The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Roy Griak Invitational
Blazers Finish Seventh At Roy Griak Invitational
9/26/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
Sept. 26, 2009
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - The UAB cross country team ran to a seventh-place finish out of a 17-team field of strong national competition Saturday at the Roy Griak Invitational 6K race in Minneapolis, Minn.
Senior Kristina Olsen was the leading runner for the Blazers, finishing 25th overall and first for the Blazers with a 6K time of 22:41.
Iowa State claimed the title with 31 points, while the meet's host, Minnesota, was the runner-up with 48 points. Michigan State rounded out the top-three finishers with 75 points, while UAB placed seventh with 225 points.
"We ran well today," head coach Blake Boldon said. "Our girls ran with teams from strong conferences all over the country. Kristina Olsen had a very smart race and continued moving her way up the field the entire 6K, beating out some of the nation's top runners."
Other top runners for the Blazers included junior Stephanie Gammon who finished second for the Blazers and 41st overall with a time of 23:06. Sophomores Kristina Vaughn and Colleen Standridge were the third and fourth-place finishers for UAB with times of 23:27 and 23:52, respectively.
Redshirt junior Kendel Hood was the fifth finisher for the Green and Gold with a time of 24:11.
"Kendel fought hard the entire 6K," Boldon said. "I'm really proud of her race, she stepped up and ran strong despite a primarily track background."
The Blazers competed Saturday without sophomore Rhiannon Johns, the team's first-place finisher at the both the Belmont Opener and Earl Jacoby Memorial, and the top overall finisher at the Earl Jacoby Memorial. Johns did not run due to injury and the Blazers ran without several other runners for various reasons.
The Blazers will return to action Oct. 10 at the Furman Invitational in Greenville, S.C.
