KU Men Finish 10th at Griak Invitational

Sept. 25, 2004

Minneapolis, Minn. –

The Kansas men’s and women’s cross country teams competed in the Roy Griak Invitational Saturday, hosted by the University of Minnesota. After an off week, head coach Stanley Redwine and the Jayhawks competed against 25 men’s and 29 women’s teams in today’s races. A total of 552 Division I runners competed in the invite.

On the men’s side, KU placed 10th in the 8k. Sophomore Benson Chesang led the way for the Crimson and Blue in his first race of the season with an 11th-place finish and time of 24:38. Senior Chris Jones was the next Jayhawk finisher, placing 57th (25:36), followed by junior Matt French who placed 59th (25:37).

Wisconsin was the overall team winner, placing five runners in the top ten, including individual winner Matt Tegenkamp, who paced the field with a time of 24:02.

The Jayhawk women placed 23rd in the 6k race. Senior Megan Manthe was KU’s top finisher, placing 68th (22:42), Kansas’s next finisher was freshman Connie Abbott who placed 120th (23:27) out of 273 runners.

The overall women’s team winner was Providence, who scored three top-ten finishers, including the individual winner, Kim Smith (21:12).

Next Saturday (Oct. 2), the Jayhawks will travel to Stillwater, Okla., to compete in the Cowboy Jamboree.