MINNEAPOLIS – It's back on the road for Idaho cross country, this time heading to Minneapolis for the 36th annual Roy Griak Invitational, hosted by the University of Minnesota. The men's 8k gets started at 8:30 a.m. PT while the women's 6k will begin at 9:15 a.m. PT.
Live results are available by clicking
here and on the track and field/cross country schedule page.
The field is stacked with 22 teams representing seven regions - Great Lakes, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, Mountain, South and West regions. The teams expected to compete tomorrow are Cal Baptist, Colorado State, Delaware, Iowa State, Manitoba, Miami (Fla.), Michigan State, Minnesota, Nevada, North Dakota, North Dakota State, Ohio State, Santa Clara, St. Thomas, South Dakota State, Temple, Utah, UNLV, Wisconsin, Wichita State and Wyoming.
In total, nine programs on the men's and women's side rank in the USTFCCCA top-30 national rankings. Six women's teams are rated nationally while three men's programs find themselves recognized. The Colorado State women are the top-ranked team out of the Mountain Region, where the Rams are ranked third and No. 14 in the National Coaches' Poll.
Both the men and women kicked off the 2022 season with exceptional performances at the Washington State Invitational, featuring a first-place finish from senior
Kelsey Swenson. She ran a personal-best time of 13:24.7 to lead Idaho, while freshman
Abigail Thomas took sixth place (14:18.3) in her collegiate debut.
The men defeated Washington State in the opening dual meet of the season behind three top-5 performances.
Tim Stevens and
Gabriel Dinnel finished a half second apart to lead the Vandals to victory. Stevens clocked in a third-place finish with a time of 18:13.7 and Dinnel finished fourth overall in 18:14.3.
Zac Knapp rounded out the top 5 with a time of 18:25.
Up next, the Vandals will take next week off before returning to competition for the LC State Invitational in Lewiston on Saturday, Oct. 8.
Fans can stay up-to-date on all things Idaho track and field/cross country by following the team on Instagram and Twitter, @IdahoTrack.
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