Griak HS Invitational Indoor Meet results

Griak HS Invitational Indoor Meet results HERE

Griak Invitational Revised Schedule

  8:55 a.m. National Anthem
  9:00 a.m. Suzy Wilson Women's Maroon III and Maroon II Competitions
  9:40 a.m. Men's Maroon III and Maroon II Competitions
  9:45 a.m. Women's Maroon III and Maroon II Awards
  10:20 a.m. Merrill Fischbein Men's Gold Competition 
  10:25 a.m. Men's Maroon II and Maroon III Awards
  11:00 a.m. Jack Johnson Women's Gold Competition
  11:05 a.m. Merrill Fischbein Men's Gold Awards
  11:40 a.m. Goldy's Kids Race
  11:55 a.m. National Anthem
  12:00 p.m. Larry Zirgibel High School Boys' Gold Competition
  12:05 p.m. Jack Johnson Women's Gold Awards
  12:35 p.m. Larry Zirgibel High School Boys' Gold Awards
  12:40 p.m. Gary Wilson High School Girls' Gold Competition
  12:50 p.m. Roy Griak Hall of Fame Presentation
  1:00 p.m. 2007 Big Ten Champions Presentation
  1:20 p.m. Lefty Wright High School Boys' Maroon Competition
  1:25 p.m. Gary Wilson High School Girls' Gold Awards
  2:05 p.m. High School Girls' Maroon Competition
  2:10 p.m. Lefty Wright High School Boys' Maroon Awards
  2:50 p.m. High School Girls' Maroon Awards

Two-Time Griak Winner Shelby Houlihan Finds Her Event

Two-Time Griak Winner Shelby Houlihan Finds her Event HERE

Shelby Houlihan

Pre Griak audio interviews with Gopher women's coach Sarah Hopkins and men's coach Steve Plasencia

Pre Griak audio interviews with Gopher women's coach Sarah Hopkins and men's coach Steve Plasencia HERE

Hot Town, Fall in the Cities

As is often the case, the weather grabbed the headlines at the Griak Invitational on Saturday at the sun drenched Les Bolstad Golf Course.  Temperatures rising during the day to reach the 80s.  As MTec timer John Magnusson noted there were 40 DNF's in the women's Gold race.  USATF Minnesota president Rick Recker, who regularly officiates at area meets, including the Griak, said he'd never seen so many runners felled by the climate in the finish area.

The start of the first race of the day, the women's Gold DIII. Photo by
Jim Ferstle

The hardest working volunteers were the medical personnel who had to deal with the impact of the heat on runners who weren't acclimated to the sudden burst of hot weather than enveloped the Twin Cities after a long spell of more typical cool Fall weather.  Don Timm, a Gopher All American steeplechaser who coaches at Coon Rapids HS, noted it was kind of a "perfect storm" for potential heat injuries.  The loss of heat acclimation from a mild summer and an early cold front. Combined that with a course that encourages teams to go out fast for the first quarter mile as the wide start area narrows quickly into a narrow path leading to the back of the golf course.

Shelby Houlihan(32), Emma Bates(57), and Crystal Nelson(184) dual early
in the race. Photo by Gene Niemi

As race after race indicated, those who went out too hard paid a price.  Arizona State's Shelby Houlihan, the defending champion in the Women's DI Gold race has learned, having run the Griak five times, is that even on less challenging days, the Griak course tests you and rewards patience.  "I learned I had to be patient," Houlihan, who won her second consecutive title on Saturday in 20:35 for 6K, the same time she ran in 2013, said.  "If you're not patient on this course, it will hurt you."  The rolling hills, the turns, and the narrowing of the course at the beginning make experience running the course a definite advantage.  As well as respect for what the weather can do to you.

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."
                                                                     **********
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

Hopkins was satisfied with the result. The Gopher women finished seventh in a loaded field.  She tongue in cheek thanked her mentor and former Gopher women's coach, Garry Wilson, who was a driving force behind the creation of the Griak meet, for inviting so many top ranked teams to the event. "We didn't have our best day," Hopkins said of the Gopher's results.  There were two freshman in the team's top four finishers and the effort did not take a lot out of the team.

"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.

Mead Leads LaCrosse

Laura Mead grits her teeth as she nears the finish.
Photo by Jim Ferstle

UW LaCrosse senior Laura Mead led her team to the team title in the Women's Maroon DIII race that began the Roy Griak Invitational on Saturday.  Mead credited her summer training for being able to take the
top spot this year.

