ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Concordia-St. Paul men's and women's cross country teams competed locally at the Roy Griak Invitational on Friday afternoon at the Les Bolstad Golf Course in St. Paul. The CSP men's team finished in 12th place in the Jo Rider Men's Maroon 8K, while three runners competed for the women in the Suzy Wilson Maroon 6K.
Andrew Alexander was the top finisher on the men's side, coming in with a time of 27:22.4 to finish in 25th place. Alexander bests his 86th place finish and time of 28:04.9 at last year's Roy Griak.
Senior Andrew Boyum managed a 78th place finish, coming in with a time of 28:24.1. Boyum also finished ahead of his 2024 Griak time and placement. In 2024 Boyum placed 157th with a time of 28:53.7.
Coming in shortly behind Boyum was sophomore Travis Tock in 83rd place with an 8K time of 28:28.8. Tock knocked a full minute off of his Griak time from last season where he finished with a time of 29:47.6.
Ethan Blischke came in 100th place with a time of 28:41.2, followed by Zay Acosta in 159th with a time of 29:36.2. Matthew Urgiles-Suarez finished the 8K with a time of 29:55.2, with Jordan Stumm and Joshua Krummel rounding things out with times of 30:25.3 and 34:34.2.
As a team the Golden Bears finished one spot better than 2024, where they finished in 13th place, finishing in 12th place this year with 335 placement points. CSP finished fifth out of nine NSIC squads at the meet. Coming in just ahead of Sioux Falls and UMD, who finished in 13th and 14th place, with 346 and 382 placement points.
Michigan Tech took the top spot in the men's team competition, with 35 placement points and four runners in the top 10. Minnesota State was the top NSIC finisher in second place with 100 placement points. The Mavericks had one runner finish inside the top 10.
Drew Kolodge of Crown Running took the top spot in the 8K, with a time of 25:22.5. The top collegiate runner was Michael Dennis of Michigan Tech with a time of 26:39.0, followed by Minnesota State's Luis Pfister at 26:39.4.
On the women's side, freshman Kayla Anderson was the Golden Bears top runner on the day, coming in with a time of 26:09.9 good for a 109th place finish.
Nyadio Chan came in just behind Anderson with a time of 26:25.8 for a 127th place finish. The senior obliterated her 2024 Griak time of 30:11.2 by nearly four minutes, finishing nearly 230 spots better than her 358th place finish last year.
CSP's third and final runner on the women's side was freshman Lauryn Rosenthal who finished in 165th place with a time of 27:12.3.
Winona State came out on top in the women's team competition, earning 27 placement points with four runners finishing in the top 10 and claiming the top three spots on the individual podium. Minnesota State finished in second with 66 placement points, UMD finished in fourth with 118 points.
Winona State's Sophia Taarud claimed the top spot on the individual podium with a time of 22:19.4, followed by fellow Warriors Kylie Anderson and Ella Voit.
The Golden Bears next meet is the BluGold Invitational hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire on Friday Oct. 3rd at the Whitetail Golf Course in Colfax, Wisconsin.
Men's Team Notes
The 12th place finish was the fourth best finish by a CSP team at the Roy Griak Invitational
25 - Andrew Alexander - 27:22.4 - Alexander ran a season best time with a 42.5 second improvement from last year's Roy Griak Invite. The junior also placed ninth among NSIC compeititors, with his 25th overall finish being the third highest individual finish by a CSP runner at the Roy Griak.
78 - Andrew Boyum - 28:24.1 – Boyum ran a season best time, with a 29.6 second improvement from the 2024 Griak.
83 - Travis Tock - 28:28.8 – Tock ran a season best time and saw a 1:19 improvement from the 2024 Griak.
100 - Ethan Blischke - 28:41.2 – Blischke ran a season best time, with a 19.5 second improvement from the 2024 Griak and a 49.3 second improvement from 2024.
70 - Matthew Urgiles Suarez - 29:55.2
194- Jordan Stumm - 30:25.3
258 - Joshua Krummel - 34:34.2
Women's Team Notes
109th place – Kayla Anderson – 26:05.9
127th place – Nyadio Chan – 26:25.8 - Chan ran a season best time, shaving one minute off her time from the 2024 Griak and 3:45 from 2023.
165th place – Lauryn Rosenthal – 27:12.3
