NIACC women set to compete at Griak on Saturday
ST. PAUL, Minn. - The NIACC men's and women's cross country teams will compete at the University of Minnesota Roy Griak Invitational on Saturday.
The annual invitational is one of the largest cross country races in the United States. The NIACC women began competing at the Griak Invitational in 2011.
The NIACC women will compete in the Suzy Wilson Maroon Division III/Division II race at 9 a.m., on the Les Bolstad Golf Course. Because of the forecast for extreme heat, the Division II and Division III races have been combined but will be scored separately.
The No. 6 (NJCAA Division I) NIACC men will compete in the Division II/Division III Maroon race at 9:40 a.m. The two divisions will combine for the race but will be scored separately.
This will be the first season that the NIACC teams have competed in the Division III race at the Griak Invitational.
The NIACC women's best finish in the Division II race was a 19th place finish in 2011. In the 2011 race, Anna Buenneke was 11th in 22 minutes, 42 seconds on the 6-kilometer course.
Last season, the NIACC women placed 39th in the Division II race with 1,144 points. Kendra Schmidt led the Lady Trojans with a 229th place finish in 27:09.
The NIACC women placed second at the Grand View Viking Invitational on Sept. 15. The Lady Trojans were led by freshman Julia Dunlavey, who was eighth in a time of 23:04 in the 5K race. Next in line for the Lady Trojans was sophomore Amy Fullerton, who was ninth in 23:12.
NIACC women at Griak Invitational (Maroon Div. II race)
Top individual finishes (6K)
11. Anna Buenneke 2011 22:42
27. Hannah Palmeter 2014 22:55
101. Jessica Blumberg 2015 25:22
106. Hannah Palmeter 2013 24:37
171. Ashley Ubbelohde 2011 25:48
198. Rachael Moore 2012 25:39
Div. II team finishes Points
2011 - 19th 561
2012 - 37th 1,097
2013 - 30th 854
2014 - 27th 787
2015 - 33rd 870
2016 - 39th 1,144