Huskies Cross Country Competes at Roy Griak

Friday, September 22

Minneapolis, Minn.

12:15 P.M. CT

St. Cloud State

Roy Griak Invitational

Freshman Paige Beason nears the finish line at the Roy Griak Invitational in Falcon Heights, Minnesota on Sept. 22, 2023

9/22/2023 10:00:00 PM | Women's Cross Country

Four St. Cloud State runners complete first collegiate 6K as young group takes steps forward

FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn. – St. Cloud State Cross Country enjoyed a great day on the course at the Roy Griak Invitational on Friday afternoon as the Huskies competed in their first 6K of the season. Four athletes recorded their first collegiate 6K as freshman Paige Beason and junior Cambrie Kowal led the Huskies with top 200 finishes.

Senior Erica Conrad and freshman Alena Donahue earned top 200 finishes as sophomores Hannah Little and Jaileen Medina along with freshman Mady Muehr closed out the pack.

QUOTABLES – St. Cloud State assistant coach Chris Belcher

"This was the first cross country meet where we got to see the women run at a big meet. Overall I thought they did pretty well – I think one of the things that we have to keep in mind is that we have an extremely young team. Just one runner from our top five last year ran in this race. The team is incredibly young and we have plenty of freshmen. This was our first 6K of the year, and for most of our freshmen this was the first 6K of their life."

"We've been building up our volume base to ensure that over the course of the year we don't overexert them or burn them out, and I'm pretty happy to see them do as well as they did at this meet with just a little bit of speed work. We'll start increasing that speed work over the next few weeks as we prepare for conference. These women will be setting a great foundation for the future as we continue to build – it's going to be very exciting to see what happens with a full year of training under their belt."

"To be able to go to a meet that large gives kids a great experience in regards to what a bigger meet is going to be like, helping them prepare for conference and the regional competition. There's national-level competition at this meet, and it helps our young athletes see what it takes to compete with those athletes at a high level and to see that those achievements are attainable.

St. Cloud State at Roy Griak Invitational
Sept. 22, 2023 | Les Bolstad Golf Course | Falcon Heights, Minn.

164. Paige Beason – 25:38.8
167. Cambrie Kowal – 25:40.4
223. Erica Conrad – 26:25.3
283. Alena Donahue – 27:38.0
315. Hannah Little – 28:27.8
337. Jaileen Medina – 29:12.9
375. Mady Muehr – 31:31.8

UP NEXT
The Huskies look ahead to the Marauder Invitational in Bismarck on Friday, September 29.

For all the latest on St. Cloud State Cross Country, stay tuned to SCSUHuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.