MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The Wichita State men's and women's cross country teams take on nationally-ranked opponents this Friday at the Roy Griak Invitational in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
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Both Shocker teams are sending full squads to race against 21 other Division I schools, with the women racing their first 6K of the season at 10:30 a.m. and the men following with their first 8K at 11:15 a.m.
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"This is a good meet with some good competition," head coach
Kirk Hunter said. "It's a good test for our men's and women's programs to see where we're at and test our depth of talent."
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The Minnesota cross country course is listed as long by about 105 meters and is a hilly course.
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"With those two factors, I don't expect us to run very fast times, but we need to look at who we beat because that's ultimately what really matters," Hunter said. "These changes are really good for our athletes to adjust to any situation that comes their way."
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Without racing last weekend, the Shocker men dropped two spots to No. 6 in the USTFCCCA Midwest rankings and will race against Midwest No.9 Minnesota and Midwest No. 10 South Dakota State. The Wisconsin men are the favorite to win the Roy Griak Invitational as they lead the Great Lakes region and are the No. 7 team in the week two national coaches' poll. Minnesota and Colorado State (Mountain No. 9) also received votes in the national coaches' poll and will line up this weekend. The Shockers will also be up against eight other teams that are regionally ranked in the top 15.
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Iowa State (Midwest No. 3) will not send their No. 9 nationally-ranked men's team to race this weekend, but their women's team, which is ranked 26
th in the national coaches' poll (Midwest No. 3) will make the trip. The Shocker women will race against six other national-ranked teams, including No. 13 Wisconsin and No. 14 Colorado State.
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"Up until this point, we've had nothing to go on except what we believe we are, and now we need to show who we really are by going out and racing to see what kind of team we've really got," Hunter said.
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The races will be held at the Les Bolstad Golf Course and
live results will be provided.
|
MEN |
WOMEN |
| PARTICIPATING TEAMS |
USTFCCCA REGIONAL RANKING |
USTFCCCA NATIONAL RANKING |
USTFCCCA REGIONAL RANKING |
USTFCCCA NATIONAL RANKING |
| Cal Baptist |
West No. 7 |
-- |
West No. 6 |
No. 29 |
| Colorado St. |
Mountain No. 9 |
receiving votes |
Mountain No. 3 |
No. 14 |
| Delaware |
-- |
-- |
Mid-Atlantic No. 12 |
-- |
| Idaho |
West No. 15 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| Iowa St. |
Midwest No. 3 |
No. 9 |
Midwest No. 3 |
No. 26 |
| Manitoba |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| Miami (FL) |
-- |
-- |
South No. 14 |
-- |
| Michigan St. |
Great Lakes No. 5 |
-- |
Great Lakes No. 5 |
No. 23 |
| Minnesota |
Midwest No. 9 |
receiving votes |
Midwest No. 5 |
-- |
| North Dakota St. |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| Nevada |
Mountain No. 11 |
-- |
Mountain No. 12 |
-- |
| Ohio St. |
Great Lakes No. 12 |
-- |
Great Lakes No. 4 |
No. 25 |
| Santa Clara |
West No. 8 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| Sout Dakota St. |
Midwest No. 10 |
-- |
Midwest No. 11 |
-- |
| St. Thomas |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| Temple |
Mid-Atlantic No. 8 |
-- |
Mid-Atlantic No. 13 |
-- |
| North Dakota |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| UNLV |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| Utah |
-- |
-- |
Mountain No. 4 |
No. 19 |
| Wichita St. |
Midwest No. 6 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| Wisconsin |
Great Lakes No. 12 |
No. 7 |
Great Lakes No. 3 |
No. 13 |
| Wyoming |
Mountain No. 8 |
-- |
Mountain No. 7 |
-- |
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