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 20th
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 13th place out of 133
contestants. Sophomore Alex Fleischhacker turned in a time
26:47 that ranked 15th in the field while freshmen Ryan
Callahan (26:55) and Patrick Crews (26:56) came in 17th
and 18th, 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.
Emory Men's And Women's Cross Country Teams To Compete in Griak Invitational
Posted: Sep 21, 2011