Inaugural Roy Griak Invitational Hall of Fame Class Announced

ROY GRIAK INVITATIONAL
& ROY GRIAK INVITATIONAL HALL OF FAME
PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                   Ray Maloney
Roy Griak Invitational Historian & Roy Griak Invitational Hall of Fame Chairman
phoenixsportspublishing@yahoo.com
623-349-2875 (cell)

About the Roy Griak Invitational:
What started out in 1986 as a small meet with just 10 men’s teams and 17 women’s teams, the meet now known as the Roy Griak Invitational, annually attracts many of the top college and high school cross country teams from the Upper Midwest and the nation.
The meet, which was first known as the Burger King Classic, and later, the Minnesota Invitational, took on its current name following the retirement of Roy Griak in 1996 after 33 years as coach at Minnesota.
Griak remained involved with the running program at Minnesota by serving as the administrative assistant for nearly two decades before his death in July at the age of 91. Griak, who competed at Minnesota as an undergraduate, gave more than 50 years of dedicated service to the university that he loved.
Griak, along with former Minnesota women’s cross country coach, Gary Wilson, have worked to establish the Roy Griak Invitational into the premier in-season meet in the nation. The meet has seen more than 35 college teams compete in some years, while more than 50 high school teams have competed for championships on an annual basis since that division was first run in 1994.
The meet, which will celebrate its 30th anniversary on Sept. 26, 2015, crowns 10 champions each year. There are races each year for Division 1, Division II and Division III for both the men and the women, while champions are crowned in four high school divisions. A total of approximately 5,000 athletes compete each year for individual titles at the meet.
The Roy Griak Invitational Hall of Fame is in its first year and will induct eight members into its inaugural class during festivities at this year’s meet at the Les Bolstad Cross Country Course not far from the University of Minnesota campus.
This year’s hall of fame class is comprised of the following individuals:

ROY GRIAK
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
ROY GRIAK INVITATIONAL HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2015
For more than 50 years Roy Griak was the face of cross country at the University of Minnesota.
As a student athlete for the Golden Gophers, to his legendary career as a coach in Gold Country and co-founder of the one of the nation’s most prestigious in-season cross country meets that now bears his name, Roy Griak epitomized the ideals of being a gentleman and a scholar … and we are all better people for that.
Roy Griak died on July 9, 2015 in Minneapolis at the age of 91. Not only did the University of Minnesota lose a legend with Griak’s passing, but the Big Ten Conference, along with the cross country and the track and field communities lost perhaps the greatest ambassador those sports have ever had.
Roy Griak was born on Oct. 5, 1923 in Duluth, Minn. He graduated from Morgan Park High School in 1942 and served in the U.S. Infantry during World War II. He enrolled at Minnesota in 1946, a place that would eventually become his home for more than five decades.
Griak spent 14 years teaching at coaching at high schools in Minnesota before taking over the Minnesota program. He became coach of the Minnesota cross country program in 1963 after replacing Jim Kelly, whom Griak competed for during his own collegiate career in Maroon and Gold. He remained in that capacity until his retirement following the 1996 season. During his time in leading the Gopher cross country team, Griak’s team won Big Ten titles in 1964 and in 1969. His 1968 Gophers placed second at the conference championship before finishing fourth at the NCAA championship meet. That remains the highest finish by a Minnesota team at the national meet.
Griak’s 1968 track team won the Big Ten title. In all, Griak coached a total of 49 cross country and track and field All-Americans, including three NCAA champions during his legendary career. Minnesota athletes garnered a total of 61 Big Ten individual titles during his storied career.
Even in retirement Griak continued to add to his storied legacy which is virtually unmatched in collegiate athletics.  The legendary coach worked as the administrative assistant for the Minnesota track and field program, as well as the cross country program at the school up until the time of his death.

BILL BERGAN
IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY
ROY GRIAK INVITATIONAL HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2015
Bill Bergan became Iowa State’s first head cross country coach in 1971 and took little time in turning around the fortunes of the Cyclone program. ISU had finished in the lower division of the Big 8 Conference championship meet in each of the 11 seasons before Bergan’s arrival. In just his fourth season at Iowa State, Bergan guided the 1974 Cyclones to their first conference championship in 43 years and the foundation of success was secured.
Under Bergan’s leadership the Cyclones would win 10 Big 8 championships, including five straight from 1987 through 1991. His 1989 ISU team established a Roy Griak Invitational record by scoring 15 points on the way to the team title. It would be the first of three Griak titles for Bergan and the Cyclones. ISU also claimed team titles in 1990 and 1993.
Bergan would also guide Iowa State to national titles in 1989 and 1994 before stepping down as coach of the Cyclones. During his time as coach at ISU his teams competed in the NCAA meet 15 times and placed among the top-eight finishers in each of the last 11 seasons with Bergan at the helm. He was chosen as Big 8 cross country coach of the year five times in a span of eight seasons while at Iowa State.
Bergan took over as track coach at ISU in 1976 and found similar success as he had in cross country. The Cyclones had finished last or next to last at 21 straight Big 8 outdoor meets before Bergan assumed the reins. By the time he retired ISU would claim 25 indoor or outdoor championships at the conference level, including a stretch where the Cyclones claimed 10 outdoor titles in a span of 14 years. He coached 104 All-Americans and 156 Big 8 Conference champions during his career at Iowa State.

