The Gophers women’s cross country team won the University of Minnesota’s 2024 Roy Griak Invitational at Les Bolstad Golf Course Friday morning, while the men’s team finished in third place.
Junior Ali Weimer crossed the finish line first with a time of 21:08.5 in the women’s 6K race while a crowd of spectators chanted her name. Behind her was teammate Emma Atkinson who finished at 21:13.7.
Five Gophers finished among the top 20 in the women’s race while four finished in the top 25 in the men’s race. Both the women’s and men’s teams improved from last year’s finishes when the women’s team placed seventh and the men’s ninth.
Before winning the Griak, the women’s team had not won any meet with more than three teams competing since the NCAA Midwest Regionals in 2021. Weimer said their win at the Griak is what the team needed to take the next step toward success.
Weimer said the win as a dream come true, and she was honored to follow in the footsteps of historic women’s cross-country runners.
Crowds from Minnesota and other states showed their support for the 38th annual Griak race. Weimer praised the Gophers fans for their support at the Griak.
“Honestly, this is the best fan base that we could ask for,” Weimer said. “The Gopher fans are the craziest fans in the best way possible.”
At last year’s Griak, Weimer finished 42nd, six spots behind the Gophers’ top finisher, senior Erin Reidy. Weimer said the program’s improvement comes from spending the last two years building toward success after experiencing disappointment.
“It’s been a lot of heartbreak,” Weimer said. “Quite honestly, the past two years have not been everything that we’ve wanted.”
Head coach for the Gophers cross country teams Sarah Hopkins said the older core of the women’s team puts the team in a prime position to win. Sophomore Izzy Roemer was the only underclassman of the women’s team’s top five finishers as graduate Brianne Brewster finished in 11th while Reidy finished 14th place.
Hopkins said she was glad to see the men’s team developing as most of their top finishers were sophomores and juniors. She added winning the Griak helps the team pinpoint success and build confidence.
“I think this group, of all the groups I’ve coached in a long time, really needed this day to trust and to believe that what we’ve been telling them about how good they are is real,” Hopkins said.
Emmet Anderson was the top finisher for the Gophers in the men’s 8K race by placing 11th, 25 spots higher than what he placed last year.
Anderson said seeing his teammates run in packs during the Griak race reassured him that the team can perform well. Three of the five men’s top finishers, sophomore Shane Griepentrog, freshman Aidan Jones and graduate Lucas Florsheim finished between 21st and 25th place.
“That builds a lot of faith,” Anderson said. “Not only coming out here and knowing that I got guys that are gonna run with me but also at practice, knowing that we got packs that can train together.”
Finishing in 12th behind Anderson was his high school teammate and North Dakota State senior Hunter Klimek. Anderson and Klimek both ran cross country for Staples-Motley High School in Staples.
Anderson said the Staples-Motley cross country team usually had fewer than 20 runners and his graduating class was around 70 students. He said the two ran together for a large portion of the race, which helped him feel comfortable.
“I think a critical part of the success I had today was having a buddy out there that I’m pretty comfortable with,” Anderson said. “It gives you a little more motivation to hunt him down and put in that little more work.”
