University of Minnesota Athletics
2016 Griak Invitational Race Recaps
9/24/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
Griak Invitational Central | Women's Gold Recap | Men's Gold Recap
FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn. - The Golden Gopher men's and women's cross country programs are hosting the 31st annual Roy Griak Invitational at Les Bolstad Course in Falcon Heights, Minn., on Saturday. One of the largest meets in the country, the Griak includes six collegiate races and four high school races.
Suzy Wilson Women's Maroon III Recap
Wisconsin-Oshkosh won the team title with 69 points, edging St. Olaf (75 points) and St. Thomas (80) in a tight race for the 2016 Suzy Wilson Women's Maroon III team title. Wisconsin-Oshkosh placed three runners in the top three led by fifth-place finisher Erica Munyan in 24:21.4.
Pomona Pitzer's Maya Weidel won the individual title in 23:11.9, helping the Sagehens to a fourth-place finish in the team race. 2015 champion Kimber Meyer of Macalester finished as runner-up in 23:56.6.
"I honestly wanted to go out hard and run my own race," Weidel said. "There were a lot of rolling hills so I just had to adjust. It was soggier than I'm used to in California, so it was harder to get traction."
Women's Maroon II Recap
The University of Mary took home both the team and individual title in the Women's Maroon II race, led by 2015 NCAA Division II national champion Alexis Zeis, who successfully defended her Griak title from a year ago. Zeis ran 22:10.2 to take the individual crown over Minnesota Duluth's Emilee Trost (22:25.0) and Breanna Colbenson (22:34.6) in second and third, respectively.
"Well, this year I decided to go out safe and I'd be happy if I won," Zeis said. "Last year was a steady race, and then I pushed back a little. The course was really muddy. The main goal this year is to place higher as a team. Coming home with a trophy would be awesome."
The Marauders won the team title with 93 points over two-time defending team champion Minnesota Duluth (95 points) and third-place team Northern Michigan (122).
Men's Maroon III Recap
UW-Oshkosh repeated as team champions in the Men's Maroon III race with 37 points -- the highest team total in the race's 10-year history. UW-Oshkosh's third overall team title saw the school edge the Milwaukee School of Engineering, which finished in second at 68 points.
UW-River Falls' Daniel Borash won the individual title in the Men's Maroon III race at 27:00.0, edging UW-Oshkosh runners Charlend Howard and Tyler Miletti in second and third place.
"Going into the race, we knew what to expect -- Oskosh is a great team," Borash said. "My teammate Julian and I have been planning on working together, so we wanted to be together through 5k and do what we had to do after that. You maintain mental contact [with the leader], and I felt like I had it. The course is muddy, but it's cross country so it's what you'd expect. This is a guts race and everyone knows that going in."
Men's Maroon II Recap
Augustana (S.D.) cruised to the team title in the Men's Maroon II race, earning three top-12 finishes led by Glen Ellingson in third overall (26:09). The Augies scored 88 points to finish ahead of team runner-up UC San Diego (130 points) and third-place team Black Hills State (149 points).
Lakehead University's Kevin Tree won the individual title in 25:57.0, followed by Cardinal Stritch's Daniel Garcia (26:04.8) and Ellingson to make up the top three individuals.
"I wanted to make sure I started out in control," Tree said. "This course is tough on a good day and the mud definitely made it more challenging so I wanted to make sure I got out nice and controlled through 5k, see who was there for the last 3K and ramp it up from there. I still found myself a little more out of breath than I would have liked after the 5K, but it was good after that."
Larry Zirgibel Boys H.S. Gold Recap
Top 3 Teams
1. Wayzata, 91
2. Claremont (Calif.), 123
3. Millard West (Neb.), 206
Top 5 Individuals
1. Seth Hirsch, Millard West (Neb.), 15:44.80
2. Patrick Bose, Johnston (Iowa), 16:17.52
3. Seth Eliason, Hopkins, 16:22.44
4. Khalid Hussein, Wayzata, 16:22.67
5. Patrick Roos, Edina, 16:36.51
Individual champion Seth Hirsch of Millward West (Neb.): "I worked harder in the off-season this year, bumped my miles up and did harder work outs," Hirsch said. "I knew I was in better shape and was ready to go today. Being a smaller guy, I don't have much of a finishing kick yet, so I really try to run away from the guys early on because I've learned that if I let them stick around, they'll usually get me at the end."
Gary Wilson Girls High School Gold Recap
Top 3 Teams
1. Edina, 97
2. Mountain View, 140
3. Naperville North, 145
Top 5 Individuals
1. Lexy Halladay, Mountain View, 18:37.9
2. Karly Ackley, Grand Forks Central, 18:57.1
3. Hanna Johnston, Thunder Bay Hammarskj, 19:00.7
4. Tierney Wolfgram, Math & Science Academy, 19:17.2
5. Sarah Schmitt, Naperville North, 19:19.3
Individual champion Lexy Halladay of Mountain View: "Almost the whole way, I ran with someone and I kept telling myself that I have to run until she got tired before me and then keep going. My last few races I've been racing for time and for this race, I realized I had to run for place over time because if I run for place, my times will come."
Boys High School Maroon Recap
Top 3 Teams
1. St. Paul Central, 137
2. St. Michael-Albertville, 218
3. Forest Lake, 246
Top 5 Individuals
1. Innocent Murwanashyaka, St. Paul Como Park, 16:57
2. Andrew Ruiz, Webster, 17:36
3. Jack Colleran, Notre Dame Academy, 17:38
4. Dillon Diekmann, Cretin-Derham Hall, 17:41
5. Stephen Lavey, Cedar Grove Belgium, 17:41
Individual champion Innocent Murwanashyaka of St. Paul Como Park: "I was going for the win. I won last year so I wanted to win this year as well. As a senior, I wanted to uphold my title from last year. I had a lead early so I was confident I had a good chance to win."
Girls High School Maroon Recap
Results 
Top 3 Teams
1. Lakeville North, 141
2. Brainerd, 173
3. Menomonie, 180
Top 5 Individuals
1. Star Costa, South St. Paul, 19:50
2. Reagan Baesler, Burro (N.D.), 20:08
3. Ella Larson, Lakeville North, 20:21
4. Alli Hendrickson, Becker, 20:30
5. Brooke Jaworski, wausau West, 20:30
Individual champion Star Costa of South St. Paul: "I have been cross training a lot. Running is a really hard sport on your joints, so you need to train other ways to not get injured. I was hoping to place top ten again today like I did last year."
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Players Mentioned
