Princeton University Athletics
Tigers Head to Minnesota for Prestigious Griak Invitational
September 21, 2006 | Men's Cross Country
The Princeton men's cross country team will compete against nine schools that made the 2005 NCAA championship field and a host of 2006 top 20 programs when the Tigers compete at the prestigious Roy Griak Invitational hosted by the University of Minnesota Saturday morning.
The 36-team, eight-kilometer race at the Les Bolstad Golf Course in Falcon Heights, Minn., will begin at 12:20 ET. The event is celebrating its 21st year in 2006.
The trip to Minnesota will also serve as a homecoming for Princeton assistant coach Steve Dolan, who works with the Tiger cross country and distance runners. Dolan, a native of Bloomington, Minn., just outside Minneapolis, was a standout athlete for the University of St. Thomas, winning the decathlon at the NCAA Division III championships in 1992.
The 2006 Tigers return to action after a strong performance at the Princeton Invitational Sept. 9, finishing just behind national power Iona in the first race on the team's new cross country course at the West Windsor Fields. A pack of Princeton runners finished nearly together in the top 10 in that race, led by Brett Campfield in sixth place.
The Roy Griak Invitational is named after a living legend, former Golden Gopher cross country and track coach Roy Griak. Griak has spent the last 42 years with the Minnesota Athletics Department, 33 of those coaching.
2006 marks the first appearance for the Princeton men's cross country team at the Griak Invitational. The Tiger women, led by Minnesota native and All-America Cack Ferrell '06, participated in the event in both 2004 and 2005.