Cyclones Prepare for Roy Griak Invitational

09.21.2010 | Cross Country

By: cyclones.com

AMES, Iowa ? The Iowa State cross country teams are set to compete at the 25th annual Roy Griak Invitational Saturday in Falcon Heights, Minn. The men's side is currently ranked 21st nationally and third in the Midwest region by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. Iowa State's women currently sit at 15th nationally and first in the Midwest region, according to the USTFCCCA.

“This weekend's meet will give us a chance to see where we rank against some of the top teams in the country,” Iowa State head coach Corey Ihmels said. “There's five ranked men's teams competing and eight ranked women's teams, and we're kind of in the middle of them, so it should be a competitive event. I'm excited to get our top group out there and see where we're at.

The Cyclones will see some of their veteran runners compete this weekend. The men will see senior three-time All-American Hillary Bor run for the first time this season. The Kenya native will be joined by seniors Clayton Carper, Alex Whitesell and Ben Murphy-Baum, junior Rico Loy, sophomores Charlie Paul, Joel Limo, Devin Allbaugh, and freshmen Isaac Chelimo, Tyler Jermann, Martin Coolidge and Besufekad Shannon-Tamrat, all of whom will also be competing for the first time this season.

“We're kind of a work in progress on the men's side,” Ihmels said. “We've got a lot of newcomers and a lot of guys battling for top spots.”

The women's side will see junior two-time All-American Betsy Saina compete alongside teammates and fellow juniors Semehar Tesfaye and Dani Stack, sophomores Aliphine Tuliamuk, redshirt freshmen Bethany Olson and Taylor Petersen in their first races of the 2010 season. Freshmen Lucy Kennedy and India Lee will also be making their Iowa State debuts.

“On the women's side, we're a little more senior-led,” Ihmels said. “Both groups are training really well, everyone's healthy, and we're excited to go out there and see what happens.”

Action is set to begin in Minnesota at 12:20 p.m. on Saturday with the men's 8,000-meter run. The women will begin competition in the 6,000-meter run at 1:10 p.m. Results will be posted on cyclones.com at the conclusion of the meet.