roy griak invitational

Minnesota State, Mankato landed two runners in the top 10 on its way to the team title in the Roy Griak Invitational Men's Maroon II Race. The title is the fourth Griak crown for the Mavericks. Winning the individual title was Manitoba senior Kristjan Hunter, who covered the 8-kilometer course in a time of 25 minutes, 27 seconds.

"I was kind of dying off in the end but I was able to summon up some energy to finish it in the end," said Hunter. "We went out pretty conservative and then the guys started to push it, I was able to push it."

Sophomore James Krajsa ran to a runner-up finish (25:27) to pace Minnesota State to the title. Teammate Dan Ristau finished 10th (26:20).


Griak Men's Maroon III

Wisconsin-Platteville senior Tyler Sigl set Roy Griak Invitational history by winning his third Griak title, covering the 8-kilometer Les Bolstad Course in a time of 25 minutes, 21 seconds to take medalist honors in the Men's Maroon III Race. Wisconsin-LaCrosse captured the team crown with 53 points, the Eagles fifth Griak title.

"It feels good. I wanted to come here to see what kind of shape I was in," said Sigl. "I have been taking it easy this season because I have been sick. I have had a cold or flu bug. So, I came here and felt great, ran good, so I am happy with it.

"At the start of the race, we went out pretty quick," Sigl added. "Then right around the 4K mark, there is a little hill in the back and I just put on a serge up the hill because I saw them falling back and I pretty much just broke them. So right around the 4 or 4.5K I knew I had it."

Sigl led UW-Platteville to a second-place finish with 105 points. Iowa Central Community College placed third as a team with 108 points, led by freshman Joshua Sawe, who finished second overall in 25:37, and freshman Stephan Zak in third in 25:42.



Griak Women's Maroon II Race

Augustana (S.D.) captured its first team title in the 2007 Griak Women's Maroon II Race by placing three runners in the top 10. South Dakota sophomore Ramsey Kavan won the individual crown, covering the 6-kilometer course in a time of 22 minutes, 9 seconds.

"I felt good because I came out really slow the first 3K, said Kavan. "Coach told me don't go out fast like you want to just stay behind, and I did that and then he said work the last 3K which is exactly what I did. I just tried to run as fast as I could the last 3K. I didn't get the record, but I think with starting out slow that kind of prevented it. I am happy with my race. I came out here to win, and I won and I am happy with that."

The Vikings cruised to the title tallying 69 points, easily out-distancing second-place Nebraska Kearney's 145 points. Augustana was paced by senior Rachel Stangler, who finished second in a time of 22:41. Sophomore Molly Clark was fifth in 22:58 and freshman Jillian Tholen eigth in 23:11.



Griak Women's Maroon III

The 2007 Roy Griak Invitational kicked off with the Women's Maroon III Race. Washington University (Mo.) captured the team title scoring 89 points. Wisconsin-River Falls sophomre Becca Jordahl broke away from the field to easier capture the individual title in a time of 22 minutes, 1.6 seconds. A Griak record 563 runners competed in the race.

"It is my second season running; second race of the year, and it feels fantastic, absolutely fantastic," said Jordahl, of winning the Griak. "I didn't plan on taking the lead from the beginning but I felt good. I felt strong and I just decided probably within the first mile, I just decided I was going to go for it. I was not going to hold back, I just kept my fingers crossed that I would be able to hold it out throughout the race."

Washington placed four runners in the top 25 to take the team crown. Senior Kate Pentak led the way with a seventh-place showing, while senior Tricia Frisella was 10th.

Bethel sophomore Marie Borner finished second in the individual race at 22:31.0, followed by Luther junior Janel Dobyns (22:33.9) and Luther junior Janet Dobyns (22:33.9).

Wisconsin-Platteville placed second in the team race with 117 points, while St. Paul, Minn. ?/b> The Kansas State cross country teams headed to Minnesota to compete in the 22nd Annual Roy Griak Invitational on Saturday to mark the beginning of their competitive season. Alex Umberger led the men's team to a 20th place finish while junior Liliani Mendez paced the women's team to a 12th place finish.

Mendez, a native of Florda, Puerto Rico, placed 25th overall with a 6K time of 22:04. Sophomore Beverly Mendez finished 36th with a time of 22:21 in her first race since being honored as the Big 12 Runner of the Week on Sept. 18.

Umberger paced K-State for the fourth time this season by finishing 71st with a 8K time of 25:57, three seconds off of his personal-record time of 25:54 set during his freshman year at the Big 12 Championships. Danny Schneider came in 100th place with a time of 26:33.

There were six schools from the Big 12 represented in this year's Roy Griak Invitational (Kansas State, Iowa State, Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Nebraska). The top finishers among those schools were the Iowa State men's team earning third place, and the Nebraska women's team finishing in fifth place.

The Wildcats continue their competitive stretch of the season by traveling to Terre Haute, Ind., for the Pre-NCAA Championships on Oct. 13. The competition will be hosted by Indiana State University and is the same location of the NCAA Championships on Nov. 19 later this season.