PROVO, Utah – BYU women's cross country will race against several top programs this Saturday at the Roy Griak Invitational hosted by the University of Minnesota.
“The Griak Invitational is one of the oldest, traditional races in the country,” BYU head coach Patrick Shane said. “It has always been a premier invitational.”
The field includes 37 total teams and seven of those teams, Michigan State (3), Iowa State (9), Butler (11), Boise State (20), Vanderbilt (22), Minnesota (28) and North Carolina (30), are included in the USTFCCCA’s latest top 30 rankings.
Carrie Jube, a junior from Provo, knows this will be the toughest challenge the team has faced so far this season, but is looking forward to the task.
“These away meets are good for our team,” Jube said. “They are good learning experiences for us. The better competition allows us to qualify for nationals.”
It is important the Cougars run well because this will be the first meet of the year where teams can begin acquiring points toward qualifying for the NCAA championships.
“Inevitably there will be nerves,” Jube said. “I try not to think about it though. I think of it as just another race. I know how to run and what my abilities are so I tell myself I’m ready.”
Jube will join Andrea Harrison, winner of BYU”s Autumn Classic earlier this month, Makenna Smith, Jennica Redd, McKenzie Weir, Kelsey Brown and Alyssa Steed as BYU’s team representatives.
“As a team, we hope to beat some of the best teams there,” Jube said. “We want to show what we can do and earn some points for nationals.”
The women’s 6K race begins at 1:10 p.m. CDT at the Les Bolstad Cross Country Course in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. After the race, meet results will be posted here.