University of Minnesota Athletics
Scott Stallman: For the Good of the Griak
9/18/2024 9:30:00 AM | Men's Cross Country, Men's Track & Field, Women's Cross Country, Women's Track & Field
By Trenten Gauthier
Assistant Director of Athletic Communications
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For 51 years, the state of Minnesota had the privilege of the late Roy Griak roaming its cross country courses and impacting the running youth of the Land of 10,000 Lakes. It could easily be argued that his impact was felt most by Saint Louis Park's Scott Stallman.
"This year is, without any interruption, my 60th straight cross country season," Stallman said. "I started in Saint Louis Park as a seventh grader then I ran in college at St. Cloud State University and then got hired at Chaska. Jump a few years and I'm an official and now here we are in 2024."
Stallman started his first cross country season the same year 'The Legend' Roy Griak came to the 'U' from Saint Louis Park High School where Stallman went on to break the 4x220 yard state record that stood for years, with the 1:28.0 converted time still standing as the Saint Louis Park school record today.
Stallman, who attended Saint Louis Park with fellow Griak legend Dan Dornfeld, served as Chaska's cross country head coach starting in 1975. He began taking his teams to the Roy Griak Invitational in the 1990s. After retiring from Chaska in 2011, Stallman began working as a track and field and cross country official. Then in 2015, after the passing of both Griak and the great R. Eugene, 'Lefty' Wright, Stallman's role grew to taking over things like the setup of the course and having a proper start.
In 2024 Stallman serves as anything from a meet director, to an announcer to a meet manager. At the Roy Griak Invitational Stallman has his hands on nearly every aspect of the setup of the meet, but when race day comes he can be found working the microphone as an announcer.
"Everything you see on Friday likely has my hands on it in one way or another," Stallman said. "Obviously a lot has changed, but in terms of the quality we are now seeing more and more Division I schools participating, and those schools are some really high-level teams."
Stallman retired after 37 years of teaching and coaching at Chaska and St. Cloud State. His time in St. Coud allowed him to help co-direct the NCAA Cross Country Championships, which the school hosted in 1982, where he says is where he got his feet wet organizing meets.
Jump to 1992 where Griak, who was in his 29th year at Minnesota, approached Stallman to help serve as an announcer at a conference championship meet.
"We had an announcer in the booth, and the concept was I would be a roaming announcer on the field," Stallman explained. "That was my first true affiliation with the Gophers directly after knowing Roy since I was in school at Saint Louis Park."
Since then, Stallman's role has done nothing but grow.
"Prior to my time in this role, I had no background announcing," Stallman said. "I was just a teacher and a coach. A lot of credit to (Minnesota senior Associate AD) Marc Ryan too, for having the confidence in me when we broke ground for the new track and field stadium, they needed an emcee and I was able to do that and introduce the President at the time, the Athletic Director."
Leading up to the grand opening of the stadium, Stallman recalls having conversations to find out ways to make the new facility not just a track for the Gophers, but a track for the entire state – which is something he says he'll never forget as someone who had been in the corner of track and field in Minnesota since the beginning.
"Going all the way back to 1990 when we hosted the Olympic Sports Festival here Bill Smith, a former Gopher and one of Roy's favorites, and I were the very first presidents of USA Track and Field – Minnesota," Stallman said. "In fact, I had been on this five-person committee with Roy along with others that helped bring USA Track and Field to Minnesota. That was a time when the sport was transitioning from one governing body to something called the Athletic Congress, which is in essence what USA Track and Field is today."
Since that start, Stallman's impact has evolved beyond what he's done for Minnesota. Numerous Chaska graduates have helped the Gophers over the years dating back to when Stallman was involved at the high school level.
"What's fun is thinking back throughout my time at Chaska having several of the athletes that I coached at the high school level come over here and make a huge impact," Stallman said. "Logan Stroman, who won four Big Ten team titles with the Gophers and an NCAA bronze medal. Kaila Urick was someone I was able to join for her home visit, and then she goes on to become an integral part of Coach (Sarah) Hopkins' program and later won a Big Ten cross country championship."
