FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Birgitta Gray O: (406) 896-5917 E: birgitta.gray@msubillings.edu September 26, 2015 Peterson finishes fourth, MSUB team 11th at Griak
The MSUB men’s cross country finished 11th out of 38 teams at the 30th annual Roy Griak Invitational.
2015 Roy Griak Invitational 2015 Maroon II Results MSUB Distance on Facebook MSUB Cross Country Stack on ISSUU Robert Peterson races to a fourth place result and the MSU Billings men’s cross country team finishes 11th overall at the 30th annual Roy Griak Invitational. ST. PAUL, Minn. – Robert Peterson finished the 30th annual Roy Griak Invitational hosted by the University of Minnesota with a fourth place overall result. The senior from Billings, Mont., was in the lead for the first part of the course, but at the line crossed 34 seconds behind the winner with a time of 26:03. “Robert pushed it the first couple of miles with Alec Baldwin, the runner from Black Hills State, but he just didn’t quite have enough in the tank to finish ahead today,” MSUB head coach Dave Coppock said. “Fourth place is still really good, and there is still a long way to go in the season, so we have a lot of time left.”
Peterson led the pack with Baldwin through the first several miles of the 8,000 meter course before Baldwin jumped out at the end to win the race with a time of 25:27. Last year at the Griak, Peterson was in a photo-finish for second place with an unattached runner from Augustana (S.D.). Black Hills State upset defending champion No. 13 Wisconsin-Parkside and No. 3 in the nation Augustana (S.D.) for the team title. The top-3 teams were seuparated by just five points as BHSU won with 93 (1-9-17-32-34) followed by 96 for W-Parkside (6-7-22-26-35) and 98 for Augustana (5-12-15-28-38). MSU Billings finished 11th in the field of 38 NCAA Division II teams with 309 team points (4-33-55-104-113). Following Peterson’s fourth place result were junior Garrett Love (27:13), senior Matt Winter (27:38), sophomore Mark Hovland (28:21), and freshman Tyus Mendoza (28:35). In the sixth and seventh spots for the Yellowjackets were Liam McKay (28:51) and Ivan Colmenero (29:55). “Next our team will shift gears a little and go into a little different training for the upcoming meets,” Coppock commented. “We aren’t too concerned with the early meets as we are focused on the later races. Garrett Love and Tyus Mendoza finished well today. Mark Hovland and Matt Winter are also improving well.” Garrett Love was named the St. Vincent Healthcare Athlete of the Meet. “We are really looking forward to our home meet on Oct. 9 because Black Hills State will be there.” Coppock said. “They have such a strong team that we will have a chance for a really good competition.” Up Next: The Yellowjackets will host two meets at home. The Yellowjacket Invitational at Amend Park is set for Oct. 9 with the women's 6k race beginning at 10:00 a.m. On Oct. 15, MSU Billings and Rocky Mountain College will go head-tohead in a dual meet at Riverfront Park beginning at 4:00 p.m. --@MSUBSports | #JacketNation--