Gophers Finish Third in Close Griak Race

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Link: Men's Gold Competition Results
Link: Griak Invitational Results Central
Link: Additional Griak Invitational Recaps Photos: 29th Annual Roy Griak Invitational

FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn. (GopherSports.com) - With just nine points separating the top four teams, the 29th annual Roy Griak Invitational proved to be one of the most competitive in the event's storied history as Southern Utah edged the competition for the team title in the Merrill Fischbein Men's Gold Competition on Saturday at Les Bolstad Golf Course.

Aaron Bartnik

Southern Utah totaled 142 points for its first-ever Griak team title, while Colorado State finished second at 146 and the host Gophers finished third among the 31-team field with 149 points. Michigan State came in fourth at 153 points.

Nate Jewkes, a senior from Southern Utah, won individual honors with a time of 25.45.4 while Aaron Bartnik led the Gophers for the second-straight race with his time of 27:07.0. The junior from Eden Prairie finished eighth in the men's race.

"Aaron has come into his own here since last spring," Minnesota Director of Men's Track & Field and Cross Country Steve Plasencia said. "During track last spring, he started to get momentum and got his confidence going. He is a great kid, a smart kid and runs races tactically well, and I thought he did again today."

"I thought we ran a really smart race today," Bartnik said. "It was a great field for us to compete against, and it really gave us a good idea of where we are at going forward for the rest of the season."

Adam Zutz finished second among the Maroon & Gold squad, crossing the finish line in 25:27.1 to finish in 21st, while Alex Brend came in 35th with a time of 25:42.0. Obsa Ali and Charlie Lawrence closed out the Gophers scoring in 40th (25:45.5) and 46th (25:51.1), respectively.

Christian Skaret soon followed his teammates across the finish line at 25:56.5 in 52nd followed by Blayne Dulian at 26:02.3 in 57th and Wayde Hall at 26:21.2 in 88th. Riley Macon finished 93rd with a time of 26:23.9 while Brad Woodford came in 98th with a time of 26:26.9. Rounding out the Minnesota contingency was Eric Colvin in 119th (26:41.1), Matt Jergenson in 149th (27:01.8), Matt Welch in 161st (27:09.9) and Derek Wiebke in 175th (27:18.7).

With a significantly larger field in this year's Griak, the Gophers nearly replicated their performance from 2012 when the team won its first-ever Griak team title. This year, Plasencia was pleased to see the Gophers finish just seven points off the lead but even more pleased to see how the team continues to develop as the season goes on.

"I think the good thing about this group is that they listen, they want to learn, they want to get better," Plasencia said. "We have a good dynamic as a team at this point and if we keep that going, the season could go well."

The Gophers also had a pair of unattached freshmen compete in the meet as Sam Carlson finished 139th (26:57.0) and Isaiah Barlow came in 231st (28:11.5).

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

Charlie Lawrence

Riley Macon

Christian Skaret

Matt Welch

Derek Wiebke

Brad Woodford

Adam Zutz

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