MINNEAPOLIS, MN – The Bay College Men's and Women's Cross Country teams participated in the Roy Griak Invitational on Saturday on the campus of the University of Minnesota. The race was an NJCAA Region 13 National Qualifying race, and teams participating made themselves eligible for the NJCAA National Championship in November.
The Norse would run four harriers on each team. Zoie Berg (SO, Gladstone, MI) would be the top finisher of the day, crossing the finish line in 78th place with a 6K time of 26:01. Lauren Cousineau (FR, Escanaba, MI) finished with a time of 30:11, while Jody Peters (FR, Gladstone, MI) and Lauren Peters (FR, Munising, MI) would finish back-to-back. Jody would end with a time of 31:52, while Lauren would round out the effort for the Norse with a time of 32:38.
On the men's side James Young (FR, Gladstone, MI) would set the pace for Bay College with a time of 31:17. Connor Robinson (FR, Powers, MI) would finish the 8K with a time of 33:12. Steve Magnuson (SO, Cheboygan, MI) ended his day with a time of 34:37, while Devonte Grier (SO, Grifin, GA) would finish the race with a time of 36:55.
Head Coach Jim Murtha shared his thoughts on the efforts of his teams, "It went very well, all eight runners ran tough! Two of them were pretty sick and all of their times were very good compared to last year out here. Zoie [Berg] was almost three minutes ahead of last year's pace."
The Norse are back in action next weekend as they travel to Appleton, WI on Saturday. The Gene Davis Invitational hosted by Lawrence University will get underway at 10 AM.