<rs of Awesome” proclaimed the slogan for the 25th annual Roy Griak Invitational in Minneapolis. On Saturday, Carleton’s men’s cross country team escaped the flooded Northfield area to take part in Griak’s claimed awesomeness.
The Les Bolstad Golf Course, where the meet was held, turned out to be much less soggy than teams had feared, and so times did not suffer that much. Carleton placed 14th out of 30 teams, beating MIAC foe Bethel by nine points, but falling seven points short of Gustavus. The Knights were led by Bobby Davis ’13, who ran 26:59 to place 44th and become the first Fellah this year to run under 27 minutes. Davis announced after the race that he plans to run for CSA again this year and remains committed to putting a laser on the Chapel roof.
Finland native Guthrie Cunningham ’14 placed second for the Knights, running 27:23. Finishing third for the Knights, Marcus Huderle ‘14 overcame a large muddy section at the 5k mark to kick hard and run 27:58. Huderle was later spotted eating pop tarts with the defending Minnesota State High School cross country champion.
Fourth and fifth for the Knights were Colin Sinclair ’11 and Aaron Hirsh ’13, who ran 28:09 and 28:10, respectively, to account for the rest of Carleton’s scoring. Hirsh smashed his personal record by nearly a minute, made all the more impressive by the fact that the Griak course is much better known for mud than for fast times.
Sophomores Dylan Cheever and Josh Campbell ran their best times of the season to date to finish sixth and seventh for the Knights. Jacob Hoerger ’14, who missed the St. Olaf Invitational last week due to illness, got back on the course with a 28:34. Matt Harrison ’13 broke 29 minutes for the second straight week thanks to a characteristically strong last mile.
UW-Platteville dominated the meet to win with 47 points, while Hamline, the top MIAC team, took sixth place overall. Although the Cobbers were clobbered, Concordia Moorhead’s Tom Sederquist excelled individually, winning his second straight race, and clocking 25:39 over Griak’s undulating hills.
On a more serious note, last weekend’s flooding did considerable damage to both West Gymnasium and Laird Stadium, and nowhere is that more obvious than the outdoor track. Once a stunning red oval surrounding the football field, a few days of acting as the temporary riverbed for the Cannon has left Carleton’s outdoor track an uneven, torn piece of dirty brownish rubber. While this has little effect on the cross country team, outdoor track season next spring may be something of an adventure. In the meantime, as the arboretum continues to dry out, the Fellahs will run the streets.
Today the Carls will send 16 runners to race at the Blugold Invitational hosted by the UW-Eau Claire. The race features top competition from Wisconsin and Minnesota on a favorable course located in a great state. It should be a wonderful way to spend a Friday.