In the past, she said, she had trained to hard, too much speed work over the summer.  This year she "took it easy" by simply doing mileage and tempo runs.  She didn't do intervals until school started and the team began to train together.  So, she felt fresh and strong coming into the season.

St. Thomas' Erin Statz continued her early season form, taking the runner up spot, followed by Macalester's Kimber Meyer in third.

Women's results for Maroon DIII race are HERE.

Griak Invitational Ready to be Run

The finish arch is up...

The runners are on the course doing a recon run...

The starting line is ready for the runners...

The legions are ready to welcome the legends to be....

The Awards stand is open for business...

The trophies are ready...

Let the racing begin...

The Wall

No, not that wall.  USTFCCCA is featuring a new element to their website, coverage of top weekend meets.  Today Virginia and Boston College, tomorrow Griak are among the featured events HERE. Note: Maria Hauger, who is a sophomore this year at Virginia, has not run the team's first two meets, including today's win for the woman's team.

News: Bates; Gophers; Shelerud; Pollard; Goals

At the September 6 BYU Invitational this Instagram photo of Emma Bates almost running into a spectator HERE. Bates tweeted "Some of us even ran the wrong way and smack dab into a spectator. #orjustme." Bates and her Boise State team are scheduled to run at the Griak Invitational this weekend.

University of Minnesota 2015 track schedule for men HERE and women HERE.

Profile of the Gopher's Kate Shelerud HERE.

Prep athlete south of the border in Iowa, Thomas Pollard if profiled HERE. Pollard is scheduled to compete at the Griak invite this Saturday.

Redefining one's goals HERE.

News Bits

Wayzata 17th in Week 4 MileSplit boy's team rankings HERE.

Winona Daily News report on the Austin Invitational and the Jodi Rahman Invitational is HERE.

Sun Sailor preview of Wayzata preparation  for Lake Conference meet is HERE and HERE.

Worthington Daily Globe feature on Sibley-Ocheyedan's  Leah Seiverts is HERE.

MIAC Spotlight interviews with Augsburg's Ryan Cook and St. Mary's Amy Spitzmueller are HERE.

University of Minnesota press release on women's coach Sarah Hopkins is HERE.  Link to Ski-U-Mah magazine with features on Roy Griak and Hopkins is HERE.

Running Times feature on Kara Goucher's high school days is HERE.

Becky Miller's Facebook photo montage of the Griak HS boy's Gold race is HERE.

Team USA Minnesota new member Eric Finan's blog on his move to Minnesota is HERE.

NSIC Week In Review

NSIC Women's Cross Country Athlete  of the Week
Runa Falch
Senior
Steinkjer, Norway
Steinkjer HS
Augustana

Runa Falch won the Roy Griak Invitational women's title in a new meet record time of 21:34.3.  Falch ran with the lead group and took the lead with  600 meters to go, leading the Vikings to a team victory.

Team Notes
AugustanaAugustana cross country returned to competiton for the first time in three weeks at the Roy Griak Invitational and won the Maroon II race. Runa Falch led the way with a record-breaking win. She was followed by Kritin Brondbo in fifth place and Gabi Swoboda (18th) Megan Brown (24th) and Kaitlyn Yoerg (33rd).  This weekend, the Vikings head South to Fayetteville, Ark. for the Chili Pepper Classic on Oct. 5.
Concordia-St. Paul
Anna Schield led the team at the Griak Invitational with a time of 24:53.7 to finish in 128th place.  Concordia competes this Friday at the St. Cloud State Invitational before the team takes three weeks off to prepare for the NSIC Championships on October 26 in Sioux Falls, SD.

University of Mary
Jennifer Agnew (Sr., Onamia, Minn. / Onamia) placed sixth overall and led the Marauders to fourth place at the Roy Griak Invitational. The national runner of the week earlier this season, Agnew placed third among college runners. The senior All-American ran the 6K course in a time of 22:10.4. Three other Marauders placed in the top 51. Megan Beam finished 24th, Kayla Carlson was 39th and Erin Leier was 51st.  

Marauders finished ahead of Southwest Baptist, ranked 20th in the nation and third in the Central region, and Winona State, receiving votes nationally and ranked sixth in the region. U-Mary was rated seventh in last week's regional rankings.

