Griak Maroon DII Races

Kevin Lewis(1468) leads the Maroon DII race.  Lakelhead  U's Kevin Tree(1147)
won the race. Photo by Gene Niemi

Fourth place men's finisher Kevin Lewis, an All American while at Iowa where he ran 13:43 for 5K on the track , tried to run away with the race early.  He couldn't hold that pace because, he said, his training isn't where it should be to run fast.  "I'm out of shape," he declared, and he hopes to figure out how to get in two runs a day as well as keep up with his 40 hour work week.  (Des Moines Register story on Lewis HERE)

"This course is tough on a good day," said Griak Maroon DII Men's champion Kevin Tree.  The slippery conditions on the "soft," rain soaked turf, and that this was his first race of the XC season dictated his conservative approach, waiting until late to make his move. The race was his "rust buster," and bodes well for the rest of the season.

WOMEN

Lexi Zeis(1954) and Emi Trost battle during the first half of the race.
Photo by Gene Niemi

Defending NCAA DII cross country champion Lexi Zeis demonstrated that her training is just fine.  She broke away from UMD's Emi Trost between 3 and 4K and never looked back.  She had black kinesio tape over her collarbone and down her back to help her deal with a structural abnormality and a habit of slouching when she ran which resulted in "losing feeling in my arms and hands."  Xeis didn't have that problem on Saturday, but her legs did get a bit "heavy" late in the race because of the sloppy footing in spots. But she kept the lead and helped U-Mary win the team title over defending champion UMD by two points.

 Trost, who finished second, said that: "the last K it felt like I was going in slow motion.  She is coming back from an injury that cost her the 2016 outdoor track season, Peroneal tendonitis. It's described as a "a rare but aggravating injury that can cause pain on the outside of your foot and up the outside of your lower leg when you run." "A lot of injuries you can push through," she said.  This wasn't one of them.

She did cross training. Swam with a "boot" that covered her ankle and foot, used an eliptical trainer, until she was finally able to do some running barefoot on grass.  Next step being gradually working up to doing more mileage.  She used the time to "get strong," working on the legs, feet, and hips. With the XC season in progress, the final step is to stay injury free and get stronger and faster as the season progresses. 

Summaries
U-Mary Women's summary HERE. Men's summary HERE
UMD Women's summary HERE. Men's HERE

MSU Moorhead summary is HERE
Winona State Women's summary HERE. Men's HERE

MSU Mankato Men's summary HERE. Women's HERE
St. Cloud State Women's summary HERE
Concordia St Paul summary HERE
SMSU summary HERE.
Bemidji State summary not available yet

Other Results:
Minnesota Running Club women 31st. Women 22nd.
No results online on the MRC web site or Twitter.