ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Northern Michigan University cross country team finished ninth at the 27th annual Roy Griak Invitational in St. Paul Minn. on Saturday (Sept. 29). The Invitational is the largest cross country meet in the nation. The Wildcats competed in the Maroon Division against 38 other teams.

Colorado Springs won the meet with 119 team points. Winona State (134), Wayne State (172), University of Mary (207), Minnesota State-Mankato (215), Southwest Baptist (225), Minnesota-Duluth (232) and Central Missouri (259) finished in second through eighth place. NMU finished the morning with 270 points.

“We ran good today,” NMU coach Jenny Ryan said. “The hot weather and crowded course made for a difficult day, that was a challenge.”

Finishing first for NMU was junior Mallory Celaya in 28th place with a time of 23:36.6. Junior Mandy Dye was right behind Celaya in 33rd good for a time of 23:43.2. Megan Edic (58) and Larissa Halonen (72) also finished out the top 75 for the ‘Cats.

Also finishing in the top 100 for NMU was Mary Kate Cirelli (85), Jordyn Ross (89), Rita Woitas (92), Katie Granquist (94) and Olivia Howard (100).

NMU will host the U.P. Championship at the NMU Golf Course on Friday, Oct. 12.

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