Titans Finish Second At Griak Invitational

Derek Johnsrud finished seventh in the individual competition as the UW-Oshkosh men's cross country team placed second at the Roy Griak Invitational held Saturday (Sept. 28) in Minneapolis, Minn.

Johnsrud completed the 8,000-meter course in a time of 26:10. He was one of three Titans finishing in the top 10, with the others being McKena Ramos and Erik Hofferber. Ramos finished eighth with a time of 26:13 and Hofferber 10th in 26:14.

UW-Eau Claire won the 26-team meet with 69 points, while UW-Oshkosh ranked second with 76, Bates College (Maine) third with 83, Wartburg College (Iowa) fourth with 104 and UW-Platteville fifth with 168.

Rounding out the top 10 teams were sixth-place Occidental College (Calif.) with 209 points, seventh-place UW-Whitewater with 249, eighth-place UW-River Falls with 285, ninth-place The College of St. Scholastica (Minn.) with 296 and 10th-place UW-Superior with 312.

Helping UW-Oshkosh achieve its team score were Jordan Carpenter and Sean Kutz. Carpenter finished 21st with a time of 26:40 and Kutz 30th in 27:02.

Also representing the Titans at the meet were Mike Foust, Mitch Pauers, Tyler Miletti, Matt Champan, Brett DeNure, Joe Zack, Jacob Hansen, Ryne Scopp and Jacob Clarke.

Foust took 32nd place with a time of 27:10, while Pauers finished 47th in 27:35, Miletti 50th in 27:37, Champan 52nd in 27:41, DeNure 59th in 27:50, Zack 66th in 27:56, Hansen 69th in 27:59, Scopp 91st in 28:21 and Clarke 115h in 28:45.

Matt Berens of Bethel University (Minn.) captured the individual title with a time of 25:45. John Guzman of Occidental College finished second among the 274 runners with a time of 25:55 and Mike Martin of Bates College third in 26:03.

UW-Oshkosh competes in another prestigious meet, the Notre Dame Invitational, on Friday (Oct. 4) in South Bend, Ind.