University of Minnesota Athletics
No. 25 Gophers Set for Griak Invite
9/20/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
| 2016 Roy Griak Invitational | |||||||||||
| Date | Saturday, Sept. 24, 2016 | ||||||||||
| Location | Les Bolstad Golf Course | Falcon Heights, Minn. | ||||||||||
| Griak Links | Meet Home | Results | Tickets | ||||||||||
| Coverage | @GopherWCCTF | USTFCCCA National Results Wall | #Griak2016 | ||||||||||
| Stream | FloTrack | ||||||||||
Sept. 20, 2016
MINNEAPOLIS - The No. 25 Golden Gophers host the 31st annual Roy Griak Invitational this Saturday. The 10-race event gets underway at 9 a.m. CT with the Suzy Wilson Women's Maroon III (Division III) Competition, and the Jack Johnson Women's Gold (Division I) Competition is scheduled for 1:20 p.m. CT. Action continues all day at Les Bolstad Course.
Last Time Out: Oz Memorial Run
The Gophers kicked off the 2016 season by winning the team title at the Oz Memorial 6K Run. Minnesota placed 12 runners in the top 20 led by Madeline Strandemo's runner-up showing in 22:26.1; she finished just ahead of fellow Gophers Megan Hasz (22:32.7) and Bailey Ness (22:34.8) in third and fourth place, respectively.
All seven of Minnesota's scoring finishers came in inside the top 13. Bethany Hasz (22:37.5) was sixth, and Danielle Anderson also earned a top-10 finish in 10th (22:52.4). Rounding out the Gophers' top seven were Emily Betz (23:04.8) and Patty O'Brien (23:15.0) in 12th and 13th, respectively.
2015 Roy Griak Invitational Rewind
Minnesota finished third in the team standings at the 2015 Griak Invitational, earning the program's highest Griak finish since also placing third in 2012. All five scoring runners placed in the top 50 as the Gophers scored 141 points behind team champion Boise State (37 points) and runner-up Michigan State (116 points).
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. 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.
Gophers Climb to No. 25 in USTFCCCA Poll
Minnesota ranks No. 25 in the nation and third in the Midwest region in the week two rankings according to the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). The Gophers are one of four Big Ten Conference teams ranked among the nation's top 30: No. 9 Michigan State, No. 10 Michigan, and No. 13 Penn State.
Gophers Name Captain Quartet
Redshirt juniors Danielle Anderson, Anne Haakenstad, Madeline Strandemo, and Tess Wasowicz are serving as captains as Minnesota looks to continue its 11-year streak of NCAA Championship berths.
Newcomers Galore
Minnesota's roster includes 11 true freshmen and seven redshirt freshmen. The newest Gophers include Jane Baude, Carissa Dock, Delaney Eigenberger, Lindsey Greenlund, Bethany Hasz, Megan Hasz, Abby Kohut-Jackson, Zetta Mason, Elyse Prescott, Kelli Schmidt, and Sarah Werking.
About the 2016 Roy Griak Invitational
One of the largest meets in the country, the Roy Griak Invitational includes six collegiate races and four high school races. This year marks the 31st annual running of the Griak hosted by the Golden Gopher men's and women's cross country programs at Les Bolstad Course in Falcon Heights.
2014 marked the 51st year of service to the University of Minnesota by legendary coach Roy Griak before his passing on July 9, 2015. Griak served as the head coach of the Minnesota men's cross country team from 1963-1996 and led the Gophers to three Big Ten titles (two cross country, one track & field). Griak remained on staff as an administrative assistant after handing over the reigns of the program to current Director of Men's Track & Field and Cross Country Steve Plasencia.
Up Next: Notre Dame Invitational and Blugold Invite
The Gophers will split the squad at two meets next Friday, Sept. 30 with the top runners headed to South Bend, Ind., for the Notre Dame Invitational and another group going to Eau Claire, Wis., for the Blugold Invite.
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Players Mentioned
