9/28/2002 - CROSS COUNTRY Bemidji State cross country finishes 20th at Roy Griak Invitational; Christa Pribula paces BSU individuals with 75th-place finish

Print Email RSS Share

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - The Bemidji State women’s cross country team ran to a 20th-place team finish at the Roy Griak Invitational, hosted by the University of Minnesota on Saturday, Sept. 28. Weather conditions at race time were 53 degrees under cloudy skies with a slight breeze.

BSU’s top five finishers combined for a time of 1:46:20.7 and an aggregate place of 582. BSU’s 582 points edged St. Cloud State by just 10 points for 20th in the team standings, while NSIC rival Winona State finished 19th with 555 points. Northern Michigan dominated the field, seeing three individuals finish in the race’s Top 10 en route to a commanding team victory. Northern Michigan’s 60 points were less than half the total for second-place finisher Wartburg, which tallied 128 points.

Freshman Christa Pribula was BSU’s top individual, completing the 5,000-meter course in 19:59.7 to finish 75th in the field. Pribula’s time was the fastest of her career and just the second sub-20 minute effort by a BSU runner in the 5,000 meters this year. She bested BSU’s next-best finisher, senior Martha Miltich, by more than 20 seconds. Miltich finished in 20:20.9, 92nd place in the field. Miltich, who posted a time of 6:12 in the first mile, improved her time by 23 seconds over last seasons’ performance at the Griak Invitational.

Next action for the BSU cross country team comes Saturday, Oct. 5 at the Minnesota-Duluth Invitational. BSU hosts the 2002 NSIC Cross Country Championships on Oct. 26.

TEAM FINISHES BSU INDIVIDUALS
1. Northern Michigan 60
2. Wartburg College 128
3. North Dakota 130
4. Manitoba 140
5. Wisconsin-La Crosse 146
6. Wisconsin-Parkside 172
7. UC-San Diego 181
8. Pittsburg State 201
9. South Dakota 237
10. Black Hills State 244
11. North Dakota State 245
12. Wisconsin-Stevens Point 255
13. Michigan Tech 343
14. Minn.-Duluth 464
15. Minn. State-Mankato 470
16. Concordia-St. Paul 486
17. Lakehead 501
18. Augustana 540
19. Winona State 555
20. Bemidji State 582
21. St. Cloud State 592
22. Minn. State-Moorhead 647
23. Minn.-Morris 668
24 Dana College 714

BSU INDIVIDUALS
75. Christa Pribula 19:59.7
92. Martha Miltich 20:20.9
134. Josie Musquiz 21:40.7
140. Dawn Holman 22:03.6
141. Janel Budenski 22:16.0
145. Jami Peterson 22:29.7
146. Sarah Roley 22:38.0