University of Minnesota Athletics
Griak Women's Gold Preview - Impressive Field in 2010
9/23/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
The 2010 Roy Griak Invitational Jack Johnson Gold Race is going to be a fun one; you can count on it. Nearly a third of last year’s NCAA Championships field will toe the line for a battle to hoist the Griak trophy. The field will be massive with nearly 400 runners expected to dash up the incline that kicks off the 6-kilometer Griak course.
Iowa State, as in the men’s Gold Race, is the defending Griak champion. The Cyclones landed an impressive five runners in the top 10 finishes to score 31 points and end Minnesota bid for a three-peat of the Griak title.
The Cyclones enter the Griak ranked 16th in the USTFCCCA National Poll, one spot better than their 17th-place showing at the 2009 NCAA Championships. Iowa State has its second, third and fourth runners back from their NCAA lineup topped by sophomore Alphine Tuliamuk, who placed 68th in the NCAAs and seventh in the Griak. Betsy Saina was third in the Griak last season and is the top placewinner from 2009 in the Invitational field. Semhar Tesfaye added a ninth-place Griak finish.
Minnesota continues an amazing success story at the NCAA Championships. The Golden Gophers are one of just two (Illinois) teams to finish in the top 12 of the NCAA Championships in each of the last five seasons. Coming off a 10th-place NCAA finish in 2009, the Gophers face a big challenge to carry on this tradition with a very youthful team. Once again sporting the largest roster in the nation numbering 49 student-athletes, the Gophers have 37 runners who are freshmen, redshirt freshmen or sophomores.
The 25th-ranked Gophers will rely on the leadership of all-region performers Stephanie Price, Nikki Swenson and Kayla Wagner to form the foundation in 2010. Minnesota finished second in the Griak a year ago despite landing its scoring five in the top 14 places. Swenson, one of just three seniors on the Griak roster, finished eighth at the Griak. Wagner placed 14th in the Griak in 2009 as a true freshmen. Price, who was 22nd at the 2009 Griak, has emerged as the Gophers’ top runner in 2010. She won the Oz Memorial Run two weeks ago and was tabbed as the Big Ten Runner of the Week. Another runner to watch for the Gophers is true freshman Ashlie Decker, who was the runner-up in the Griak Girls High School Gold Race the last two years and has made an immediate impact this fall.
While Iowa State and Minnesota battled it out last year, there’s a plethora of teams entered in the 25th annual Griak who could contend for the crown of this prestigious event.
That list starts with No. 6-ranked Duke. The Blue Devils have five runners back from their 2009 squad that posted an eighth-place finish in the NCAA Championships. Junior Carly Seymour earned All-America honors with a 25th-place NCAA finish. Other back from that NCAA lineup are Suejin Ahn, Juliet Bottoroff, Kayla Hale, and Sophia Ziemian.
Providence makes its first return to the Griak since winning the team title in 2004. The Friars are ranked 14th in the nation coming off their 18th-place showing in the NCAAs last fall. Junior Hannah Davidson placed 32nd at the NCAA meet to top five returning runners from the Providence lineup at the national meet. Sophomore Shelby Greany has claimed the team’s number-one spot early this season. Others back are MaryKate Champagne, Emma Perron and Sam Roecker.
No. 18-ranked New Mexico makes its Griak debut this year. Seniors Delyth James and Ruth Senior return from the Lobos’ squad that finished 13th at the 2009 NCAA Championships.
Penn State placed 14th in the NCAA meet a year ago but has graduated perennial frontrunner Bridget Franek. The Nittany Lions are ranked No. 28 in the national poll with four runners back from their NCAA roster. Junior Caitlyn Lane, who placed 69th, leads the returners for Penn State. Others returning are Nicole Lord, Natalie Bower and Brooklyne Ridder.
Arizona State is a annual competitor at the Griak Invitational. The Sun Devils finished 24th at the NCAA meet in 2009 and have Lindsay Prescott, Kate Lydy and Anna Sperry back from that lineup. Arizona State is receiving votes in the national poll.
The Bears of Baylor are also receiving votes in the USTFCCCA poll coming off a 28th-place showing at the 2009 NCAA Championships. Cate Westenhover and Katie Shaw return from the Bears’ national meet lineup.
Arizona placed 30th at the 2009 NCAA Championships with a young roster. That experience is paying off in 2010 as the Wildcats have climbed to No. 23 in the national poll. Six of seven runners from Arizona’s NCAA lineup return led by sophomore Jennifer Bergman. The Wildcats are still young with only one senior, Maggie Callahan, on their Griak roster.
Two runners to watch for in the race for the individual title are North Carolina State’s Emily Pritt and Toledo’s Ariana Fisher. Pritt is the top NCAA placewinner from 2009 in the Griak field having placed 17th. Fisher finished 43rd.
By Becky Bohm
Minnesota Athletic Communications
Players Mentioned
