Gophers Host 29th Annual Griak Invitational

29th Annual Roy Griak Invitational
Date	Saturday, Sept. 27, 2014
Location	Les Bolstad Cross Country Course, Falcon Heights, Minn.
Distance	College Women: 6K \| College Men: 8K
Live Coverage	Flotrack Live Stream
Social Media	@GopherWCCTF \| @GopherMCCTF \| #Griak2014
Schedule & Results	2014 Roy Griak Invitational

Sept. 25, 2014

MINNEAPOLIS (GopherSports.com) Almost 400 competitors and 30 Division I programs are expected to compete in the 29th running of the Roy Griak Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 27 at Les Bolstad Golf Course in Falcon Heights, Minn.

And this year's team and individual titles are wide open for the taking.

Only five of the top ten teams in last year's field return, highlighted by last year's runner up Colorado State and third-place finisher Arizona. Michigan State also returns after finishing sixth last year while the Gophers and Missouri are both back in the field after finishing eighth and ninth, respectively, in the 2013 edition of the Griak.

Defending team champion Brigham Young University will miss this year's competition while the Cougars also lost last year's individual winner - Tylor Thatcher - to graduation, meaning we'll crown a new individual winner and team champion in 2014.

Minnesota, which won its first team Griak title in 2012, and four-time Griak champions Iowa State are the only teams in this year's field to already host the meet crown.

The Cyclones are poised to pick up their fifth Griak title (their four titles are second most in Griak history behind only Wisconsin with 11) -- entering the event as one of four competing teams to hold national rankings in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Poll.

North Carolina leads all ranked teams in this year's Griak, sitting in 19th while Texas comes in at No. 24. Iowa State is close behind in 27th while Colorado State -- the top returning team to this year's field -- finds itself at No. 29 in the nation, according to the USTFCCCA poll on Sept. 23.

The individual competition is equally wide open this Saturday with the top seven finishers from last year out of the picture including Minnesota's John Simons (eighth, 24:33.0)

Michigan State junior Caleb Rhynard is the top overall finisher from last year, having placed eighth in 2013 with a time of 24:40.0. The only other runner who finished in the top-10 set to return this year is Colorado State senior Andrew Goodman. Goodman ran a 24:40.6 in last year's Griak to finish ninth in the Merrill Fischbein Men's Gold Competition as a junior.

For the Gophers, it's a new year and a new look as the cross country season gets underway.

Minnesota lost its top three finishers to graduation after last season including NCAAâ€ˆAll-Regional honorees Andrew Larsen and Derek Storkel.

Junior Adam Zutz is the team's top returner from last season with a 56th-place finish and a time of 25:18.3 as a sophomore. Junior Alex Brend also returns to the Griak after factoring into the Gophers' scoring one year ago with a 73rd-place finish and a time of 25:31.1.

The Maroon & Gold are coming off a team win at the UC Riverside Invitational on Sat., Sept. 13 with three runners posting top-10 finishes and all five scorers finishing in the top 16.

Aaron Bartnik enters the Griak as the defending Big Ten Athlete of the Week after leading the team in California with a runner-up finish of 24:07.1 for the eight-kilometer course -- a new personal record for the junior.

In fact, all eight Gopher runners at the meet posted new personal eight-kilometer records.

With a deep pool of talent, the Gophers' 17-man roster will be pushing each other to earn a place in Minnesota's starting rotation.

In addition to the above-mentioned competitors, Coon Rapids, Minn., native Blayne Dulian will lead the 2014 Gophers as team captain and the Maroon & Gold's lone senior this season.

Juniors Matthew Jergenson and Christian Skaret also bring experience to the roster as do two redshirt sophomores in Riley Macon and Cole O'Brien.

Five redshirt freshman are also expected to compete for roster spots this season at Minnesota. Brad Woodford, Wayde Hall, Eric Colvin, Charlie Lawrence and Matt Welch all competed as unattached runners in 2013 and will get their first taste of Gopher cross country this year.

Finally, Minnesota Director of Men's Track & Field and Cross Country Steve Plasencia has brought in a trio of local freshmen to bolster the roster in Obsa Ali, Isaiah Barlow and Sam Carlson.

Between the youthful Gophers and a wide-open field, the 2014 Merrill Fischbein Men's Gold Competition at the Roy Griak Invitational should prove to be one for the record books.

Up Next - Pair of Meets in Wisconsin

Following the Griak, the Golden Gophers are off until mid-October when they'll head to Wisconsin for a pair of meets. One contingency of competitors will race at the Wisconsin adidas Invitational on Friday, Oct. 17 in Madison while another group will be at the Jim Drews Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 18 in Ettrick, Wis.

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Players Mentioned

Obsa Ali

Isaiah Barlow

Aaron Bartnik

Alex Brend

Sam Carlson

Eric Colvin

Blayne Dulian

Wayde Hall

Matthew Jergenson

Andrew Larsen

Charlie Lawrence

Riley Macon

Cole O'Brien

John Simons

Christian Skaret

Derek Storkel

Matt Welch

Brad Woodford

Adam Zutz

Upcoming Events

University of Minnesota Athletics