"When you see somebody come out of a program that you were in charge of, come over here where I've loved the Gophers my whole life, even though I was not a student here, it just shows that Maroon and Gold really runs deep. My mom came here, her sister came here. This Gopher family line goes back over 100 years."
Stallman's Gopher blood runs so deep that his mother's parents were football season ticket holders at Northrup Field, prior to Memorial Stadium, back in the 1920s.
"In 1927 Memorial was completed and my grandparents still had their football tickets," Stallman laughed. "That year they were given stadium blankets with their season tickets, and I still have that blanket to this day."
Even with all that history, Stallman's passion hasn't wavered. The 72-year-old still has his eyes set on making the Griak the best it can be for all involved at every level.
"I always feel my role is focused on making these athletes see a great setup, and thrilled when they come," Stallman noted. "I want it to be unlike any other meet that they've had prior to this. Of course there are state meets, national meets, but I want them to see an invitational where it's first class and has a great presentation."
"I want the Roy Griak Invitational to be eye-popping," Stallman added. "And with the new finish standard and signage, it really is a spectacle."
Friday's event will be the 38th edition of the Roy Griak Invitational, but for Stallman it will be the 10th since its namesake passed away in 2015.
"I think that the meet is still conducted in a way that would please Roy," Stallman said. "He would love to see this. I know that when his two boys come, that they are still very pleased and when I greet them at that awards area, they are still thrilled to be here. This is an honor to their dad, and when I see their faces light up with the presentation then I know that he would have been proud of this."
Stallman says he has no plans to walk away from 'The Griak' any time soon, and he doesn't take for granted the time and trust that so many at the 'U' have put in him.
"I just appreciate that the University of Minnesota has had faith in me," Stallman said. "It's a true compliment. That the folks here, from the administration to the coaching staff, have had the confidence in me says a lot, I really feel like that's the true compliment that anybody could receive – that someone has faith in you to do your job and do it well."
"The Gophers are my home," Stallman added. "This is my place."
Assistant Director of Athletic Communications
---
For 51 years, the state of Minnesota had the privilege of the late Roy Griak roaming its cross country courses and impacting the running youth of the Land of 10,000 Lakes. It could easily be argued that his impact was felt most by Saint Louis Park's Scott Stallman.
"This year is, without any interruption, my 60th straight cross country season," Stallman said. "I started in Saint Louis Park as a seventh grader then I ran in college at St. Cloud State University and then got hired at Chaska. Jump a few years and I'm an official and now here we are in 2024."
Stallman started his first cross country season the same year 'The Legend' Roy Griak came to the 'U' from Saint Louis Park High School where Stallman went on to break the 4x220 yard state record that stood for years, with the 1:28.0 converted time still standing as the Saint Louis Park school record today.
Stallman, who attended Saint Louis Park with fellow Griak legend Dan Dornfeld, served as Chaska's cross country head coach starting in 1975. He began taking his teams to the Roy Griak Invitational in the 1990s. After retiring from Chaska in 2011, Stallman began working as a track and field and cross country official. Then in 2015, after the passing of both Griak and the great R. Eugene, 'Lefty' Wright, Stallman's role grew to taking over things like the setup of the course and having a proper start.
In 2024 Stallman serves as anything from a meet director, to an announcer to a meet manager. At the Roy Griak Invitational Stallman has his hands on nearly every aspect of the setup of the meet, but when race day comes he can be found working the microphone as an announcer.
"Everything you see on Friday likely has my hands on it in one way or another," Stallman said. "Obviously a lot has changed, but in terms of the quality we are now seeing more and more Division I schools participating, and those schools are some really high-level teams."
Stallman retired after 37 years of teaching and coaching at Chaska and St. Cloud State. His time in St. Coud allowed him to help co-direct the NCAA Cross Country Championships, which the school hosted in 1982, where he says is where he got his feet wet organizing meets.
