MSU Cross Country Hits The Course At Roy Griak Invitational
9/22/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
Sept. 22, 2006
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State men's and women's cross country teams will compete in the 21st Annual Roy Griak Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 23. Hosted by the University of Minnesota, the event will take place at the Les Bolstad Golf Course in Falcon Heights, Minn. Both Spartan squads were ranked in the latest Finish/Lynx NCAA Poll, on Sept. 13, with the men ranking No. 28th in the nation and the women No. 23rd. The invitational marks Michigan State's third race of the season.
A total of 35 men's collegiate teams will be represented at the Griak Invitational, eight of those nationally ranked, and four from the Big Ten. On the women's side, 30 teams will be represented, with eight ranked teams and four Big Ten schools making an appearance.
"This will really be our first meet of the season at the national level," Director of Cross Country and Track and Field Walt Drenth stated. "It will be a good test to see how our athletes respond and will serve as a reference point for the season."
Saturday's meet will be the first race the Spartans can collect NCAA qualifying points, which are used to determine at-large bids into the NCAA Championships at the end of the season.
"It is important that we do well, and pick up qualifying points," Drenth said. "This is going to be a different stage than our first two meets and a high level of competition."
Michigan State faired well in its first two events of the season, the Jeff Drenth Memorial and the Nike/Playmakers Spartan Invitational. At the Jeff Drenth, the women's team took the top-four finishes at the unscored three-team event, while the men's side saw eight runners finish in the top 15. At the Spartan Invitational, Alissa McKaig and Stephan Shay captured individual titles and the women's team placed six runners in the top 10 to capture the team title. The men's team placed six runners in the top 10, finishing second. Both McKaig (Sept. 5) and Shay (Sept. 19) have earned Big Ten Runner of the Week honors this season.
Roy Griak Invitational
Men's Teams
Air Force, No. 8 Arizona, No. 20 Arizona State, Baylor, Bowling Green, Bradley, No. 29 Butler, Colorado State, Cornell, Delaware, Drake, Eastern Washington, No. 27 Iowa, Iowa State, No. 10 Kansas, Kansas State, Lamar, Liberty, Loyola, Marquette, No. 28 Michigan State, No. 13 Minnesota, Missouri, Navy, Nebraska, Northern Arizona, Oklahoma, Princeton, South Dakota State, Southern Utah, UCLA, Utah Valley State, Virginia, Wichita State, No. 1 Wisconsin and Xavier.
Women's Teams
Air Force, No. 9 Arizona State, Arizona, No. 13 Baylor, Bowling Green, Bradley, Butler, Delaware, Drake, Eastern Washington, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Lamar, Liberty, Loyola, Marquette, No. 23 Michigan State, No. 16 Minnesota, Nebraska, Northern Arizona, Oklahoma, Rice, South Dakota State, UCLA, UC Santa Barbara, Utah Valley State, Virginia, Wichita State and Xavier.
Players Mentioned
