Rams set to compete at the Roy Griak Invitational

Roy Griak Invitational
Saturday, Sept. 23
Division I Men's 8k | 9:20 a.m. MT/10:20 a.m. CT
Division I Women's 6k | 10 a.m. MT/11 a.m. CT
Les Bolstad Golf Course | Falcon Heights, Minn.
Hosted by the University of Minnesota

Coverage: FloTrack Live Stream ($) | Meet Information
Colorado State Cross Country: 2017 Performance List | Twitter

FORT COLLINS, Colo. - The Colorado State cross country team is set to continue the 2017 season this Saturday, as the Rams travel for the prestigious Roy Griak Invitational in Falcon Heights, Minn.

Saturday's meet is hosted by the University of Minnesota. Following early Division II and III competition will be the Division I men's 8k (10:20 a.m. CT/9:20 a.m. MT) and the college Division 1 women's 6k (11 a.m. CT/10 a.m. MT). Subscribers to FloTrack will be able to follow the action through the website's live stream.

"This is really our debut where we run everybody – it's our first major invitational where at-large points are at stake," Colorado State cross country head coach Art Siemers said. "Starting off the year with a strong performance will get us where we want to be as far as later in the season with Wisconsin (Nuttycombe Invitational), and the conference and regional series."

Among the teams Colorado State will compete against this Saturday are Iowa State (No. 13 men's, No. 23 women's), Michigan State (No. 25 men's, No. 20 women's), Minnesota (RV men's, No. 19 women's), San Francisco (No. 8 women's) and UCLA (No. 20 men's). The CSU men's team continues to hold a No. 18 national ranking heading to this Saturday's competition.

"Our team is excited – they want to get the big 'Roy' (team title) on the men's side," Siemers said. "On the women's side, we think we're at a whole new level this year from where they've been in the past. We feel really strong about where we're at. The one thing we can't control is the weather, and we think it's going to be hot and humid there. That'll be a challenge, but the great thing about cross country is that at the end of the day times don't matter as much – it's about competition."

Last year, the CSU men placed seventh out of 29 competing teams at the Griak, while CSU's women placed 13th out of 36. Then a junior, Jerrell Mock won men's 8k with a time of 25:06.3, marking the second consecutive season in which a Ram has won the title (Jefferson Abbey in 2015). Among the top 40 finishers were then-junior Grant Fischer, who placed 22nd, as well as then-sophomore Eric Hamer, who placed 40th.

Three All-Americans make their 2017 cross country debuts for CSU's men, including Mock (2017 outdoor, 2017 indoor, 2016 indoor, 2015 cross country), Fischer (2017 outdoor, 2017 indoor) and junior Cole Rockhold (honorable mention – 2017 outdoor, 2017 indoor). Also making their 2017 cross country debuts are Eric Hamer and Carson Hume, who were consistently in CSU's top-five last cross country season. Trent Powell will compete for the men's squad after a second-place finish at the CSU Duals (Sept. 1) and Mountain West Men's Cross Country Athlete of the Week honors.

"We've had the frontrunners the past few years, but we feel the big improvement from our team and a strength is our depth – it's kind of overlooked," Siemers said. "We really feel like we have guys that have been around – and some new guys – that have really stepped it up to a new level. We've seen it in the workouts and at our home meet. Now it'll be exciting to compete with some of the teams like Iowa State that are ranked pretty high, and to see what we can go out and do."

Runners for the CSU women include senior Darby Gilfillan, who has qualified for the NCAA Cross Country Championships in each of the past two seasons. Last time out, Gilfillan topped the collegiate competition at this year's CSU Duals (Sept. 1) en route to Mountain West Women's Cross Country Athlete of the Week honors. Alongside Gilfillan are two of the women's top finishers from last year's Griak, Ali Kallner (50th) and McKenna Spillar (82nd).

"The women's side is exciting for us because we think we can have someone up in the front this race and have a really strong pack," Siemers said. "We have seven women that have been training nearly stride-for-stride together, and a lot of them made it to the first round of NCAA Championships in track this past year. They have experience at a high level. We think this is our year to compete for a spot in the national rankings and a spot at the national championships."

Among the runners for CSU's women at this year's Griak are four All-Mountain West performers (Gilfillan, Kallner, Macy Kreutz and Spillar), as well as a trio of 2017 NCAA West Preliminary qualifiers (Kreutz, Roxy Trotter and Dominique Ward).

Final results and a full recap will be posted on CSURams.com as soon as each are available after Saturday's meet.

Last Time Out: Gilfillan and Powell Named MW Athletes of the Week
- With their performances at the CSU Duals, Colorado State's Darby Gilfillan and Trent Powell were named the respective women's and men's Mountain West Cross Country Athletes of the Week on Sept. 5.
- Those accolades were the first weekly conference honors for each of Gilfillan and Powell. Additionally, that was the first time that any Mountain West school has swept the weekly women's and men's conference cross country honors since 2014 (Wyoming's Holly Page and Amos Bowen), as well as the first time that Colorado State has since 2012 (Kaitlin Hanenburg and Alex Muntefering).
- Gilfillan was the top collegian in the CSU Duals women's 5k, finishing in 17:35. Among the runners defeated by Gilfillan were track & field NCAA champions Sage Hurta and Dani Jones, as well as All-Americans Madie Boreman and Makena Morley.
- Powell placed second of 120 runners (including unattached entries), clocking a time of 14:52 to improve upon his previous best cross country 5k by 25 seconds. CU All-Americans Joe Klecker and Zach Perrin were among the runners that Powell finished ahead of at the CSU Duals.

