Next: Griak Invite at Minnesota

[JackJD]

The Jackrabbit men and women cross country runners will run at the Roy Griak Invitational hosted by the Minnesota Gophers Saturday (September 29). The Griak is always one of the biggest cross country meets in the country and this year's field is expected to be a recordsetter. There are three college divisions with SDSU competing in (of course) the Gold Division with its peers, the best cross country teams in the country from major universities across the country.

From GoJacks.com:

BROOKINGS, S.D. — Following an extra week of training, the South Dakota State men’s and women’s cross country teams return to action Saturday, taking part in the Roy Griak Invitational.
Hosted by the University of Minnesota, the event is annually one of the biggest cross country events in the nation.
In the men’s field, host Minnesota is the highest-ranked team at No. 18. Michigan State is 23rd and Iowa State is 29th, with Washington State and Kansas receiving votes in this week’s coaches’ poll.
Four of the top 10 women’s teams are entered in this year’s event - No. 6 Arizona State, No. 8 Minnesota, No. 9 Michigan State and No. 10 Virginia. Nebraska and Northern Arizona are receiving votes this week....

http://www.gojacks.com/ViewArticle.d...ATCLID=1249410

[jackmd]

Re: Next: Griak Invite at Minnesota

I believe the men finished 18th and the women 21st. I'm sure JD will provide details. About 25 DI teams competing I think.

[JackJD]

Re: Next: Griak Invite at Minnesota

Just returned from Minneapolis.

As reported by JackMD: Men finished 18th and women finished 21st. Here are Jackrabbit highlights and a few comparison notes. The link to the full official results which will lead to all divisions (not all times listed on the GoJacks.com story are accurate), is listed below.

The meet featured Division I, II and III races in men and women, plus a bunch of high school divisions.

Weather and course conditions: wet, slippery in spots, lots of hills; misting to light rain during DI Men and light to moderate rain during the women's race. Distance for the men's races was 8,000 meters and for the women, 6,000 meters (so you can compare times from one division to another, however, course conditions and weather deteriorated throughout the morning...the DIII races preceded DII and were followed by the DI races so that the course conditions were slightly poorer by the time the DI races were run.

The races had some unattached runners and some schools did not enter full teams (e.g. NDSU men)

MEN'S GOLD (DI) DIVISION (8,000 meter race)

Team winner: Northern Arizona. Individual winner: Lopez Lomong from N Arizona; 24:05. 211 individual finishers.
SDSU's team finished 18th out of 23 full teams (as noted, some schools didn't field at least five runners). Compare: Nebraska, coached by former Jackrabbit great and SDSU coach, Jay Dirksen, finished 15th. Behind the Jackrabbits: Kansas State U was in 20th.

SDSU's top five point-getters, their finish for point purposes, and their times: Andrew Van Nurden (SR) 56th, 25:44; Marshall Kambestad (FR) 94th, 26:22; Joe Roby (JR) 105th, 26:38; Jared Bienlien (JR), 128th, 27:16; and Justin Peters (FR) 138th, 27:47.

WOMEN'S GOLD (DI) DIVISION (6,000 meter race)
Team winner: Minnesota (led by Jaimie Cheever, in 8th place...granddaughter of SDSU Prof & Dean, Herb Cheever (ret'd). Individual winner: Emily Harrison, Virginia, 20:51. 258 individual finishers.
SDSU's team was 21st out of 26 schools who entered full teams. Compare: NDSU was 24th.

SDSU's top five runners, their finish for point purposes, and their times:
Caitlin Berry (JR) 66th, 23:01; Claire Steinke (JR) 101st, 23:44; Jen Lang (FR) 130th, 24:16; Emily Smith (FR) 138th, 24:29; Nicole Davis (SO), 140th, 24:35.


Link to the official results at the U of MN website:
http://www.gophersports.com/ViewArti...ATCLID=1249450

[Jacks#1Fan]

Re: Next: Griak Invite at Minnesota

Thanks JackJD for always filling in the details...great to have a "reporter" on the sidelines!
Keep posting, and I'll keep reading.