SAN DIEGO - San Diego men's and women's cross country will travel to St. Paul, Minn. for the Roy Griak Invitational on Saturday. One of the largest meets in the country, the Griak includes four collegiate races and four high school races.
The Toreros will compete in the Gold (Division I) races early on Saturday morning at the University of Minnesota Les Bolstad Golf Course. The men are set to race the 8K with a start time of 7:30 a.m. (PT), followed by the women in the 6K at 8:20 a.m. (PT).
"We had our best training on Saturday to date, so now it's a matter of the team continuing to build and work together as a group," said head coach
Will Guarino.
SCOUTING THE 8K
San Diego is set to race against multiple Division I programs, including WCC opponent San Francisco. Five teams in the men's field are currently ranked in the top 10 in their region by the USTFCCA Coaches' Poll, including Minnesota, Southern Utah, UC Santa Barbara, Cal Baptist, and Columbia.
"I'm looking for them to catapult themselves on Saturday," said Guarino. "They competed well against Fullerton and Arizona State, now it's about how they will continue the trend in a big time Division I race."
Last time out, the Toreros placed third overall at the USD Invite at Mission Bay. The team was led by
Ethan Steiner and
Jackson Pearce, who both finished in the top 10. Steiner paced San Diego with a time of 26:24.97, racing 10 seconds faster than his finish at the 2018 USD Invite.
Ian Converse,
Patrick Bruce, and
Ryan Tessier also had solid runs for San Diego, finishing in the top 20.
SCOUTING THE 6K
The Toreros will face a competitive field in the 6K with Minnesota and Columbia leading the way, ranking no. 22 and 24 overall in the National Coaches' Poll. San Diego will also go head-to-head with WCC opponents San Francisco, Pacific, and Gonzaga.
Hannah Rasmussen placed second overall at the USD Invite earlier this month, pacing the women to finish third overall. The junior chased down the field in the final meters to finish with a time of 22:02.71.
Molly Klein and Cassidy Kuhn earned top 20 finishes as both runners shaved time off of their finishes from the 2018 USD Invite. The Toreros rounded out the top 30 in the field with seven runners claiming places 24 through 30.
"Our first four have been stellar," said Guarino. "Now it's about who will emerge as our fifth. Hannah will continue to blossom, and I'm excited to see how they respond this weekend."
FOLLOW ALONG
FloTrack will provide live coverage of the Roy Griak Invitational. The link to the livestream can be found via USDToreros.com. Live results will also be available via gophersports.com.