Minnesota Duluth
Bolstered by top 12 finishes by three of its runners, UMD placed second among 33 teams in the Maroon  II 6K event at the Griak Invitational. The Bulldogs, who occupied the number two spot in last week's United States Track and Field and Cross Country Association NCAA D II Central Region Rankings, compiled a team score of 121 points. 

The Griak featured six of the top nine teams in the latest USTFCCA II Central Region Rankings. For the third time in as many meets this fall, freshman Breanna Colbenson paced the Bulldogs individually, clocking  a 6K time of 22:16.4 to finish fourth in the  356-runner field. Junior Alexandra Rudin (10th overall; 22:58.8) was next followed by freshman Samantha Rivard (12th; 23:03.8), sophomore Kaelyn Williams (44th; 23:45.9) and sophomore Hannah Olson (51st; 23:50.6).

The Bulldogs will return to action on Oct. 12 when they compete in the University of Wisconsin-Parkside's Lucian Rosa Invitational.

Minnesota State Mankato
The Minnesota State women's cross country team placed 13th at the Griak Invitational Saturday. Sophomore Emily Knapczyk was the top Maverick individual. The Plymouth, Minn., native ran 23:40.5, placing 38th. Junior Samantha Soupir (24:10) was 70th, senior Sarah Bowler (24:31.6) was 84th, junior Marina Paul (24:39.8) was 91st, junior Stephanie Steenhoek (24:56.3) placed 110th, senior Jessie Dejong (25:01.1) was 113th, and junior Kimberly Allan (25:03.1) finished 114th. 

Next race for the team Caty's Run slated on Oct. 12 in Mankato.Southwest Minnesota State
The SMSU women's cross country team was 29th out of 32 teams at the Griak Invitational. Freshman Amanda Grengs (Minneota, Minn.) posted a team-best 25:52(177th). Paige Yi finished with a time of 25:59 (187th), while Tatum Larson finished 193rd in 26:07. Julia Sauder ran a time of 28:31 to finish 286th, followed by Hanna Dressen in 316th place with a time of 30:37, while Diana Moe finished 325th place with a time of 31:48. 

SMSU returns to action Oct. 4, competing at the South Dakota State Classic in Brookings, SD.

St. Cloud State
Kassie Vaness paced the St. Cloud State University's women's cross country team at the Griak Invitational in the Maroon  II race.  She placed 26th in 23:15.1 to help the Huskies place 17th  out of 34 squads with 531 points.  SCSU's Samantha Sunstrom placed 31st in 23:31.2.  Jenny Metzler was 194th  in 26:00.02. Kylie Baas 219th overall in 26:29.8. Lindsay Stassen 223rd in 26:33.8. Rachel Sakry (26:37.0/172nd) and Jessie Hubley (27:00.9/187th).  

The Huskies will continue their season on Oct. 4 with a dual meet at home against Concordia St. Paul.  The race will be held at the Wapicada Golf Course in nearby Sauk Rapids. The start time is scheduled for 5 p.m.  Admission for this event is free.  The meet will honor 50 years of cross country at St. Cloud State University, which began with the first men's team in 1964.  Winona State
Jessica Young (Jr., Winona, Minn.) finished 21st to lead the Warriors at the Roy Griak Invitational Saturday. Young posted a time of 23:08 as the Warriors finished tenth in the event. Jordan Skelly added a 38th-place finish for the Warriors in the extremely competitive event.

NSIC Men's Cross Country Athlete of the Week
Paul Yak
Senior
Storm Lake, Iowa
St. Mary's HS
Augustana

Paul Yak placed second at the Roy Griak Invitational leading the Vikings to the team title.  Yak's time of 25:21 (8K) edged out teammate Adam Braun as the Vikings tallied 53 points -- the lowest men's total since 1995. Yak adds this runner-up finish to his previous performances at the Griak  where he placed seventh in last-year's gold race and finished 16th in the Gold race two years ago.

Team Notes
Augustana
Paul Yak (Sr., Storm Lake, Iowa/ St. Mary's) placed second at the Roy Griak Invitational leading the Vikings to the team title.  Yak's time of 25:21 (8K) edged out teammate Adam Braun as the Vikings tallied just 53 team points -- the lowest men's total since 1995. Yak adds this runner-up finish to his tremendous showing at the Griak.  Yak placed seventh in last-year's Division I race and finished 16th in the D-I race two years ago.
 Augustana men won the Maroon II race. They placed all top five of their runners in the top 20 including two in the top three.  Paul Yak and Adam Braun finished second and third while Tom Karbo passed nearly 40 runners after the halfway point on the way to an 11th place finish.  John Klecker (18th) Keegan Carda (19th) were the other scorers. 

