MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The Illinois State men's and women's cross country teams head back to Minnesota for the 29th-annual Roy Griak Invitational Saturday, at the Les Bolstad Golf Course, as the Redbirds are set to compete against top teams around the nation.
The men will toe the line of the 8,000-meter Merrill Fischbein Men's Gold Division at 12:20 p.m., while the women will race the 6,000-meter course of the Jack Johnson Women's Gold Division at 1:10 p.m.
On the men's side, over 400 athletes and 30 Division I schools make their way to Minneapolis for the event with five of the top-10 teams from last year's race returning to the course. No. 19 North Carolina comes in ranked highest of the schools competing, but four-time Griak champions Iowa State will also contest alongside the Redbird men.
The women will see 37 schools from across the nation in the 6K. Four of the top-five teams from last year's race will return to the Griak course, including runner-up Michigan State, Butler, Minnesota and Iowa State.
Last year at the Roy Griak Invitational, senior Ryan Rutherford posted a top-20 finish for the Redbirds, clocking an 8K time of 24:45 to finish 16th overall. Rutherford will look to build on his successful 2013 campaign and vie for a top-10 spot at the competitive Griak race.
Former Redbird Rachael Brewer led the Redbird women at last year's competition, finishing 25th overall in the gold division with a 6K time of 21:32. Kelly McShea will be the go-to runner for the ISU squad this year, as she clocked a 6K time of 22:15 at last year's meet to finish second for the Redbirds behind Brewer. In her first event of the season, McShea recorded a top-five finish with a 5K time of 17:50 at Illinois State's only home meet of the 2014 slate.
Wisconsin transfer Ariel Michalek looks to make an impact for the ISU women, while senior Kim Christensen will also vie for the top spot of the Redbird lineup. Michalek recently made her way into the ISU record books, cracking the top-50 best list of the Weibring Golf Course 5K times. Christensen notched a top-10 finish at the Country Financial ISU Invite with a time of 17:56.
The men bring plenty of depth to the course, as Sean Senf, Tyler Morse, Jeff Bajema and Jesse Hahne will look to be point-scorers for the men's team. Senf, Morse, Bajema and Hahne are each coming off top-25 finishes at ISU's recent home meet.
For more information please visit the Roy Griak home page at http://www.gophersports.com/sports/m-xc/spec-rel/roy-griak-invitational.html.
Results of the 29th-annual Roy Griak Invitational will be posted following the conclusion of the two meets Saturday on www.GoRedbirds.com.
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