University of Minnesota Athletics
CROSS COUNTRY TEAM HOSTS ROY GRIAK INVITATIONAL
9/19/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
Minnesota hosts the 15th annual Roy Griak Invitational this weekend with six races slated for the day, featuring men's and women's Division I, Division II-III and high school boys' and girls' races. The meet takes place at the Les Bolstad Cross Country Course on the St. Paul Campus.
The men's maroon race, for Division II-III schools, gets underway at 9:30 a.m. The women's maroon race follows at 10:15 a.m., with the men's and women's gold race, for Division I schools, at 11 a.m. and noon. The boys' race begins at 1 p.m. and the girls' race finishes the day's competition with a 2 p.m. start.
The Roy Griak Invitational
This year marks the fifth year in which the meet has been run under the Roy Griak moniker. Formerly run as the GBS/Nike Invitational for women and the Reliastar Invitational for men, the race was named in honor of the Gophers' legendary coach who retired after 33 years as the men's cross country and track and field coach.
This year, 31 teams are entered for the women's gold race, making it the largest field in the event's history. A total of 13 teams are ranked or received votes in this week's FinishLynx Top 25 Poll. Defending Griak champion, Arizona State, is ranked seventh this week and leads a group of eight ranked teams. The other ranked teams include No. 11 Providence, No. 12 Oregon, No. 13 Minnesota, No. 15 Colorado State, No. 21 Missouri, No. 23 Marquette and No. 25 Wake Forest.
Last year, 13 of the 27 teams that competed in the meet went on to qualify for the NCAA Championship, including national champion Brigham Young.
Last Week
The Gophers had the week off after opening the season with a 16-47 win over Drake at the Memorial "Oz" Run, Sept. 8, in St. Paul. Seniors Corinne Nimtz (Eden Prairie, Minn./Eden Prairie) and Elaine Eggleston (Roseville, Minn./Roseville) led Minnesota, which came within a point of sweeping the meet, claiming the top four spots and garnering sixth.
A Glimpse of Nimtz
After concluding the 1999 cross country season with a career-best 5,000-meter time at the NCAA Championships, Corinne Nimtz capped off the year on a high note.
During the track and field season last spring, she set a school record in the 5,000-meter run indoors and qualified for the NCAA Championships in that event, along with the 10,000-meter run outdoors.
Her win at the "Oz" Run was the second of her career and first on her home course. Last year, she posted her first career win at the Iowa State Memorial, Oct. 9, on the course that will host this year's NCAA Championships.
Up Next
Minnesota will compete at the Northern Iowa Invitational, Sept. 29, in Waterloo, Iowa, at 4 p.m. The meet will give the Gophers a look at the course which they will compete on for the NCAA Midwest Regional, Nov. 11.
Players Mentioned
