University of Minnesota Athletics
Friday, September 22
St Paul, MN
10:00 AM
University of Minnesota
vs
37th Annual Roy Griak Invitational
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
Mid-Distance
/ Women's Cross Country
Distance
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
Distance
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
Photo by: Bjorn Franke
Gophers Have Solid Showing at 37th Griak
9/22/2023 12:53:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country
Both the Minnesota men and women placed in the top nine.
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Gopher men's and women's cross country teams had a strong showing at the 37th annual Roy Griak Invitational, at the Les Bolstad Golf Course in Falcon Heights, Minn. The men's team finished in ninth place with 250 points on the day, while the women placed seventh with 201 points. California Baptist University won both the men's and the women's races, taking 46 points in the men's meet, and 63 in the women's meet.
For the Maroon and Gold, the men's team was led by Emmet Anderson, who finished the 8K race in 36th place (25:04.5). Redshirt junior Erin Reidy matched Anderson on the women's side with a 36th place finish (22:03.4) as well. The Gopher men were able to push five runners into the top 75, while the Gopher women had five runners in the top 50.
Overall Cal Baptist won the team titles on both the men's and women's side, marking the first time they have pulled off a team double at the Griak.Â
WOMEN'S 6K
It was a balanced bunch for the 'U' in the women's Division I 6K on Friday morning. Minnesota's top five scorers all finished within nine seconds of one another with Reidy's 22:03.4 time pushing her from 78th a year ago to 36th this season. Two other top five runners for the Golden Gophers also improved their positions from last year's Griak. Brianne Brewster's 22:04.1 helped her finish 38th, up from her 64th in 2022. Taylor Kreitinger also had a large jump, going from 70th last year to 46th this season, in a time of 22:11.9, to help the team go from ninth in 2022 to seventh in 2023. Minnesota's other top five finisher was the 2022 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Ali Weimer, who made her season debut by finishing 42nd overall in a time of 22:06.6. Â
"I really think we did take a good step today," Cross Country Head Coach Sarah Hopkins said. "I think our pack worked awesome together today. Super proud of them to all finish within 10 seconds of one another. To work together like that is awesome and for those guys to really believe in that and trust in one another is really special. We did get a little buried early, the goal was to be in the top 50 but we were hovering around 70. We worked really well, we moved up to finish in the 30s and 40s, we just needed to move up a bit more, but that is fixable. We have women that are willing to work and fight, so we are going to keep getting better. We just have to keep our noses down and keep working as a group."Â
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MEN'S 8K
Anderson's finish was about a second faster than his time in 2022 and moved him up from 40th to 36th. Not too far behind Anderson were Leo Goodman (25:16.1), Noah Kohut-Jackson (25:18.0), and Eli Hoeft (25:22.2), who finished in 51st, 52nd, and 56th, respectively. Rounding out the pack for the Gophers were redshirt freshman Dan Vanacker (25:43.5) in 74th place. Both Goodman and Kohut-Jackson's finishes were personal bests with Goodman moving from 62nd as a freshman to 51st this season. Kohut-Jackson improved from 100th to 52nd.Â
"Overall, the guys did a nice job today," Assistant Coach Brad Wick said. "They pushed themselves on the course today, which was what we were looking for today to have a solid performance. They moved up well, and we had some people that were a bit aggressive and paid for it a little bit, but as a coach you like to see that once in a while, especially early in the season."Â
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UP NEXT
The Maroon & Gold will split up following Friday's Griak Invitational with the men's contingency of Gophers taking a week off while the women's team will head to both the Eau Claire Invitational and the Joe Piane Invitational at Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind.