Rams Ranked 18th, Open Season With Highest Preseason Ranking Since 2002
- The Colorado State men's cross country's team entered this season ranked as the No. 18 team in the nation by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches' Association (USTFCCCA). The Rams have held that position in each of the week one and week two polls.
- No. 18 is the second-highest preseason ranking the Rams' men have ever received from the USTFCCCA, and their highest preseason position since 2002. The Rams' No. 18 ranking in week one was also their highest in week one since 2002, while their No. 18 ranking in week two was their best in that week since 2003.
- CSU's men finished 17th nationally in 2016, the program's top final ranking since 2003.
- Colorado State cross country has been ranked in the preseason in each year dating back to 2014 under sixth-year head cross country coach Art Siemers. The Rams have been ranked by the USTFCCCA for 32 consecutive polls, dating back to the week three rankings in 2013, and have been in the top 20 every week since week five in 2016.
- CSU is currently the highest-ranked men's cross country team in the Mountain West, topping Boise State (No. 26) and Air Force (receiving votes).

USTFCCCA NCAA Division I Men's Cross Country National Coaches' Poll
Preseason: Women's – NR | Men's – No. 18
Week One: Women's – NR | Men's – No. 18
Week Two: Women's – NR | Men's – No. 18

Rams' Men Ranked in Top Five Regionally, Women Ranked Sixth in Region
- Colorado State's men's cross country team began the 2017 season ranked in the top five in the highly competitive Mountain Region. The CSU men continue to hold that position, placing only behind No. 1 Northern Arizona, No. 4 Colorado, No. 6 BYU and No. 14 Southern Utah.
- CSU's women's squad was tabbed the preseason No. 7 team in the Mountain Region entering 2017, and have risen to No. 6 regionally since. The Rams' women place behind only No. 1 Colorado, No. 3 New Mexico, No. 14 BYU, No. 22 Utah State and No. 26 Utah.
- CSU's men placed fourth in the 2016 Mountain Regional to reach the NCAA Cross Country Championships in 2016. The Rams toppled then-No. 15 UTEP in the regional, and placed behind only the nation's top three teams at the time (No. 1 Northern Arizona, No. 2 Colorado, No. 3 BYU).
- The Rams' women placed sixth in their region one year ago, as then-senior Janelle Lincks and 2017 senior Darby Gilfillan earned All-Region honors en route to berths to the NCAA Cross Country Championships.

USTFCCCA NCAA Division I Cross Country Regional Rankings – Mountain Region
Preseason: Women's – No. 7 | Men's – No. 5
Week One: Women's – No. 6 | Men's – No. 5
Week Two: Women's – No. 6 | Men's – No. 5

Rams' Men Tabbed Preseason Favorite in the Mountain West
- The Colorado State men's cross country team has been selected as the favorite to win the 2017 Mountain West title by conference head coaches, while Colorado State's women's team is projected to finish fourth in the 2017 MW Cross Country Preseason Coaches' Poll. The rankings were released by the conference on Wednesday, Aug. 30.
- The CSU men received 46 points overall and five of eight possible first-place votes. The Rams' women earned 71 points. The Rams are one year removed from a runner-up Mountain West finish on the men's side and a fourth-place conference finish on the women's side.
- The Rams return three All-Mountain West performers from the 2016 conference meet, including 2016 runner-up and 2015 MW champion Jerrell Mock, as well as Grant Fischer and Cole Rockhold. Eric Hamer (15th place) and Carson Hume (16th place), who took the next two positions outside of All-Mountain West honors (top 14), also return for 2017. No other team returns as many athletes that finished in the top 16 (five for CSU) at the 2016 conference meet.
- The Rams' women return three of their top four finishers from the 2016 conference meet: Ali Kallner, McKenna Spillar and Kate White. Darby Gilfillan, a two-time NCAA Cross Country Championships participant, also returns for her senior season.

Trio of All-Americans Highlight Returners for Rams' Men
- Among the returners for Colorado State men's cross country in 2017 are three athletes that have earned an All-America honor during cross country or track & field: Jerrell Mock, Grant Fischer and Cole Rockhold.
- Mock has been a consistent low stick for the Rams in each of the past two cross country seasons, finishing as the Rams' No. 1 runner in each meet in 2016 and as an All-American in 2015. Among Mock's most notable cross country finishes are individual victories at the 2016 Roy Griak Invitational and 2015 Mountain West Championships, as well as a runner-up finish at the 2016 conference meet and a 19th-place finish at the 2015 NCAA Cross Country Championships.
- Fischer emerged as a consistent No. 2 runner for the Rams during the 2016 cross country season, earning All-Region and All-Mountain West honors. Fischer carried that over to the 2017 indoor and outdoor track & field seasons, earning All-America honors in the indoor 5,000 meters and in the 10,000 meters.
- Rockhold was an All-Mountain West performer for the 2016 cross country season, placing 13th at last year's conference meet. During 2016-17, Rockhold went on to add an individual MW title in the 3,000 meters before earning First-Team All-America honors in the event at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships and Honorable Mention All-America honors in the outdoor 5,000 meters.

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