The start of the first race of the day, the women's Gold DIII. Photo by Jim Ferstle |
Shelby Houlihan(32), Emma Bates(57), and Crystal Nelson(184) dual early in the race. Photo by Gene Niemi |
Despite being from a hot climate and well acclimated to the conditions she faced, Houlihan, who was running her first race of the season, had a plan to run with the lead pack until three or four kilometers. On Saturday, she surged and opened a lead around 3.5K. The win kept alive her desire to go undefeated in XC this year and to win the NCAA title. The South Dakota native said she worked hard over the summer to build up her endurance. "I know I'm fit enough to win (the NCAA's)," she said. She had some proof of that as 2013 NCAA DI runner-up Emma Bates was also in the Griak race and finished sixth. Bates was philosophical about her loss. The Elk River grad had family and friends at the event wearing orange shirts with "We (heart) Emma Bates" written on them in ink.
While Bates wasn't happy about her performance, her objectives this year are at the end of the season, not now, she said. Houlihan has a similar plan and says she approached the Griak race much as she will the rest of the races this season. That's simply: "to run my own race. Concentrate on what I can control, rather than worry about anybody else in the race." Both Houlihan and Bates are also looking beyond college. "It's always been a goal of mine," said Houlihan. "To make an Olympic team. To be one of the best in the world."
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Gopher women's coach Sarah Hopkins drove past the team's tent before the start of the race and yelled to the runners: :"You're not going to an execution. It's fun." It was the opening salvo of her pre-race pep talk, said Hopkins. Like many of the other women's teams, the Gopher women had cheek temporary tattoos and/or writing on their legs to take care of some of the fun aspect.
Gophers Kaila Urick led the way for the women. Photo by Gene Niemi |
"We can get right back into training because we didn't go into the 'hurt locker' too much," she added. Next big race where they can earn points for NCAA qualifying is the University of Wisconsin Adidas Invitational on October 17, Hopkins said, calling it, like the Griak meet, "another stepping stone" to the objective of making it to the NCAA championships
Women's Gold DI race results are HERE.
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