Sept. 29, 2007

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - The Washington State men's cross country team was led to a seventh place finish by seniors Andrew Jones and Alex Grant at the Roy Griak Invitational in Minneapolis Minnesota. Jones finished 13th and Grant crossed the line just a few spots back in 16th.

Jones finished the 8,000m course in 24:52 and Grant clocked in a second later at 24:53 at the Les Bolstad Golf Course.

"Jones and Grant had fantastic days," WSU Head Coach Jason Drake said. "That's the best we've done in a long time with individuals at this meet, maybe ever."

WSU junior Drew Polley finished 34th (25.23) and was the third Cougar to complete the course. Also scoring for the Cougars was senior Chris Williams placing 54th (25:54) followed by sophomore Dominic Smargiassi placing 68th (25:51), sophomore Dan Geib finishing 75th (26:00) and freshman David Hickerson in 98th (26:21) place. Senior Chris Concha (105. 26:27), sophomore Sam Ahlbeck (127. 26:45), and Woody Favinger (169. 27:40) did not count toward the team score.

No. 19 Northern Arizona edged out Arizona State 84-88 in the 23-team competition with runners finishing first and second in the race. No. 29 Iowa State finished third with 99 points. WSU's 185 points placed the Cougars ahead of No. 23 Michigan State's 255 points.

In the women's race, Cougar sophomore Sara Trané finished 22nd (22:39) and junior Meghan Leonard finished 32nd (22:13) helping the Cougars to a eighth-place finish in the 26-team competition. Seniors Collier Lawrence (22:21) and Isley Gonzalez (22:28) placed 37th and 41st respectively. Rounding out the WSU scorers were sophomores Lisa Egami, 93rd (23:26), and Chelsea VanDeBrake, 102nd (23:29), joined by freshmen Ashlee Wall, 104th (23:30), and Amanda Andrews, 125th (23:53).

"Our top four was as good as any four in the race," said Drake. "Trané, Leonard, Lawrence, and Gonzalez were within about 20 seconds of each other."

The race was dominated by nationally-ranked teams. No. 8 Minnesota claimed the team title with 97 points. No. 6 Arizona State finished just behind with 100 points to take second place, and No. 9 Michigan State came in third with 109 points.

At the Willamette Invitational Luke Lemenger led WSU with a 34th-place finish (25:07). Sean Coyle finished 47th (25:24) and Evan Blanshan was 81st (26:03). For the women, Marisa Sandoval finished 41st (18:42), Becky Williams was 51st (19:02), and Jessica Crannell placed 92nd (20:12).

WSU squads will split for competition Oct. 13 with part of the team heading to the NCAA Pre-Nationals in Terre Haute and other runners competing at the Eastern Washington University Invitational.

Roy Griak Cross Country Invitational (Les Bolstad Golf Course, Minneapolis, Minn. 8,000m)
September 29, 2007
Men's Top Team Results: 1. Northern Arizona 84, 2. Arizona State 88, 3. Iowa State 99, 4. Minnesota 107, 5 Virginia 126, 6. Indiana 176, 7. Washington State 185, 8. Michigan State 255, 9. Oklahoma 269, 10. Missouri 270.
Top Five Individuals: 1. Lopez Lomong (Northern Arizona) 24:04, 2. David McNeill (Northern Arizona) 24:26, 3. Chris Rombough (Minnesota) 24:29, 4. Kiel Uhl (Iowa State) 24:32, 5. Kyle Alcorn (Arizona State) 24:37.
WSU Results: 13. Andrew Jones 24:52; 16. Alex Grant 24:53; 34. Drew Polley 25:23; 54. Chris Williams 25:43; 68. Dominic Smargiassi 25.51; 75. Daniel Gieb 26:00; 98. David Hickerson 26:21; 105. Chris Concha 26.27; 127. Sam Ahlbeck 26:45; 169. Woody Favinger 27:40.

Roy Griak Cross Country Invitational (Les Bolstad Golf Course, Minneapolis, Minn. 6,000m)
September 29, 2007
Women's Top Team Results: 1. Minnesota 97, 2. Arizona State 100, 3. Michigan State 109, 4. UC Santa Barbara 156, 5. Nebraska 163, 6. Virginia 190, 7. Northern Arizona 194, 8. Washington State 213, 9. Iowa State 216, 10. Missouri 309.
Top Five Individuals: 1. Emily Harrison (Virginia) 20:51; 2. Lisa Koll (Iowa State) 21:09; 3. Grace Kemmey (Iowa State) 21:17; 4. Kari Hardt (Arizona State) 21:21; 5. Nicole Bush (Michigan State) 21:21.
WSU Results: 22. Sara Trané 22:02; 32. Meghan Leonard; 22.13; 37. Collier Lawrence 22:21; 41. Isley Gonzalez 22:28; 93. Lisa Egami 23:26; 102. Chelsea VanDeBrake 23:29; 104. Ashlee Wall 23.30; 125. Amanda Andrews 23:53.