Badgers Look for 12th Roy Griak Title
September 23, 2005 | Men's Cross Country
After a weekend off, the Wisconsin men's cross country team is back to the races Saturday at the 20th annual Roy Griak Invitational in Minneapolis, Minn. The race begins at 11:20 a.m. on the Les Bolstad Golf Course.
Last year, Wisconsin swept the top three spots at the Invitational to win its 11th title. Then-senior Matt Tegenkemp won his second Griak title with a time of 24:02. Senior Simon Bairu was close behind at 24:07 while junior Chris Solinsky crossed the line next at 24:11. The Badgers placed three more runners in the top 10 to finish with a meet-best 21 points.
Last year, the race drew in a record 275 teams at the high school and collegiate level with 2,627 finishers. This year, more than 3,000 athletes are set to compete in what could be the biggest turnout ever for the Invitational. The Badgers will compete in the Gold Race against 25 other Division I teams, including No. 5 Brigham Young, No. 10 Cal Poly, No. 11 Arizona State, No. 17 Butler and No. 27 Providence.
Five other Big Ten teams including, No. 13 Iowa, No. 15 Ohio State, No. 22 Michigan, No. 25 host Minnesota and Michigan State, are set to race. Wisconsin will also compete against in-state rivals UW-Milwaukee and Marquette.
The Badgers head into the Griak with a No. 1 ranking for the second consecutive week according to the MONDO NCAA Division I Men's Cross Country poll.
