FALCON HEIGHTS, MN – The University of Mary men's and women's cross country teams will be taking part in one of the biggest racing days in the nation at the Roy Griak Invitational. The full day of cross country will be held at Les Bolstad Golf Course in Falcon Heights, MN.

The men's race will begin at 11:30 a.m. with the women's race following at 12:15 p.m. UMary is one of 11 Northern Sun schools set to compete tomorrow. Results can be followed here.

LAST TIME OUT
UMary hosted the Marauders Invitational two weeks ago to open the season with both the men's and women's teams placing second to Division I North Dakota State.

Gideon Hammah led the men's effort in 2^nd place overall with Caleb Hansen (7^th), Raine Skjod (15^th), Joseph Ringhand (20^th), and Nick Lind (21^st) following.

Senior Terez Wycklendt was the leader of the women's squad with her 4^th-place finish, the only Division II runner in the top 9 of the race. Hannah Westin followed in 14^th with Ellyn Engels (18^th), Holly Fromherz (19^th), and Gianna Frasher (20^th) rounding out the team scoring.

LAST TIME AT THE GRIAK
It was a day to remember for the Marauders at the Roy Griak Invitational last year with the women's team placing 2^nd out of 24 teams. Alyssa Becker was the individual winner, becoming the 3^rd Marauder to win the race.

The men placed 11^th as a team in a field of 25. Four of the five scorers are still with the program as Caleb Hansen (40^th) led the way followed by Gideon Hammah (41^st), Andrew Scheer (62^nd), and Raine Skjod (147^th).

ATHLETES TO WATCH
Sophomore Gideon Hammah was named UMary's NSIC Athlete to Watch after an impressive freshman campaign. Hammah won the Marauders Open and placed 19^th at the NSIC Championships last year.

On the women's side, Tori Stepka was named UMary's NSIC Athlete to Watch. Stepka spent her first season with the Marauders recovering from an injury and has never competed in cross country before. Head coach Chris Lessard is confident in her development over the course of last season.

PRESEASON POLLS
The men's team was picked to finish 3^rd in the NSIC in the preseason coaches' poll. That is the best preseason position for UMary since 2022.

The women's team was also picked 3^rd in the NSIC preseason coaches' poll. The team also came in at 29^th in FloTrack's National Preseason Rankings and 16^th in the USTFCCCA's rankings.

LOOKING BACK
After doubling their roster size last season, the UMary men's team place 4^th at the NSIC Championships. Caleb Hansen placed 5^th individually and was followed by Andrew Scheer in 15^th and Hammah in 19^th. At the NCAA Central Region Championships, the Marauders placed 16^th.

The women's team was the conference runner-up last season with Alyssa Becker winning the individual title. Kristine Kalthoff (3^rd) and Andrijana Fundak (6^th) also had strong finishes, marking the first time UMary had three runners in the top-6 since 2019. The Marauders went on to place 3^rd at the NCAA Central Region Championships and 18^th at the NCAA National Championships.

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