The Emory University men's and women's country teams continue their seasons on Saturday (Sept. 24) when they compete in the 26th annual Roy Griak Invitational.  The meet will be held at the University of Minnesota Les Bolstad Golf Course with the women's 6K race scheduled to start at 9:00 am (CDT) and the men's 8K competition at 10:45 am

Approximately 35 Division III teams will be competing at one the nation's most prestigious cross country events.  Races are held for Division I, Division II and Division III intercollegiate teams as well as high schools and other classes or runners.  An anticipated 4,000 athletes are expected to take to the course over 10 races.

In its most recent performance, the Emory women's team, ranked No. 1 in the South/Southeast Region and 20^th among Division III programs, posted a first-place performance out of 13 teams at the Berry Invitational (Sept. 10), totaling 39 points which placed it well ahead of runner-up Shorter's 91 points.  Emory dominated the field with seven of the top 13 overall finishers, led by freshman Tamara Surtees who crossed the finish line in fifth place overall out of 126 entries with a 5K time of 19:13.  Senior Sara Gelb posted an effort of 19:32, placing her eighth, while another freshman Shannon Palmer, turned in a ninth-place showing with a mark of 19:46.  Among the nationally teams taking part in this weekend's women's race include No. 5 UW-Eau Claire, No. 18 Lewis & Clark, No. 22 Carleton, No. 29 UW-La Crosse and No. 31 Wartburg.

With strong efforts in its opening two meets of the year, the Emory men's team has climbed into the national rankings at No. 35 in this week's poll.  Resting some of their key performers, the Eagles still managed to claim a runner-up showing out of 15 squads at the Berry Invitational.   Sophomore Hank Ashforth was the first Eagle to cross the finish line with an 8K time of 26:40, good for 13^th place out of 133 contestants.  Sophomore Alex Fleischhacker turned in a time 26:47 that ranked 15^th in the field while freshmen Ryan Callahan (26:55) and Patrick Crews (26:56) came in 17^th and 18^th, respectively.  Nationally ranked teams hitting the trail this weekend include No. 1 North Central (IL), No. 8 UW-La Crosse, No. 15 UW-Oshkosh, No. 18 UW-Stevens Point, No. 19 Hamline and No. 34 UW-Platteville.

Emory last competed at the Griak in 2009 with the men's coming in third out of 35 teams and the women posting a ninth-place showing out of 37 squads.