The SPA cross country teams competed in the Roy Griak Invitational at the University of Minnesota on Sept. 20. The boys ran in the Larry Zirgirbel Boy’s Gold 5k at 1:30 p.m., with sophomore August Kidder placing 171st place individually (20:51:5). Eighth-grader Walter Broughton achieved a personal record of 21.15.6 and placing 187th individually. As a team the boys placed 32nd.
At 2:15 pm the girls cross country team competed in the Gary Wilson Girls Gold 5k finishing 12th out of 25 teams. Junior Paloma Good lead SPA with a 28th-place finish in 21:48:9 individually, followed by strong pack running from sophomores Sophie Kannapiran and Alyda Overgaard along with seniors Maren Overgaard and Leah Passe.
“Overall, I think our team ran really well, especially considering this meet has such a tough course,” Good said. “We run this race every year and it is always difficult to pace as it goes out really fast.”
She added that the girls were able to stick together early.
“On the girls side, we had good pack running through the first mile and were able to keep a controlled pace,” Good said.
However, this year’s race also marked an end. “Unfortunately, this was the last Roy Griak Invitational at the Les Bolstad golf course as it was sold by the University of Minnesota,” Good said. “I will definitely miss the energy of this meet.”
The Spartans pushed through the challenging course on the same day as the homecoming dance, adding extra spirit to the annual meet.