Jump to 1992 where Griak, who was in his 29th year at Minnesota, approached Stallman to help serve as an announcer at a conference championship meet.
"We had an announcer in the booth, and the concept was I would be a roaming announcer on the field," Stallman explained. "That was my first true affiliation with the Gophers directly after knowing Roy since I was in school at Saint Louis Park."
Since then, Stallman's role has done nothing but grow.
"Prior to my time in this role, I had no background announcing," Stallman said. "I was just a teacher and a coach. A lot of credit to (Minnesota senior Associate AD) Marc Ryan too, for having the confidence in me when we broke ground for the new track and field stadium, they needed an emcee and I was able to do that and introduce the President at the time, the Athletic Director."
Leading up to the grand opening of the stadium, Stallman recalls having conversations to find out ways to make the new facility not just a track for the Gophers, but a track for the entire state – which is something he says he'll never forget as someone who had been in the corner of track and field in Minnesota since the beginning.
"Going all the way back to 1990 when we hosted the Olympic Sports Festival here Bill Smith, a former Gopher and one of Roy's favorites, and I were the very first presidents of USA Track and Field – Minnesota," Stallman said. "In fact, I had been on this five-person committee with Roy along with others that helped bring USA Track and Field to Minnesota. That was a time when the sport was transitioning from one governing body to something called the Athletic Congress, which is in essence what USA Track and Field is today."
Since that start, Stallman's impact has evolved beyond what he's done for Minnesota. Numerous Chaska graduates have helped the Gophers over the years dating back to when Stallman was involved at the high school level.
"What's fun is thinking back throughout my time at Chaska having several of the athletes that I coached at the high school level come over here and make a huge impact," Stallman said. "Logan Stroman, who won four Big Ten team titles with the Gophers and an NCAA bronze medal. Kaila Urick was someone I was able to join for her home visit, and then she goes on to become an integral part of Coach (Sarah) Hopkins' program and later won a Big Ten cross country championship."
"When you see somebody come out of a program that you were in charge of, come over here where I've loved the Gophers my whole life, even though I was not a student here, it just shows that Maroon and Gold really runs deep. My mom came here, her sister came here. This Gopher family line goes back over 100 years."
Stallman's Gopher blood runs so deep that his mother's parents were football season ticket holders at Northrup Field, prior to Memorial Stadium, back in the 1920s.
"In 1927 Memorial was completed and my grandparents still had their football tickets," Stallman laughed. "That year they were given stadium blankets with their season tickets, and I still have that blanket to this day."
Even with all that history, Stallman's passion hasn't wavered. The 72-year-old still has his eyes set on making the Griak the best it can be for all involved at every level.
"I always feel my role is focused on making these athletes see a great setup, and thrilled when they come," Stallman noted. "I want it to be unlike any other meet that they've had prior to this. Of course there are state meets, national meets, but I want them to see an invitational where it's first class and has a great presentation."
"I want the Roy Griak Invitational to be eye-popping," Stallman added. "And with the new finish standard and signage, it really is a spectacle."
Friday's event will be the 38th edition of the Roy Griak Invitational, but for Stallman it will be the 10th since its namesake passed away in 2015.
"I think that the meet is still conducted in a way that would please Roy," Stallman said. "He would love to see this. I know that when his two boys come, that they are still very pleased and when I greet them at that awards area, they are still thrilled to be here. This is an honor to their dad, and when I see their faces light up with the presentation then I know that he would have been proud of this."
Stallman says he has no plans to walk away from 'The Griak' any time soon, and he doesn't take for granted the time and trust that so many at the 'U' have put in him.
"I just appreciate that the University of Minnesota has had faith in me," Stallman said. "It's a true compliment. That the folks here, from the administration to the coaching staff, have had the confidence in me says a lot, I really feel like that's the true compliment that anybody could receive – that someone has faith in you to do your job and do it well.""The Gophers are my home," Stallman added. "This is my place."
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Oz Memorial Highlights
Sunday, September 01
Big Ten Championship Highlights
Tuesday, November 07
Griak Invite Course Tour
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