ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Concordia-St. Paul men's and women's cross country teams return to action this Friday, September 18 when they compete locally at the Roy Griak Invitational hosted by the University of Minnesota. While the Griak has been a staple event on the CSP schedule for years, this season's meet shifts to the Fort Snelling Golf Course.
The women's Suzy Wilson college 6k race is set to begin at 10:30 a.m. while the men's Jo Rider 8k race is set for a 11:15 a.m. start time.
Meet Information
The Roy Griak Invitational is named after the legendary Minnesota men's cross-country coach who led the team from 1963-1996. Griak served the Gophers cross country team for 51 years before his passing in 2015.
Tickets for the meet are $12 for adults and $10 for youth/students/seniors and can be purchased online via the link above. Spectators will enter the course on the corner of Bloomington road and Minnehaha Avenue, closest to the parking area.
Spectators are encouraged to park in the "Fort Snelling Park and Ride lots" located at 5801 Minnehaha Avenue and 1 Federal Drive, Fort Snelling, Minnesota.
Women's & Men's Competition Unlimited Entries - Seven (7) will be scored. NCAA rules will apply. Unattached runners will run in the Division II Maroon Races for both the women and men.
Unofficial results will be posted on the Awards Stand board, available as soon as they are tallied and recorded. Official results will be produced and available in Driving Range Building.
19 teams are set to compete in the men's collegiate race across multiple divisions. CSP, Minnesota, Boise State, Hamline, Harper College, Iowa State, Minnesota State, Minnesota Crookston, Minot State, MN Running Club, North Dakota State, St. Peter's, Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish, St. Mary's (Minn.), St. Thomas, St. Mary (Kan.), Valparaiso, Winona State and UW-La Crosse will make up the field.
On the women's side 19 teams are set to compete as well with CSP, Minnesota, Boise State, Hamline, Harper College, Iowa State, Minnesota State, Minnesota Crookston, Minot State, MN Running Club, North Dakota State, Northern Michigan, Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish, St. Mary's (Minn.), St. Thomas, St. Mary (Kan.), Valparaiso, Winona State, UW-La Crosse comprising the field.
Last Season
On the men's side the Golden Bears finished 12th at the 2025 Griak, Andrew Alexander led the way as the top individual finisher with a time of 27:22.4 good for 25th place. Among NSIC competitors at the event Alexander managed a ninth place finish.
The men's 12th place team finish was the fourth best among CSP teams all-time at the Griak.
Travis Tock came in with a time of 28:28.8 to finish in 83rd place, setting a new season best mark in the process. Jordan Stumm finished with a time of 30:25.3 good for 194th place, while Josh Krummel came in with a time of 34:34.2.
On the women's side, Kayla Anderson led the way with a time of 26:09.9 and a 109th place finish. Lauryn Rosenthal finished with a time of 27:12.3, good for 165th place.
Last Time Out
The Golden Bears opened the 2026 season at the Augie Twilight two weeks ago, where the men came away with a 24th place finish and the women had two runners finish inside the top 75.
On the women's side CSP was led by Estee VerSteeg who recorded a 5k time of 18:20.0, good enough to finish 27th in a field of 349 runners in her collegiate debut. VerSterg set a new program best in the 5k, beating a 29-year-old record previously held by Kari Breitkreutz to finish as the 11th fastest NSIC runner.
Kayla Anderson finished in 72nd place with a time of 19:18.0, establishing a new personal best 5k time in the process.
On the men's side the Golden Bears were paced by Travis Tock who managed a 140th place finish at 16:32.8, setting a new personal best in the 5k. Josh Krummel finished in 201st place with a time of 16:58.8 coming just ahead of Zay Acosta who finished with a time of 17:12.1.
