WHAT'S AHEAD: The Drake men's cross country team will resume action Saturday, competing in the 25th annual Roy Griak Invitational at the Les Bolstad Golf Course in Falcon Heights, Minn.
It will be the Bulldogs' sternest test of the season with several nationally ranked teams competing in the 8,000-meter race which starts at 12:20 p.m. Teams expected to compete are Arizona, Baylor, Boise State, Brigham Young, Central Michigan, Colorado State, Iowa State, McNeese State, host Minnesota, Navy, New Mexico, North Carolina State, Oklahoma, Penn State, South Dakota State and Utah Valley State. The meet is named after legendary coach Roy Griak, who served as Minnesota's cross country and track and field coach for 33 years from 1963-96.
LAST YEAR: Drake finished 15th in the 2009 Roy Griak Invitational, tallying 461 points. Then Drake senior Jeff Grassmeyer led the Bulldogs by placing 31st in 25 minutes 30 seconds. One-hundred and sixty-seven runners competed in the meet. Then Drake sophomore Colin Hagan was 94th in 27:08, while then junior Mike Bumgarner was 102nd in 27:28.
Iowa State, which entered the meet ranked 25th nationally, captured the team title with 71 points. Oklahoma was second with 74, while Duke was third with 94. Host Minnesota, which was ranked 17th nationally, finished fourth with 101 points.
A LOOK BACK: Led by former two-time Iowa state prep champ Brogan Austin (Boone, Iowa), the Drake men's cross country team captured the Oz Memorial team title Sept. 10 at the Les Bolstad Golf Course in Falcon Heights, Minn. Austin, who captured the 2010 Iowa Class 3A 1,600 and 3,200-meter runs as a senior at Boone High School, was Drake's top finisher in fifth place, covering the 6,000-meter race in 19 minutes 22.55 seconds.
The Bulldogs had five runners place among the top 16 to win the team championship with 50 points, while South Dakota State was second with 60, followed by host Minnesota at 90, North Dakota with 91 and South Dakota with 148.
The Oz Memorial is named after Gary Osborn, the longtime Drake women's track and field and cross-country coach who died in 2000. Osborn was a longtime friend of Minnesota coach Gary Wilson.
Drake sophomore transfer Tim Cornish (Auckland, New Zealand) was sixth in the meet in 19:24.15, while junior Colin Hagan (Wichita, Kan.) was 11th in 19:35.28. Drake sophomore transfer Omet Kak (Des Moines, Iowa) placed 12th in 19:36.99, while junior Ben Jaskowiak (Madison, Wis.) was 16th in 19:40.54.