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GOPHER WOMEN'S TOP RESULTS
36th. Erin Reidy, 22:03.4
38th. Brianne Brewster, 22:04.1
39th. Emma Atkinson, 22:04.8
42nd. Ali Weimer, 22:06.6
46th. Taylor Kreitinger, 22:11.9
76th. Caroline Mendyk, 22:54.6 (PR)
81st. Zoie Dundon, 23:02.6 (PR)
89th. Delia Johnson, 23:12.2 (PR)
Â
GOPHER MEN'S TOP RESULTS
36th. Emmet Anderson, 25:04.5
51st. Leo Goodman, 25:16.1
52nd. Noah Kohut-Jackson, 25:18.0Â Â Â
56th. Eli Hoeft, 25:22.2
74th. Dan Vanacker, 25:43.5Â
112th. Owen Lindseth, 26:29.5
For the Maroon and Gold, the men's team was led by Emmet Anderson, who finished the 8K race in 36th place (25:04.5). Redshirt junior Erin Reidy matched Anderson on the women's side with a 36th place finish (22:03.4) as well. The Gopher men were able to push five runners into the top 75, while the Gopher women had five runners in the top 50.
Overall Cal Baptist won the team titles on both the men's and women's side, marking the first time they have pulled off a team double at the Griak.Â
WOMEN'S 6K
It was a balanced bunch for the 'U' in the women's Division I 6K on Friday morning. Minnesota's top five scorers all finished within nine seconds of one another with Reidy's 22:03.4 time pushing her from 78th a year ago to 36th this season. Two other top five runners for the Golden Gophers also improved their positions from last year's Griak. Brianne Brewster's 22:04.1 helped her finish 38th, up from her 64th in 2022. Taylor Kreitinger also had a large jump, going from 70th last year to 46th this season, in a time of 22:11.9, to help the team go from ninth in 2022 to seventh in 2023. Minnesota's other top five finisher was the 2022 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Ali Weimer, who made her season debut by finishing 42nd overall in a time of 22:06.6. Â
"I really think we did take a good step today," Cross Country Head Coach Sarah Hopkins said. "I think our pack worked awesome together today. Super proud of them to all finish within 10 seconds of one another. To work together like that is awesome and for those guys to really believe in that and trust in one another is really special. We did get a little buried early, the goal was to be in the top 50 but we were hovering around 70. We worked really well, we moved up to finish in the 30s and 40s, we just needed to move up a bit more, but that is fixable. We have women that are willing to work and fight, so we are going to keep getting better. We just have to keep our noses down and keep working as a group."Â
Â
MEN'S 8K
Anderson's finish was about a second faster than his time in 2022 and moved him up from 40th to 36th. Not too far behind Anderson were Leo Goodman (25:16.1), Noah Kohut-Jackson (25:18.0), and Eli Hoeft (25:22.2), who finished in 51st, 52nd, and 56th, respectively. Rounding out the pack for the Gophers were redshirt freshman Dan Vanacker (25:43.5) in 74th place. Both Goodman and Kohut-Jackson's finishes were personal bests with Goodman moving from 62nd as a freshman to 51st this season. Kohut-Jackson improved from 100th to 52nd.Â
"Overall, the guys did a nice job today," Assistant Coach Brad Wick said. "They pushed themselves on the course today, which was what we were looking for today to have a solid performance. They moved up well, and we had some people that were a bit aggressive and paid for it a little bit, but as a coach you like to see that once in a while, especially early in the season."Â
Â
UP NEXT
The Maroon & Gold will split up following Friday's Griak Invitational with the men's contingency of Gophers taking a week off while the women's team will head to both the Eau Claire Invitational and the Joe Piane Invitational at Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind.
Â
GOPHER WOMEN'S TOP RESULTS
36th. Erin Reidy, 22:03.4
38th. Brianne Brewster, 22:04.1
39th. Emma Atkinson, 22:04.8
42nd. Ali Weimer, 22:06.6
46th. Taylor Kreitinger, 22:11.9
76th. Caroline Mendyk, 22:54.6 (PR)
81st. Zoie Dundon, 23:02.6 (PR)
89th. Delia Johnson, 23:12.2 (PR)
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GOPHER MEN'S TOP RESULTS
36th. Emmet Anderson, 25:04.5
51st. Leo Goodman, 25:16.1
52nd. Noah Kohut-Jackson, 25:18.0Â Â Â
56th. Eli Hoeft, 25:22.2
74th. Dan Vanacker, 25:43.5Â
112th. Owen Lindseth, 26:29.5
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