, not being able to race all of 2010.

Cross country season

Mead was Minnesota's top finisher at the NCAA Championships (30:02.8), earning Top-25 honors among team standings and achieving All-American status for the fourth consecutive year, a Minnesota record. Mead blazed his way to gold at the Midwest Regional Cross Country Championships, defeating the pack in 31:16.87 over the 10K course. He finished fourth at the Big Ten Championships.

Indoor season

Mead set a personal record in the indoor 5000 meters, winning (among college athletes) the Husky Classic with a time of 13:33.42. He took home the Big Ten title in the 5000 meters running 13:43.13. He also was second in the 3000 meter race. Mead gained All-American honors in the 5000 meters with a 7th-place finish.

Outdoor season

Mead's last season at the University of Minnesota was very successful. Gained his eight-time All-American status, finishing fourth in the 5,000 meters. Finished second in the 5,000m at the Big Ten Championships and ran a time of 28:12.74 in the 10,000 meters at the Payton Jordan Invite, setting the all-time school record.

He was given the 2012 Richard "Pinky" McNamara Student-Athlete Achievement Award, given to a University of Minnesota student-athlete who has inspired all by making an extraordinary effort to succeed despite difficult circumstances, preserving during a time of tremendous adversity and/or overcoming a great challenge.