Cross Country Competes in Griak Invitational
Minneapolis, Minn - On Saturday, September 26, the Crown College men and women runners competed in one of the most prestigious cross country meets in the country. The Griak Invitational, hosted by the University of Minnesota, attracted over 3,000 college and high school runners from across the country.
Leading the way for the Storm women was Summer Pfaff who finished the 6K course in 27:30. Following Pfaff was Hannah Dean (28:57), Natalie Merboth (29:32), Erika Stampf (29:41), Kelsey Morrow (29:53), Cherie Hecimovich (30:39), Becca McBride (35:12), and Kristen Kalvig (36:04).
“Hannah (Dean), Cherie (Hecimovich), Kelsey (Morrow), and Kristen (Kalvig) all made huge progress on this course compared to a year ago,” said coach Rick Peterson. “Griak is not known to be a fast course because of the relentless hills. It was quite an experience for some of our new lady runners to lineup at the start with 38 other teams. To finish ahead of a couple other teams at a large NCAA Division III meet is a confidence booster. We’ve made good improvement in the past year.”
First finisher for the Crown men was Mike Palmer who completed the 8K course in 30:28. Finishing behind Palmer was Vince Elmhorst (31:30), Simon Kulzer (32:33), Kyle Pitts (34:49) and Adam Fuerst (37:22).
“Vince (Elmhurst), Simon (Kulzer), and Adam (Fuerst) each ran their best race of the season,” said Peterson. “Vince has been doing some of the little extras during practice that pay off in races like this. All of the guys have worked hard and should see continued improvement in the weeks ahead.”
The Storm men and women runners next compete on Friday, October 2 at the Blugold Invitational in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
