Completed Event: Cross Country versus Cyclone Preview on August 29, 2025 , , Men: 1st, Women: 1st
Final
Cross Country
Cyclone Preview
Men: 1st, Women: 1st
Iowa State University Athletics
Cyclones Set For Griak Invitational
09.22.2016 | Cross Country
AMES, Iowa – The Iowa State men's and women's cross country programs are set for a return to competition on Saturday at the 31st annual Roy Griak Invitational. The meet will be run at Les Bolstad Course in Falcon Heights, Minn., and hosted by the University of Minnesota.
While the day's festivities start at 9 a.m. with the Women's Maroon III Competition, the Cyclones will not take the course until 12:20 p.m. for the Men's Gold race. The Iowa State women will follow immediately after, with the Women's Gold competition slated for 1:35 p.m. Annually one of the best cross country events in the Midwest, this year's Griak Invitational is set to feature approximately 30 teams and nearly 350 runners in each Gold Competition race. In total, 10 races will be run on the day.
Both Iowa State teams will be competing in their second competition of the year, after opening the season at the Hawkeye Invitational on Sept. 2. The men went 8-0 in head-to-head duals, starting 2016 with a dominant performance. The Cyclones were led by Toby Hardwick, who took first place overall in 17:57.57, to go with top-10 finishes from Kevyn Hoyos, Dan Curts and Josef Andrews.
The Iowa State women used their season-opener to test out their depth. Head coach Andrea Grove-McDonough used a line-up comprised entirely of freshmen and redshirt freshmen, all of whom were making their collegiate cross country debut, as ISU went 3-3-1 in dual scoring on the day. Grace Gibbons was the top Cyclone performer, finishing second overall with a time of 10:20.8. Jasmine Staebler added an additional top-10 finisher, clocking a 10:29.2 to take seventh.
Smith Selected for the Griak Hall of Fame
As part of the 31st annual Griak Invitational festivities, the Roy Griak Hall of Fame class of 2016 will be inducted. Iowa State Director of Men's and Women's Track and Cross Country Martin Smith is among the eight that will be honored. Smith has led seven overall Griak Invitational team champions, including the first three team titles in Griak history (1986-88). Smith has also coached two individual Griak champions during his historic coaching career. Smith joins fellow Iowa State representatives Bill Bergan and Kiel Uhl in the Griak Invitational Hall of Fame, both of whom were included in the inaugural 2015 class.
Joining Smith in the 2016 Hall of Fame class are Miss Rocky (Wartburg), Katie Flood (Dowling Catholic/Washington), Bill Miles (Wazata High School), Jo Rider (Minnesota), Tyler Sigl (UW-Platteville), Kim Smith (Providence) and Matt Tegenkamp (Wisconsin).
For further coverage of Iowa State Cross Country, follow @CycloneTrackXC on Twitter and check back with Cyclones.com for updates and results.
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