The Vikings  head South to Fayetteville, Ark. for the Chili Pepper Classic on Oct. 5.

Concordia-St. Paul
The Concordia-St. Paul's top finisher at the Griak was Nic Rudolph in  a time of 28:25.7(237th ).   Concordia competes this Friday at the St. Cloud State Invitational before the team takes three weeks off to prepare for the NSIC Championships on Oct. 26 in Sioux Falls, SD.

University of Mary
Led by Chris Jessop (So., Corvallis, MT), the University of Mary men's cross country team finished 19th out of 40 teams and fourth among the nine Northern Sun schools that competed at the Griak. Jessop was 36th, running the 8,000 meter course in 26:18. Taylor Thompson (Sr., Williston, ND), who crossed the finish line less than a minute later, placed 102nd.

Minnesota Duluth
The University of Minnesota Duluth placed 15th out of 40 schools in the Maroon II race at the Griak Invitational. On a wet, windy morning at the Les Bolstad Golf Course, the Bulldogs scored  445 points -- a figure bettered by only two other Northern Sun Intercollegiate teams -- Augustana College (first overall) and Minnesota State University Mankato (13th). Junior Dan Nielsen led the team for the third meet in a row finishing 34th out of 450 runners with a time of 26:22.  He was followed by sophomore Mitch Fisher (90th/ 27:10), junior Mitch Zuidema (96th/27:16), sophomore Drew Johnson (102nd/27:19), and freshman Seth Hare (123rd;/27:33) rounded off the top five Bulldogs. 

The UMD men will be back in action again in two weeks (Oct. 12) when they travel to Kenosha, Wis, for the Lucian Rosa Invitational, which is hosted by UW-Parkside.

Minnesota State Mankato
The Minnesota State men's cross country team placed 15th at the Griak Invitational . Senior Devin Allbaugh, who finished eighth 25:44. Junior Josiah Swanson was 23rd-place in 26:13.  Junior Jacob Ball (24th, 26:13). Junior Matthew Stocker (154th, 27:48). Junior Alex Schoneberger (192nd, 28:25). Sophomore Ryan Erdman (196th, 28:29) and sophomore Matt Longen (219th, 28:53). 

Next action for the Mavericks is Jackrabbit Invitational slated for Oct. 4 in Brookings, SD.Southwest Minnesota State
 The SMSU country team finished 27th out of 40 teams at the Griak. Junior Trent Smith (Charles City, Iowa) was 64th in  26:40.  OJ Ojulla finished 173rd in 27:43. Alejandro Sanchez was 232nd in 28:25. Blake Wooten ran 28:54 to finish 285th.  Kelly Fitzsimmons was 296th in 29:03, Kevin Leiferman 345th in 29:55, while Alex Solheim ran 30:00 to place 351st.

St. Cloud State
St. Cloud State University finished in 37th place in the Griak Maroon II race.  The Huskies were led at the race by Tom Mountain, who placed 161st with a time of 27:55. Johnathan Hess was 179th at 28:09.  Chris Caron 204th in 28:37.  Ra'shad Harris 29:54 (246th) and Paul Maile ran 30:39 (267th).  The Huskies will continue their 2013 season on Oct. 4 with a home dual meet against Concordia St. Paul.  

The meet will honor 50 years of cross country at St. Cloud State University, which began with the first men's team in 1964.  The team was led by Coach Bob Tracy and featured athletes Ken Mitchell, Van Nelson, and Chuck Spoden.  Special honors will also be given at the meet to the 1967 SCSU men's cross country team, which placed second at the NAIA National meet that season, and the 1983 SCSU men's cross country team that placed second at the NCAA Division II meet that season.Winona State
Shane Carlson (So., Roseville, Minn.) finished third at the SMU No Limit Invitational, leading the Warriors to a fourth-place finish as a team. Carlson recorded a time of 27:42 for 8K. David Lund finished 12th. Clay Scott and Nathan Mollan also posted top-25 finishes.

Five Runners in Griak Invite Selected as USTFCCCA Athletes of the Week

Five of the athletes who competed in the Griak Invitational on Saturday were selected as athletes of the week by the USTFCCCA.  See the list and their bios HERE.

