Colorado State University Athletics
CSU Cross Country: Rams Travel to Roy Griak Invitational
9/22/2016 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Roy Griak Invitational
Saturday, Sept. 24 | St. Paul, Minn.
Division I Women's 6k: 12:35 p.m. MT/1:35 p.m. CT
Division I Men's 8k: 11:20 a.m. MT/12:20 p.m. CT
Coverage: Meet Notes | Meet Information | FloTrack ($)
FORT COLLINS, Colo. - After two weeks off from competition, the Colorado State cross country team is set to return to action this Saturday at the prestigious Roy Griak Invitational in St. Paul, Minn.
Saturday's meet is set to be held at the University of Minnesota Les Bolstad Golf Course. The meet officially begins at 7:55 a.m. MT (8:55 a.m. CT) with the playing of the national anthem, and is set to last all day with various Division I, II, III, NAIA and high school programs competing.
Division I female athletes are set to begin 6k competition at 12:35 p.m. MT (1:35 p.m. CT). Competition for Division I male athletes in the 8k will begin at 11:20 a.m. MT (12:20 p.m. CT). Results will be posted on CSURams.com as soon as they are available.
Colorado State will compete against 36 other teams in the Roy Griak Invitational field. 16 of those opponents have a men's or women's team currently nationally ranked or receiving votes in the USTFCCCA national coaches' poll, including Mountain West foe Boise State, as well as Furman, Illinois, Iowa State, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Mississippi State, Northern Arizona, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Penn State, Portland, San Francisco, Southern Utah and UCLA.
"We are very excited to race our full squads against some of the best competition in the country," Colorado State head coach Art Siemers said. "The Roy Griak course is a challenging course with lots of hills. It will be a great opportunity for our athletes to showcase all the hard work they put in this summer and in the early season."
Rams Ranked by USTFCCCA for Third Straight Week
- Colorado State's men's cross country squad is ranked by the USTFCCCA for the third consecutive poll, checking in at No. 24 in the week two (Sept. 20) national coaches' poll.
- The USTFCCCA tabs the CSU men the No. 24 team in the nation for the second week in a row following a No. 24 ranking in the week one (Sept. 13) national coaches' poll. The Ram men climbed up one spot from No. 25 in the preseason poll released on Aug. 30.
Rams in the USTFCCCA NCAA Division I Cross Country National Coaches' Poll
Preseason (Aug. 30): Women's - NR | Men's - No. 25
Week One (Sept. 13): Women's - NR | Men's - No. 24
Week Two (Sept. 20): Women's - NR | Men's - No. 24
CSU Receiving Recognition in Numerous Polls
- The Colorado State cross country team has received recognition from various polls and rankings throughout the season.
- The CSU men's team received high praise from FloTrack in the preseason. In FloTrack's 2016 Saucony Flo50 Men's Team XC Rankings, the organization rated the CSU men's cross country squad as the 10th-best in the nation.
- In the preseason, MW coaches declared the CSU men the team to best for the 2016 season. League coaches voted the CSU women as the conference's third-best team.
- The Rams' men's and women's squads are each ranked by the USTFCCCA at No. 6 in the Mountain Region in the Week Two NCAA Division I Regional Rankings (Sept. 19). Each of the men's and women's squads were also ranked No. 6, respectively, in the preseason (Aug. 29) and week one (Sept. 12) polls.
Rams in the USTFCCCA NCAA Division I Cross Country Regional Rankings (Mountain Region)
Preseason (Aug. 29): Women's - No. 6 | Men's - No. 6
Week One (Sept. 12): Women's - No. 6 | Men's - No. 6
Week Two (Sept. 19): Women's - No. 6 | Men's - No. 6
2016 Debut for CSU's All-Americans
- This weekend marks the 2016 debut for a pair of CSU cross country All-Americans: redshirt senior Jefferson Abbey and redshirt junior Jerrell Mock. In the preseason, Abbey was tabbed FloTrack's No. 12 individual male athlete in the nation, while Mock was ranked 15th individually.
- Neither Abbey nor Mock ever finished outside of the top-20 in any meet during each athlete's respective 2015 campaigns, and are the only CSU duo since 1961 to garner All-America honors in the same season (Jerry Schmidt and Jerry Glyde).
- Abbey placed 13th out of 252 athletes in the 10k (30:05.3) at the 2015 NCAA Championships to earn All-America honors and record the best finish by a Ram at the meet since Jon Sinclair in 2979. Mock, who won the individual MW Championship, placed 19th at the NCAA Championships with a time of 30:10.3.
Young Rams Shine at CSU Invite
- With many of the Rams' veteran athletes resting during the CSU Invite, many of CSU's young athletes and newcomers had a chance to lead their respective squads in the season opener. In all, six CSU freshmen placed within the top 50 finishers on Sept. 2, while each of the CSU women finished within the top 40 (89 runners).
- Freshman Anthony Laurita led the men's squad in his first race as a Ram, placing 15th in the college 5k with a time of 15:17. Graeme Schroeder, who ran unattached, was the next-highest finishing freshman, placing 30th (15:30). Redshirt sophomore Trent Powell rounded out notable finishes for the men's squad, clocking a time of 15:17 to place 17th.
- Emma Atwell was the top freshman finisher for the CSU women, running the college 5k in 19:22 to place 38th. Kate White, a redshirt sophomore, finished in 16th with a time of 18:17.
Players Mentioned
