University of St. Thomas Athletics
Friday, September 22
Falcon Heights, Minn. / Les Bolstad Course
10:00 a.m. Central
vs
Roy Griak Invitational
Photo by: Patrick Hart
Tommie men and women take 15th at challenging Roy Griak
9/22/2023 2:25:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country
Halla leads men in 60th, Desotell paces women in 66th
FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn. -- The St. Thomas men's and women's cross country programs matched the other with two 15th place finishes Friday at the 37th annual Roy Griak Invitational hosted by the University of Minnesota in Falcon Heights, Minn.
The men finished with an average time of 26:15.9 while the women finished with a collective time of 23:18.7 on the challenging, hilly course. Graduate student Colton Halla paced the men with a 60th place finish of 25:24.7 followed closely by senior Charlie Caven in 62nd with a time of 25:26.0, both improving their previous times at the Griak. Junior Molly Desotell led the Tommies in back-to-back races, finishing 66th Friday with a time of 22:41.2.
MEN'S 8K RUN
St. Thomas's 15th place finish came with 405 points as the squad's top six finishers set meet personal records. Freshman Adam Lueth came in behind Halla and Caven with a 117th place finish in a time of 26:37.6. Sophomore Sean McNiesh took 125th with a time of 26:48.6 while the top five was rounded out by senior Harris Anderson in 133rd with a time of 27:02.5.
WOMEN'S 6K RUN
The Purple totaled 428 points to finish 15th as four of the Tommies' top five runners either set meet personal records or ran the race for the first time in their careers. Finishing behind Desotell was junior Ava Pankratz in 92nd with a time of 23:16.0.
Junior Gabriella Witschen took 100th in 23:19.8, followed by senior Christina Bolcer in 106th in 23:25.0 and freshman Natalie Cocking in 123rd with a time of 23:51.5. Overall, seven freshmen ran the first 6K races of their careers at St. Thomas.
QUOTEABLES
Thoughts from men's head coach Pete Wareham after completing the 2023 Roy Griak:
"We had some very good things happen today. Cole and Charlie were very outstanding up front to lead the team. I was also impressed how the other gys gutted it out in an extremely competitive and deep field. We are a bit young and it was the first 8K race for our freshmen. They battled and it was a necessary step in their development.
"I came out of this meet even more excited about our guys and what we can be as a team."
Thoughts from women's head coach Ashley Lucas following Friday's race:
"I think we still have a lot of room for improvement but for the most part I feel like the team executed the race plan of not fighting the course well. The majority of returners ran about 15 seconds faster on this course than last year which is always a positive.
"We are focused on running our best at the end of October and today was all about growing towards that."
UP NEXT
The St. Thomas men's and women's cross country programs will compete next on Friday, Sept. 29 at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational held in South Bend, Ind. The women's team will also send a handful of student-athletes to the Bluegold Invite on the same day in Colfax, Wis.
FOLLOW ALONG
For more information on St. Thomas Women's Cross Country, follow along on Twitter and Instagram at @TommieWXCTF. For more information on St. Thomas Men's Cross Country, follow along on Instagram at @TommieMTFXC.
-- St. Thomas Athletics --
The men finished with an average time of 26:15.9 while the women finished with a collective time of 23:18.7 on the challenging, hilly course. Graduate student Colton Halla paced the men with a 60th place finish of 25:24.7 followed closely by senior Charlie Caven in 62nd with a time of 25:26.0, both improving their previous times at the Griak. Junior Molly Desotell led the Tommies in back-to-back races, finishing 66th Friday with a time of 22:41.2.
MEN'S 8K RUN
St. Thomas's 15th place finish came with 405 points as the squad's top six finishers set meet personal records. Freshman Adam Lueth came in behind Halla and Caven with a 117th place finish in a time of 26:37.6. Sophomore Sean McNiesh took 125th with a time of 26:48.6 while the top five was rounded out by senior Harris Anderson in 133rd with a time of 27:02.5.
WOMEN'S 6K RUN
The Purple totaled 428 points to finish 15th as four of the Tommies' top five runners either set meet personal records or ran the race for the first time in their careers. Finishing behind Desotell was junior Ava Pankratz in 92nd with a time of 23:16.0.
Junior Gabriella Witschen took 100th in 23:19.8, followed by senior Christina Bolcer in 106th in 23:25.0 and freshman Natalie Cocking in 123rd with a time of 23:51.5. Overall, seven freshmen ran the first 6K races of their careers at St. Thomas.
QUOTEABLES
Thoughts from men's head coach Pete Wareham after completing the 2023 Roy Griak:
"We had some very good things happen today. Cole and Charlie were very outstanding up front to lead the team. I was also impressed how the other gys gutted it out in an extremely competitive and deep field. We are a bit young and it was the first 8K race for our freshmen. They battled and it was a necessary step in their development.
"I came out of this meet even more excited about our guys and what we can be as a team."
Thoughts from women's head coach Ashley Lucas following Friday's race:
"I think we still have a lot of room for improvement but for the most part I feel like the team executed the race plan of not fighting the course well. The majority of returners ran about 15 seconds faster on this course than last year which is always a positive.
"We are focused on running our best at the end of October and today was all about growing towards that."
UP NEXT
The St. Thomas men's and women's cross country programs will compete next on Friday, Sept. 29 at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational held in South Bend, Ind. The women's team will also send a handful of student-athletes to the Bluegold Invite on the same day in Colfax, Wis.
FOLLOW ALONG
For more information on St. Thomas Women's Cross Country, follow along on Twitter and Instagram at @TommieWXCTF. For more information on St. Thomas Men's Cross Country, follow along on Instagram at @TommieMTFXC.
-- St. Thomas Athletics --
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
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