DICK SKOOG
DULUTH EAST HIGH SCHOOL
ROY GRIAK INVITATIONAL HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2015
The architect of one of the most successful high school cross country programs in Minnesota history, Skoog guided Duluth East High School to five straight (1993-97) state girls championships and earned his place among the greatest coaches in Minnesota history.
A graduate of Minnesota-Duluth, Skoog led East to three straight championships (1995-97) in the high school division of the Roy Griak Invitational and earned a double in 1995 as his Greyhounds captured the high school boys championship at the Griak.
He coached three individual Griak champions as Nic Mattack won a pair of titles (1995-96) in the boys division and Kendall Wheeler captured the girls championship in 1995.
Skoog, who began teaching and coaching at East in 1963, retired as cross country coach following the 1997 season and later spent time as athletics director at the school.

RALPH EUGENE “LEFTY” WRIGHT
OFFICIAL STARTER
ROY GRIAK INVITATIONAL HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2015
Lefty Wright’s contributions to running and to the Roy Griak Invitational are well documented.
A former high school coach at St. Louis Park High School (1958-93), Wright spent five seasons as an assistant coach for Griak at the school before succeeding Griak when the legendary coach took over the Minnesota program.
Wright would later work as the official starter at the Griak Invitational for 27 of the first 29 editions of the prestigious meet.
A 1957 graduate of Macalester College, Wright would later spend 22 years as a track official at both the state and national levels, including a number of NCAA national championship meets.

BEN NOAD
PROVIDENCE COLLEGE
ROY GRIAK INVITATIONAL HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2015
It took 13 years, but Ben Noad made history in 1998 when he became the first man to ever repeat as the individual champion at the Roy Griak Invitational.
Noad, a native of Bristol, England, placed 19th in his first appearance at the Griak Invitational in 1996 and captured his first individual title the following year after covering the course in 24:23.8 as his Providence team finished seventh in the team standings. His winning time in 1998 was nearly identical to the time he recorded the previous season. Noad’s 24:25 clocking and first-place finish was instrumental as the Friars won the team championship for the first time after competing at the Griak each of the previous three seasons.
A three-time qualifier for the NCAA championship meet, Noad placed 18th and 12th, respectively, in each of his final two years after running to an 88th-place finish at the national meet as a freshman in 1995.

MORGAN PLACE
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA-DULUTH
ROY GRIAK INVITATIONAL HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2015
Morgan Place wasted little time in proving her dominance in cross country and running her way into the hearts of longtime fans of the Roy Griak Invitational.
In what would be just the third race of her collegiate career, Place won the 2008 Griak by running a time of 22:16.1. It would be the first of three consecutive individual championships at the Griak as Place became the first college female to claim three individual titles at the meet.
Place would help Minnesota-Duluth to the team titles in each of the next two years with her championship performance.
Place, who would eventually win 22 of the 35 cross country races she competed in during her career as a Bulldog, placed 10th in her final appearance at the Griak Invitational. When she graduated from UMD, Place had qualified for the NCAA championship meet three times in cross country, while earning All-America honors each of those season, highlighted by a fifth-place finish as a junior after placing seventh and sixth, respectively, in each of her first two seasons at Duluth.
She also competed in the national meet all four years in both indoor and outdoor track and earned All-American honors five times in track.
In all, Place qualified for the national championships 11 out of a possible 12 times during her career and also claimed seven Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference championships as a Bulldog.

FRAN TEN BENSEL
UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA
ROY GRIAK INVITATIONAL HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2015
One of the greatest runners in the history of the Big 8 Conference, ten Bensel remains the most-decorated female runner in the history of the University of Nebraska.
Ten Bensel was the first woman to ever win two individual titles at the Roy Griak Invitational. Her first Griak title came in 1991 and helped her Nebraska team to a third-place finish that year. She repeated the following year with one of the most impressive performances in the history of the meet. Her winning time of 16:43 was the second-fastest winning time in Griak history as the Huskers placed fifth in the team standings.
Ten Bensel is the only Nebraska runner to win a conference cross country championship as she won the Big 8 crown in 1991 and placed second the following year, solidifying her status as one of the greats of her sport.
She is also the only Nebraska runner to ever earn All-America honors on three occasions in cross country with a ninth-place finish in 1992 the best of her illustrious career. The Arapahoe, Neb. native, also excelled on the track as she earned six conference championships, including back-to-back indoor titles (1991-92) in the mile and earned All-America honors five times. She still holds four school records.
Ten Bensel competed in the Olympic Trials twice during her running career, placing as high as seventh in the 1,500- and 3,000-meters in 1992. She also competed in the Trials in 1996.

KIEL UHL
DES MOINES ROOSEVELT HIGH SCHOOL/IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY
ROY GRIAK INVITATIONAL HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2015
No athlete in the history of the Roy Griak Invitational has earned more recognition that Kiel Uhl.
The 2005 graduate of Des Moines Roosevelt High School placed 10th at the Griak Invitational in 2002 and earn two more top 20 finishes during his high school career. He placed 12th as a junior as Roosevelt became just the second school to win consecutive high school titles at the Griak. He won his only Griak individual title as a senior and capped his high school cross country career by winning the 2004 Griak championship in a time of 15:31.3, the second-fastest winning time in the history of the Griak.
Uhl would continue his Griak success by placing among the top 20 and appearing on the awards stand all four years while competing at Iowa State University. He finished 15th at the meet as a freshman and seventh as a sophomore with the Cyclones before turning in his best finish as a collegian at the meet in 2007 as ISU placed third as a team with Uhl placing fourth in the individual race. His squad placed second at the 2008 Griak as Uhl placed 10th in his final Griak appearance.
The total of seven individual awards at the Griak Invitational is a meet record likely to go unmatched.