Emory Cross Country Teams Gear Up For Griak Invitational

 The Emory University men's and women's country teams continue their seasons on Saturday (Sept. 26) when they compete in the 24th annual Roy Griak Invitational.  The meet will be held at the University of Minnesota Les Bolstad Golf Course with the women's 6K race scheduled to start at 9:00 a.m. and the men's 8K competition at 10:30 a.m.

Approximately 35 Division III teams will be competing at one the nation's most prestigious cross country events.  Races are held for Division I, Division II and Division III intercollegiate teams as well as high schools and other classes or runners.  An anticipated 4,000 athletes are expected to take to the course over 10 races.

Emory men's team, ranked 18th nationally among Division III teams, is coming off a third-place finish at the UGA Invitational last weekend. Sitting out its top four runners at the UGA event, the Eagles were paced by senior Greg Decker who covered the sloppy 8K course in a time of 28:04, good for 13^th place in the 62-runner field.  Sophomore Tim Halinski was the team's No. 2 performer and 16^th overall (28:10) while junior Kevin Lanza (28:44) recorded a 21^st-place effort.

The women's team holds down the No. 27 spot in the national rankings and recorded a second-place performance at the UGA Invitational.  Junior Natalie Fenn crossed the finish line in ninth place out of 59 entries with a 5K mark of 20:28.77 while junior Jenny Feinberg placed 12th with a 20:39.40.  This weekend will represent the first 6K race of the season for the women's team.

Last year, the men's team came through with a second-place effort at the Griak out of 31 squads while the women's side finished 16^th out of 36 squads.