News Bits

Perham Focus story and pictures on the Perham boy's and girl's teams at the Griak meet is HERE.

Red Wing Republican Eagle story on the Red Wing Invitational. Photos of the Red Wing boys in their mohawks is HERE.

Minnesota Daily story on the Gophers at the Griak is HERE.

Duluth News Tribune story on Grandma's race oganization's contribution to cancer fund is HERE.

FloTrack video of women's collegiate Gold race is HERE.

UTFCCCA DI regional rankings are HERE.

More Griak coverage

University of Arizona press release on their men's and women's team results at the Griak are HERE.

MileSplit post race interviews with high school gold race top three is HERE.

Wayzata HS video of the Griak boy's race is HERE.Girls race video is HERE.

High school Gold boy's race photos are HERE.Girls Gold race photos are HERE. Men's College Gold race photos are HERE.

NSIC press release on Augustana runners at the Griak is HERE.

Gene Niemi's 2013 Griak Photo Album

Women's Maroon II (From Left to Right) Runa Falch,
Jennifer Agnew, Breanna Colbenson, and Taylor
Berg. Photo by Gene Niemi

Women's Maroon III winner Chelsea
Johnson. Photo by Gene Niemi

Men's Maroon II (From Left to Right) Matt Johnson, Paul Yak,
Sam Vincent, Adam Volkert, and Adam Braun. Photo
By Gene Niemi

Matt Berens. Photo by Gene Niemi

Shelby Houlihan. Photo
By Gene Niemi

John Simons, Andrew Colley, and Tylor Thatcher
Photo by Gene Niemi

Jordyn Colter Photo
by Gene Niemi

Anna French. Photo by Gene Niemi

The Griak: The Great Minnesota Get Together

The lead pack in the boy's Gold race.
(From Left to Right) Obsa Ali, Connor Olson, Keeghan Hurley,
Addison DeHaven, Olin Hacker, Chandler Austin.
Photo by Gene Niemi

It seems fitting that the annual Griak Invitational cross country meet is held near the Minnesota State Fairgrounds as it is something of a Great Minnesota Get Together for the singlet and shorts set.  With quite a few "invited guests."

Despite the rain and intermittent tent toppling winds, the only noticeable impact on the event was fewer spectators.  Either that or the spectators that came didn't linger as long, escaping when the race or races they came to watch were over.  The race results, displayed on the large framed mounted poster boards, got soaked and frayed in the inclement weather, but the runners hardly seemed to notice the sloppy conditions.

They came to race and test themselves, to hopefully improve on past performances.  St. Scholastica senior Chelsea Johnson came into the race healthier than last year when she was recovering from a winter injury and optimistic about what she could do.  A couple days before the race, she said, she was thinking "top three," but as the race got closer she decided why not try and win it.

"I went with how I felt," she said of her fast start, bolting to the front at the blast from the starter's pistol.  As the race progressed she noticed that nobody went with her.  "Why isn't anybody up here," she said to herself.  She had a few moments of doubt, bad patches, but was never challenged either by fatigue or the other runners as she cruised to a 16 second win over runner-up Noelle Olson, a St. Olaf freshman who had beaten Johnson last week.

Bethel's Matt Berens went to the front of the men's Maroon III race because he likes to run from the front, not due to any belief that he could run away from the rest of the field.  "I felt like I had a shot to win it," Berens said, who had evaluated the strength of the field and believed he had a chance at the top spot.  "I raced here(the Bolstad golf course) once in high school, and I always felt I could run well in adverse conditions."

Nobody went with Berens or got close enough to challenge him later in the race, so when Berens was feeling the effort around the four to five kilometer mark, he still had no reason to worry.  He just admonished himself to "stay tough."  And when another crisis of confidence came at 6K it didn't cause any panic as he maintained at least a 10 second advantage all the way to the finish.

St Augustine senior, Norwegian native Runa Falch did not have fond memories of running on the Griak course.  As a freshman she went out too fast and paid for it later in the race and another year she dropped out.  She didn't let that effect her, she said: "You can't let the past haunt you."  Older and wiser, she decided to be more conservative this time and it paid off in a new course record and a nearly five second margin of victory.

