Sept. 23, 2010
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy men's cross country team will head to the University of Minnesota this weekend for the 25th Annual Roy Griak Invitational. The men's race will begin at 1:20 p.m. ET on Saturday and will be run at the University of Minnesota Les Bolstad Golf Course in Falcon Heights, Minn.
About the Griak Invitational
Navy will be one of 22 teams competing in Saturday's men's race. The field includes six teams - New Mexico, Iowa State, BYU, Minnesota, North Carolina State and Duke - that competed in last year's NCAA Championships.
All six teams that competed in last year's national championship, in addition to Arizona State, are currently ranked in the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) national coaches' poll: No. 11 (tie) New Mexico and NC State, No. 16 BYU, No. 17 Arizona State, No. 19 Duke, No. 21 Iowa State and No. 27 Minnesota.
Quoting the Coach
Navy head coach Al Cantello on this weekend's Griak Invitational...
"Generally speaking, we're like a prairie dog. We stick our head up and get it slapped around a little bit. But, that's the only way I know how to coach. It's an intersectional classic and the 25th anniversary of the meet. Coach Griak is an icon in Minnesota and one of my contemporaries - the meet is truly a spectacle. It's about time we got exposed to the bigs."
Navy and the USTFCCCA Regional Rankings
In the latest USTFCCCA Mid-Atlantic region rankings released on Sept. 20, Navy is slotted fourth for the second week in a row. Villanova, Princeton and Georgetown are ranked No. 1-3, respectively, in the region.
Navy is the highest ranked Patriot League team in the region as American is No. 10 and Bucknell is No. 14. The Mids began the season ranked fifth in the regional poll and were picked by the Patriot League coaches and SIDs to win the conference crown.
The Last Time Out: Navy Invitational
Behind Andrew Hanko's individual title, the Mids claimed the team championship on their home course last Saturday. Navy's 35 points edged out Louisville's 38 points, to defend its Navy Invitational crown.
Hanko won the race with a time of 23:55, but the Mids won the team title with three other runners placing in the top 10. Cody Rome took fourth place (24:11), James Pearson took seventh (24:38) and Ken Bunnell (24:50) placed ninth.
The team's final scorer was Jeremy Haney, who took 14th place with a time of 25:05.
Hanko Garners Seventh Career Patriot League Runner of the Week Award
Andrew Hanko was named Patriot League Runner of the Week it was announced by the conference office on Monday. Hanko won the individual title at the Navy Invitational, topping the field of 89 runners with a time of 23:55.
The honor is the second in as many weeks for Hanko, whose seven career Patriot League Runner of the Week awards is the most of by any cross country student-athlete in conference history.
Up Next
The Midshipmen will head to Bethlehem, Pa., for the Paul Short Invitational on Friday, Oct. 1.
