Minneapolis, Minn. - Sept 27 - Southern Utah's men and women raced at the Roy Griak Invitational on Saturday. The men's team placed first out of 31 teams over nationally ranked teams North Carolina, Iowa State, Colorado State, and Texas. The men finished with a total score of 142 over Colorado State's 146 points. The women also competed placing 23rd out of 35 teams.
The mens team was lead by Nate Jewkes who earned individual victory in the division one race with a time of 24:45 (8k). He was followed by sophomore Mike Tate with a time of 25:20 placing 14th overall. Istvan Szogi (25:34), Ibrahim Ahmed (25:51), and Hayden Hawks (26:00) rounded out the men's score crossing the line with 27th-, 45th-, and 55th-place finishes. Clinton Rhoton (26:17) and Shinano Miyazawa (26:19) came as the final runners for the T-birds with 79th- and 84th- place respective finishes.
"This is a major victory for the SUU cross country team," head coach Eric Houle said of the men's finish. "We are making huge strides not only in the Big Sky conference but in the national rankings as well. This is the strongest team we've ever had at SUU."
The Southern Utah women were lead by junior, Ashley Hawks, finishing with a time of 22:13 (6k) placing 38th out of 390 runners. Josie Brandow (23:22) and Aubrey Bryson (23:56) followed with 130th- and 184th- place finishes. Freshman Angie Nickerson (24:05) and Ashley Tyndall (24:11) finished closely together with 196th- and 205th- place finishes completing the women's team score of 646. Jasmyn Hildebrandt (24:50) and Sierra Malm (25:00) then crossed the finish line with 273rd- and 287th-place finishes.
"The women are learning to run with the best in the country," Coach Houle continued. "This is a start of a process to develop these young athletes into strong competitors."
The Thunderbirds now prepare to compete at the Notre Dame Invitational where they will again compete against the top teams in the nation. The race is scheduled to be held on Oct. 3rd.
