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It feels like it has been ages since we were last at Les Bolstad Golf Course for the Roy Griak, but this week we are finally back at one of Minnesota's biggest meets, and one of the biggest meets in the midwest!
This year will feel better than usual as last year's meet was canceled due to the pandemic. We will have teams from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, South Dakota, North Dakota, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, and more come out to face some elite competition.
To kick off our coverage of the 2021 Roy Griak, we wanted to relive the 2019 Roy Griak via our content captured that day and our pre-meet coverage.
Watch Oliver Paleen beat out a deep and talented field and out kick Emmet Anderson
No win should have felt sweeter than that Roy Griak gold race title, which Oliver Paleen won in 15:46.30. It took a sprint to the finish to leg past runner-up Emmet Anderson, who was less than a second behind in 15:47.00.
From a team perspective, the boy's race was wide open. No team took command at any point and in the end it came down to points. Despite scoring 304 points, White Bear Lake (MN) was crowned champion, ahead of runner-up Edina (338) and third-place Frontier Academy (341).
Parker Wolfe, the favorite entering the race, finished third overall in 15:53.90.
"I think it's all really been mental. I did more mileage over the summer, did a little harder training. It really was all mental. I remember last year I got to about the 1-mile. I kind of blacked out. And then when I finished they told me I was 10th. I was like, 'Oh really? I thought I did worse.'" - Oliver Paleen, Highlands Park (MN), 1st-place
Watch Cherry Creeks Riley Stewart Dominate a Deep Girls Field
Cherry Creek dispatched four nationally ranked teams en route to a superb 75 points and the team sported an 18:39 average on a course that many of the team's athletes said "was nothing like Colorado."
"This season we're just trying to make a name for ourselves," senior Lauren Lapporte said. "So we wanted to come out here today and put ourselves on the map officially and get out of Colorado."
Riley Stewart was just a second away from Emily Covert's meet record of 17:28.00, finishing in an impressive 17:29.30. The Bruins' top four all placed within the top 25 and its fifth was in the top 40.
Stewart finished almost 40 seconds ahead of runner-up Anna Fenske, and 3rd-place finished Lianna Surtz.
"Last year I was like, I didn't know what I was doing as much. I feel like I came back with a lot more knowledge this year. In staying and working on my last mile and finishing." -- Riley Stewart, Cherry Creek (CO), 1st-place
Check out the rest of the 2019 Meet Coverage at the Links Below!