Drawn to the South Dakota school by being offered a scholarship, Falch is majoring in international politics and plans to go back to Norway and get a law degree when she graduates with the ultimate goal being doing work for a humanitarian organization.  For students at BYU, taking a year or more to go outside the US working for humanitarian causes is part of the curriculum.  It hasn't hurt the accomplishments of the school's athletes.  The BYU team won the men's Gold collegiate championship and senior Tylor Thatcher won the individual crown, outsprinting NCAA DII power Adams State's Kevin Batt.

"I knew it would be a battle," said Thatcher, as Batt had a better 5K personal best, but Thatcher was able to nip the Grizzly sophomore at the line.  Boy's high school Gold champion, Richflield senior Obsa Ali also knew he would have a battle as several other runners including Wayzata's Connor Olson and Perham's Keegan Hurley came into the event undefeated, as did Ali.They were joined by Brookings HS's Addison DeHaven, none of whom could challenge Ali when he unleashed his kick down the final straightaway.

"I felt great," said Ali.  "(In the early part of the race) I thought we were going slow. I tried to be patient."  Richfield coach Marty Huberty had mapped out a strategy when the team did a course tour the day before the race.  He took them to the rise overooking the finish and told Ali that it was a straight shot from there to the finish and this was where he should launch his kick.

Ali made a surge when the pack of five came through the four kilometer mark, he said, and the others went with him.  So, Ali settled in and waited for the final stretch where he quickly opened up a gap that grew as he sprinted toward the finish appearing totally in control.  "I really want to win the State Championship," said Ali of his season's goal.  After that he hopes for a top five finish at the Footlocker Championships.

While being interviewed after the Griak win, he was introduced to Gopher legend and US Olympian Garry Bjorklund, who was in town for the Roy Griak 50th part on Thursday.  The Gopher grad put in a pitch for Ali's next step after defending his 3200 track title and helping Richfield's 4 by 800 relay at next year's MSHSL track championships to be a Golden Gopher.  Later a recruiter from the University of Wisconsin was making their pitch to Ali and Huberty.

Ali had said after his win at the 2013 State track meet that he hoped his effort would attract the attention of college recruiters.  Appears his wish has come true.

Full results and race recaps are HERE and HERE.Running Times feature on Tylor Thatcher is HERE.

Griak: Rain, Wind, Lots of Running

The start of the Gold high school boys race.  Winner Obsa Ali in second
as the pack leaves the start. Photo by Jim Ferstle

Rain and wind didn't dampen the competition at the Roy Griak Invitational on Saturday as one course record was set and the competition was fierce.  Runa Falch, a Norwegian running for Augustana, set the Maroon II collegiate record, running 21:34 for 6K.  St. Scholastica's Chelsea Johnson and Bethel's Matt Berens dominated the Maroon III collegiate races leading from the start.  Johnson finished in the women's 6K race in 22:03, Berens the men's 8K in 25:45(8K).

The men's collegiate Maroon II race was a three way battle won by Pittsburg State's Adam Volkert in 25:10 for 8K.  The men's Gold race 8K was won by BYU's Tylor Thatcher in 24:26, while Arizona State's Shelby Houilhan won the women's 6K in 20:35

Colorado high schooler Jordyn Colter of Cherry Creek won the HS Gold girl's 5K race in 17:47, while Obasa Ali won the biggest battle of the afternoon running 15:30 to outsprint  four runners down the final straight. Wayzata swept the boy's and girl's team titles.  Trent Powell of River Falls won the boy's Maroon 5K race in 16:20. Girl's Maroon results aren't posted yet.

Full results are HERE, Interviews and observations coming later, as well as photos.

The lead pack early in the Women's Collegiate  Gold race.
Photo by Jim Ferstle

News Bits

FloTrack Griak pre-race photos at Bolstad golf course are HERE.

Sun Sailor pre-Griak feature on Wayzata girls is HERE.

Duluth News Tribune results from Hibbing Rotary Meet are HERE.

Running Times HS boys rankings are HERE, girls rankings are HERE.

Griak Meet info page is HERE.

Griak Meet women's Gold collegiate race preview is HERE. Men's Gold 8K preview is HERE.

News Bits

Dyestat boys HS individual rankings are HERE. Girls rankings are HERE. Two boys in the top 30, no girls.

Rochester Post Bulletin feature on Rochester John Marshall's Emma Christensen is HERE.

Sun Current story on the Apple Valley Eagle Invitational, girls race HERE, boys HERE.

Minnesota Daily preview on the Griak Invitational is HERE.

Mankato West Invitational results are HERE.