166th Article at the Independent

The Roy Griak Invitational CC meet at University of Minnesota

CHRIS DRUMMOND

sports writer

cdrummond@marshallindependent.com

MINNEAPOLIS — The Marshall Tigers’ cross country teams went to the Roy Griak invitational at the University of Minnesota on Friday.

It was the first meet since the girls won first place and the boys second at the Marshall Golf Club.

The girls placed 10th out of 53 teams in the Gold 5k event. Their best finisher individually was junior Allyson Sample, who placed 49th out of 476 participants in the event. Head coach of the girls’ team Marie Sample advocated on how proud she was of her team.

“It was a great effort by our girls today,” Sample said. “They raced an outstanding race against some of the best teams in the country and the state. You could see the grit and determination on their faces as they warmed up and got ready to go to battle. This team is very driven and focused with big goals. They really wanted to go after Highland Park today who is ranked No.1 in Minnesota’s stacked team competition.

“They gave them a good run. We just need to move our solid pack of runners up just a little farther in the race. I believe we will be able to give them another solid race in Alexandria in a couple weeks. We will see if the girls are hungry and willing to do the little things to attempt another shot at St Paul Highland Park at Alexandria in a couple weeks. I am very proud of their effort as they were able to place 10th in such a competitive premier national meet today. It took some courage to stand on that starting line with almost 600 runners and to perform with such determination as they did. We will keep our noses to the ground and prepare for the next battle ahead. I couldn’t be more proud of this group of young ladies.”

The boys Tigers team finished 40th out of 55 teams that participated. Their best finisher individually was sophomore Keagan Anderson, who placed at 138th out of 525 participants in the event.

Head coach of the boys Tigers Brian Leibfried commented on his team performance.

“The Griak meet is one of the most premier meets in the Midwest,” Leibfried said. “There were teams from all over the country that came. We were talking that the Gold Race that we were in was basically the caliber of four state meets put together. On paper going into the meet, we were projected to be in 40th place and that is exactly where we ended up. This was a good experience for the boys to see what it is like to be in an event of this magnitude. We feel good about where we are and know what our focus needs to be heading toward the homestretch of the season. The boys are talking goals and visually seeing that what they are working for is reachable. Our team is starting to really feel like we are getting into racing shape and we will continue to try to close our pack upfront.”

Both of the cross country teams will be back in action October 1st as they will travel to Wilmar and have their meet at Eagle Creek Golf Course.