Cross Country set to Compete at the Roy Griak Invitational
9/25/2015 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Live Coverage from FloTrack | Roy Griak Information
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – In the 30th running of the Roy Griak Invitational, the University of Pittsburgh men’s and women’s cross country teams are set to compete in one of the largest and most competitive meets of the season.
Hosted by the University of Minnesota at Les Bolstad Golf Course, the Panthers will send their top 10 male and female runners. The Division I men’s 8K race is set for 12:20 p.m., while the Division I women’s 6K will begin at 1:20 p.m.
Competing for the men will be: Billy Caldwell, Sebastian Curtin, Ryan Hughes, Aaron Lauer, Matt McGoey, Chris Montgomery, Chris Pastore, Wes Roberts, Nate Sloan, and Eric Stratman.
Running for the women include: Dee Dee Adams, Hillary Boxheimer, Ellen Crook, Amy Kelly, Ariel Pastore-Sebring, Abby Peters, Madeline Schmiedeknecht, Gillian Schriever, Beth Shenck and Melanie Vlasic.
“This is the first big weekend for NCAA cross country so it will be interesting to see how we match up with some of the best teams in the nation,” head coach Alonzo Webb said. “This is our first trip to the Roy Griak Invitational so there is great anticipation and excitement.”
This will be the women’s fourth meet of the season and the men’s third, but this is just the second time the Panthers have fielded their top runners with the ACC Championship Meet looming just over a month away.
On the women’s side, Pitt will look for another strong performance from sophomore Melanie Vlasic. Two weeks ago at the Buffalo Stampede Invitational, Vlasic won the 5K race in a time of 17:44.9. For her efforts, she was the ACC Female Co-Performer of the Week and also Pitt’s First National Bank Athlete of the Week.
Senior Hillary Boxheimer and freshman Gillian Schriever should also continue to be at the front of the pack for the Panthers.
The men will be without Michael Runco who won the Buffalo Stampede, but will look to sophomore Aaron Lauer who finished second overall at UB in a career-best time of 25:19.8. He will be pushed by teammates Chris Montgomery and Ryan Hughes for the top spot.
ADDITIONAL QUOTES:
Women’s Coach Adam Bray: “A top-10 team finish is our goal and is what we are striving for. This is the first time we have been to this meet so it will be an opportunity for us to race against teams we don’t normally run against, especially on the East Coast. There are some great teams in there, Michigan State, Iowa State, obviously the host school Minnesota, and a bunch of other teams who are ranked high in their region. It will be a good test for us. We are the lone representatives from the ACC so we want to represent the conference and obviously we want represent the University of Pittsburgh well.”
Men’s Coach Bryan Jackson: “This weekend is a measuring stick for us. I am anxious to see how we compete with the teams who are nationally ranked and where we stack up against them. I also want to see where we are against other teams who are highly ranked in other regions. If we are beating teams that are 5-10 in their region, it will show that we are a top team in our region. This is an opportunity to give our region and the nation a glimpse of what Pitt cross country is all about and what we are going to be all about in the future.”
Sophomore Melanie Vlasic: “This is a great opportunity to see where we are because we will be up against so many great teams. With all this great competition, I am excited to see if all of our hard work has paid off because we will be pushed by all the great runners. At Buffalo we went out as a pack and stayed together for most of the race so I think our depth is a strength of the team this year.”