University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Roy Griak Invitational
No. 26 Gophers Earn Top-3 Griak Finish
9/26/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
Sept. 26, 2015
Women's Gold Results | Griak Results Central | Griak Recaps
MINNEAPOLIS - All five scoring runners placed in the top 50 as the No. 26 Golden Gopher women's cross country team placed third with 141 points at the 30th annual Roy Griak Invitational at Les Bolstad Course Saturday afternoon.
Haley Johnson and Liz Berkholtz led the Gophers with top-20 finishes. Johnson finished 13th overall in 21:53.2, marking the highest individual finish by a Gopher since Laura Docherty took 11th in 2013, and Berkholtz took 19th in 22:06.3.
"I thought our whole top five really ran well," head coach Sarah Hopkins said. "Haley Johnson was our number one runner today, and it was great to see a top-20 finish for her. She's been a long time coming. She's had a lot of talent, but hasn't quite had that race where it has all come together. Today was that day for her."
Behind Johnson and Berkholtz, Madeline Strandemo (22:27.4), Kaila Urick (22:28.9), and Jamie Piepenburg (22:41.3) completed Minnesota's scoring runners and finished 33rd, 35th, and 49th in the overall standings.
Minnesota placed third behind 2015 Jack Johnson Women's Gold Division I team champion Boise State (37 points). Michigan State was second with 116 points, and Weber State (147 points) and California (169 points) rounded out the top five behind the Gophers.
"We're really excited about third place," Hopkins said. "It's a podium finish, and we get to bring home a trophy. We beat some really good teams, and we were really close to Michigan State, closer than I thought we would be. They're not quite full strength, but neither are we. When we get our pieces back and they get their pieces back, there's no reason we can't give them a run for their money down the road."
The Gophers' third-place showing was the program's highest Griak finish since placing third of 17 teams in 2012.
California's Bethan Knights won the individual title in 20:53.8, ahead of runner-up Allie Ostrander (21:09.4) and third-place finisher Annie Bothma (21:18.6) both of Boise State.
Minnesota's sixth and seventh runners were Stacey Swatek in 22:57.4 for 67th place and Courtney Alama in 23:09.3 for 81st overall.
"I think we're going to come out of today's race with a lot of confidence, so that's the most important thing," Hopkins said. "I'm really excited about that and pleased with our performance today."
The Gophers will be back in action next week at the Greater Louisville Classic on Saturday, Oct. 3. Minnesota will also send a group to the UW-Eau Claire Blugold Invitational on Friday, Oct. 2.
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Players Mentioned
