Michigan State University Athletics
Spartans Join Nation's Best at Roy Griak Invitational
9/25/2015 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Race Notes | Meet Central | USTFCCCA Live Results Wall | FloTrack Pro
EAST LANSING, Michigan - The Michigan State cross country team returns to action on Saturday, Sept. 26, traveling to Minneapolis, Minn., for the Roy Griak Invitational at the Les Bolstad Golf Course. The No. 6-ranked women will take off at 1:20 p.m., while the men's race begins at 2:20 p.m.
"We are focused on ourselves and getting better right now," said MSU Director of Cross Country and Track & Field Walt Drenth. "We are still adding a couple of people in, and I felt like we are heading in the right direction. This is a national test with some really good teams. One of the top ranked teams in Iowa State will be there, along with other good teams with high expectations, so it will be a good test."
Last time out, the Green and White hosted the Auto-Owners Insurance Spartan Invitational at the Forest Akers East Golf Course. Making their season debuts, juniors Rachele Schulist and Alexis Wiersma finished first and second, respectively, in the women's 6,000-meter race. Schulist led from start to finish, clocking a 21:01. Wiersma was in pursuit, crossing the line in 21:07 and 19 seconds clear of third place. Junior Shelby Jackson was the third Spartan to finish, coming in fifth overall with a time of 21:36. Fresh off a first-place finish in the season opener, freshman Erin McDonald continued to impress with a 21:47 to take eighth. MSU's top seven raced their way into the top 25 of the 318 runners that finished.
"For Rachele (Schulist) and Ally (Alexis Wiersma), this weekend will be good for them to see some national-level runners, but we have talked about his being the first step," Drenth said. "This meet doesn't make or break us by any means, but it gets us rolling."
Sophomore Clark Ruiz led the No. 25-ranked men's team, taking third at the Spartan Invite. Ruiz battled with the lead pack for much of the race before settling into third with a time of 25:03. Sophomore Max Benoit also found himself in the top 10 of the event, running a time of 25:13 for eighth. The Spartans ran well, as a pack as the No. 3-5 runners for MSU came across in 22nd, 25th and 27th, separated by just nine seconds. Freshman Daniel Sims opened his career in the Green and White with a 25:38 for 22nd, as senior Andrew Cusmano took 25th with a 25:45 and junior Sherod Hardt's 25:47 earned him 27th.
"We are looking for some consistency," said Drenth. "Dan (Sims) is just starting to find himself, and I am pleased with how Max (Benoit) raced as well. We will add some key people in that ran unattached last week that are ready to help us. I think our team will be pretty good.
"Development and growth are individual concepts, but primarily we want each runner to manage themselves better. We will make adjustments from last week, and we are looking forward to seeing how everyone responds to those challenges."
Big Ten foes Illinois, Minnesota and Northwestern are slated to join MSU at the Roy Griak Invitational this weekend. Also highlighting the field are five programs ranked by the USTFCCCA with three more that are receiving votes. On the men's side, No. 22 Colorado State and No. 29 California will line up with the Spartans, along with Southern Utah and Boise State who are just outside the top 30. In the women's race, No. 2 Iowa State, No. 20 Boise State and No. 30 California will all be participating, along with Baylor, which is receiving votes.
After a successful debut in 2014, the USTFCCCA National Results Wall is back in 2015 to bring fans live coverage of the year's biggest and most nationally intriguing meets - starting with the Battle in Beantown on Friday, Sept. 25, and the Roy Griak Invitational on Saturday , Sept. 26. The USTFCCCA will combine disparate social media updates and photos from multiple perspectives at each featured meet into a single easy-to-follow stream accompanied by blog-style commentary to give cross country fans a virtual look at what is going on at each meet. Results and scores will also be in a centralized location as soon as they become available. For more information of the USTFCCCA's National Results Wall, visit www.USTFCCCA.org.
The Roy Griak Invitational will be streamed live via FloTrack Pro. Follow the link at the top of the page to sign up via FloPro. For complete results of the Roy Griak Invitational, visit www.MSUSpartans.com following the conclusion of the meet.
Players Mentioned
