At the 2009 Griak Invitational, the University of Minnesota and Iowa State showed why they are considered among the top cross country programs in the nation. The Gophers had the top overall finishers in both the menâÄôs and womenâÄôs Gold Race , but it was Iowa State that took home both team titles. Ranked 25th in the menâÄôs preseason cross country poll and 28th in the womenâÄôs preseason poll, the Cyclones entered this yearâÄôs Griak looking to improve on a solid 2008 performance, when they finished second overall in the menâÄôs and 10th in womenâÄôs team competition. In the menâÄôs 8-kilometer Gold Race, Iowa State had three racers finish in the top 10, and with 71 points the Cyclones claimed the menâÄôs championship. âÄúThe men did a great job of going out and competing really hard,âÄù Iowa State cross country head coach Corey Ihmels said. âÄúOur top three guys are pretty veteran guys, and I thought they ran really relaxed and under control.âÄù For the Gophers, Hassan Mead made history, becoming the first Minnesota menâÄôs cross country runner to win the individual title, with a time of 24:38. In his first race of the year, Mead took the lead from the starting pistol and never looked back, finishing a full 13 seconds ahead of second place. The plan was for Mead to take the lead early, and from the first 100 meters Mead led the pack and ran alone out in front the rest of the race. âÄúWe wanted him to go out and get after it,âÄù Minnesota menâÄôs cross country coach Steve Plasencia said. âÄúWe didnâÄôt want him to run a tactical race. To go push by yourself is a lot harder, and he did it. He carried it out.âÄù Scoring in team competition is based on each teamâÄôs top five finishers, so even with Mead winning and two other Gophers finishing in the top six, the lack of consistency with MinnesotaâÄôs fifth runner, who finished 58th, ended up sealing the Gophers third straight fourth-place finish. âÄúIf we could have put another guy in the 30s [place finish], we could have subtracted 25 points from our score, and we would have been right in the thick of it then,âÄù Plasencia said. The menâÄôs team is off until Oct. 17, when they head to the Pre National meet in Indiana . On the womenâÄôs side, the 6-kilometer Gold Race was almost an exact replica of the menâÄôs meet, with Iowa State claiming the team title and Minnesota winning individual honors. Megan Duwell continues to have a strong senior campaign for the Gophers. After winning the individual title at the Oz Memorial on Sept. 11 , Duwell repeated her first-place performance at the Griak, finishing the meet in 21:01, 11 seconds ahead of second place. For Duwell, winning the Griak is a great way to begin her senior year, especially after finishing second at the meet in 2008. âÄúThis is definitely a sweet and nice way to go,âÄù Duwell said. âÄúThe Griak is always sentimental for all of us, just because itâÄôs such a big race for us, great fan support. Roy Griak is a legend, so we love to run for him.âÄù The women were left to defend their Griak Invitational team championship with an ailing Jamie Cheever . The senior had been feeling under the weather with what Minnesota womenâÄôs head coach Gary Wilson said was a tonsil issue, and the normally reliable Cheever finished 59th. âÄúI donâÄôt like to make excuses, [but] with Cheever being sick, I probably shouldnâÄôt have run her, but she wanted to run her last Griak, so that made the difference,âÄù Wilson said. Iowa State finished strong, with its top five runners all finishing in the top-10, securing titles in both the menâÄôs and womenâÄôs races. âÄúCatâÄôs out of the bag; weâÄôre going to be pretty good by the end of the year,âÄù Ihmels said. âÄúThereâÄôs going to be a little rust here and there, but all-in-all I think itâÄôs something we can build off of.âÄù Wilson is also hoping to build off this race as they look ahead to their next meet, the Eau Claire Invitational on Oct. 2. âÄúThe early season meets, you learn some stuff about yourself, and you learn what you have to correct,âÄù Wilson said. âÄúWeâÄôve got some things that individually and as a team weâÄôve got to correct, and we will.âÄù