University of Minnesota Athletics
Griak Hall of Fame Feature: Ben Noad
9/3/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
The University of Minnesota will celebrate the 30th annual Roy Griak Invitational as part of Homecoming festivities on Saturday, Sept. 26 at Les Bolstad Golf Course in Falcon Heights, Minn.
As part of the celebration, Gopher Athletics has announced the formation of the Roy Griak Invitational Hall of Fame with eight inductees slated to be honored in the inaugural class. As the Griak Invitational approaches, GopherSports.com will highlight each of the honorees including today’s feature on Providence’s Ben Noad.
The quality of the teams competing in the Roy Griak Invitational on an annual basis is one of the many things that has made it the most prestigious meet in the nation each year.
So strong is the field each season that it took 13 years and one very special runner before the men's division saw its first repeat champion.
Providence standout Ben Noad holds that distinction after winning back-to-back Griak championships and adding to the legacy built while competing for the Friars.
Noad, a native of Bristol, England, got a taste of the Griak field as a sophomore in 1996. His 19th-place finish that year helped Providence to 109 points and a third-place finish in the Friars' second-straight appearance in the meet. Noad was clocked in 25:01 and finished just over one minute behind Nebraska's Jonah Kiptarus, who won in 23:57. It was actually the second Griak title for Kiptarus, he won the Division II individual championship in 1994 while competing for Barton County Community College. Noad stands as the first man to successfully defend his crown at the Griak.
The Providence standout finished on top of the Griak awards stand for the first time in 1997 after covering the course in a time of 24:23.8, but his Friars finished well behind team champion Wisconsin, which won with 68 points after placing four runners among the top 20. The Friars scored 203 points and finished seventh in the final team standings.
History was made in 1998 as Noad won the individual title for a second-straight year to help lead the Friars to their first-ever Griak team championship. Noad's time in 1998 was nearly identical to his winning time the previous year as he captured his second Griak title after being clocked in 24:25, just 1.2 seconds slower than his 1997 time.
Keith Kelly would join Noad on the awards stand as he would place fourth in a time of 24:50 as the Friars collected 106 points on the day to outdistance Northern Arizona, which placed three runners in the top 20 and finish with 114 points. Defending Griak champion Wisconsin finished third with 120 points, while Portland (124) and host Minnesota (139) rounded out the top five schools at the 1998 edition of the meet. Kelly would go on to win a Griak title of his own in 2000 as the Friars won the meet for the second time in school history.
Noad said the first Griak title stands out in his mind as a key race in his collegiate career.
“It was the first big race I won in the United States,” said Noad, who was still trying to recover from a glandular fever over the summer of 1997. “I think it set up the success that I had in the last two years of college.”
As Noad prepares to join seven other members in the inaugural class of the Roy Griak Invitational Hall of Fame, he looks back on his achievements with fond memories.
“The Roy Griak Invitational was an important race in my development as an athlete in college and a trip I always looked forward to,” the former Providence standout said. “For whatever reason I seemed to have my best performances of the season at the Griak in 1997 and 1998.
“Considering the warmth that people feel for Roy Griak and how highly regarded he was, along with the impressive list of the other hall of fame members, I feel very honored and lucky,” added Noad.
Noad's success while at Providence was not limited the Griak Invitational. He remains one of the most successful runners in Friars history.
He appeared in the NCAAA championship meet three times while wearing the uniform of the Friars. After finishing well off the pace with his 88th-place finish (32:40) as a freshman in 1995, he garnered his first All-American honor in 1997 just months after winning his first Griak championship and placing second in the Big East Conference championship meet. He placed 18th as Providence finished 16th in the team standings at the 1997 NCAA championship meet in Greenville, S.C. Noad's time of 30:02 helped as the Friars scored 375 points and turned in their best team finish since placing eighth at the national meet two years earlier.
Noad improved his postseason finishes the following year, including a victory in the Big East meet. He later ran his way to a 12th-place finish at the 1998 meet at Rim Rock Farm outside of Lawrence, Kan. He was clocked in a time of 30:37 and Providence placed 10th with 339 points.
“I was probably regarded as a pure cross country runner,” explained Noad, whose top finishes on the track were runner-up placements in the 5,000 meters at the Big East outdoor meet in 1997 and 1998 and a second-place finish in that event at the 1998 conference indoor meet.
He later competed for Great Britain in five world cross country championships and a pair of European championships. He also placed 11th in the World Students Cross Country Championship meet in 2000 in Germany where he helped his team to a silver-medal finish.
An all-around athlete, Noad participated in cricket, rugby and soccer while attending Culverhay Comprehensive School prior to crossing the pond to pursue his running career. He was recruited by several schools, including Iowa State and Oklahoma State and decided on Providence after former NCAA indoor mile champion Andy Keith recommended him to Providence coach Ray Treacy.
And, as the saying goes, “the rest is history.”
Now, 16 years after graduating from Providence, he still has advice to offer young cross country athletes.
“Make sure you find time to enjoy the sport and engage with your fellow athletes and coaches,” he said. “There are some great people in our sport. It's very easy to get bogged down in the training, but there is more to the sport than just the training.”
Story by Ray Maloney
Griak Invitational Historian
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