Shively is first Kansas male athlete to secure individual title in meet history, with Hagen becoming third female competitor from Colorado prevail at Les Bolstad Golf Course; Karinauskaite leads Cal Baptist to 63-64  women’s victory against Utah, with New Mexico’s Samuel prevailing in men’s race

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn. – Cal Baptist achieved a dynamic double Friday, but needed to rely on a cohesive pack in the men’s competition and a significant late surge in the women’s race to make its mark at the 37th Roy Griak Invitational.

Wayzata again demonstrated its grit and determination in the last mile to win the first girls championship race in meet history, securing back-to-back titles after capturing the gold crown last season.

Stevens Point showcased patience and poise to shift the boys championship race from a competitive matchup at the midway point to a runaway victory at the Les Bolstad Golf Course.

And for all the team success achieved, there were also several memorable individual performances, as Clay Shively of Wichita Trinity Academy became the first boys winner from Kansas at Roy Griak, with Ella Hagen from Summit High securing only the third title by a Colorado female competitor.

Shively followed a mature and measured race plan early – 18th at the mile mark and eighth at the 3-kilometer split – and was rewarded with a 5-kilometer triumph in 15 minutes, 23.9 seconds, holding off 2021 gold winner Sam Scott of Minneapolis Southwest in 15:25.7, as well as Robert Mechura of Roseville Area in Minnesota and his third-place effort of 15:28.1.

Aloysius Franzen finished fourth in 15:34.6 for Stevens Point, which became the first Wisconsin boys program since 2010 to emerge victorious in the top race at Roy Griak, placing five scorers among the first 65 competitors to prevail with 156 points.

Dowling Catholic of Iowa, last year’s gold team winner, was runner-up Friday with 202 points, followed by Northville High of Michigan taking third at 204 points. The Minnesota trio of Wayzata (212), Edina (274) and Minnetonka (276) placed fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively.

Stevens Point relied on five sub-17 performances to offset struggles late in the race from senior Bode Erickson, who still managed to showcase courage and perseverance for the Panthers to finish 82nd in 17:04.6, before receiving precautionary medical attention following the race. Erickson was still significantly fatigued more than an hour after the race’s conclusion.

Ethan Olds placed 24th in 16:27.3, Cooper Erickson earned 29th in 16:32.5, Andrew Dziak finished 60th in 16:52.5 and Graham Ballard grabbed 65th in 16:54.6 for Stevens Point, which built on a projected seven-point advantage in the second half of the race.

Nolan Sutter of Chaska High in Minnesota, who won the boys maroon race last season in 16:20.7, finished fifth in the championship race in 15:40.5, followed by Manny Putz from Onalaska High in Wisconsin securing sixth in 15:40.6.

Bjorn Anderson of Perham and Sal Wirth from Annandale, both Minnesota juniors, were timed in identical 15:46.6 marks to secure seventh and eighth, with Brendan Herger of Northville taking ninth in 15:56.2 and William Weber from Wayzata also eclipsing the 16-minute barrier to capture 10th in 15:56.6.

Hagen rallied past Libby Castelli from Sioux Falls O’Gorman in the final mile to triumph in the girls championship race in 17:55.7.

Hagen joined Cherry Creek standouts Jordyn Colter in 2013 and Riley Stewart in 2019 as the only Colorado female athletes to earn victories at Roy Griak.

Castelli secured second in 18:03.9 after taking third last season, Norah Hushagen of Forest Lake took third in 18:10.1, with fellow Minnesota competitor Isabelle Schmitz of Hutchinson finishing fourth in 18:24.1.

Minnesota also showcased Evie Malec of Minnetonka earning sixth in 18:43.2, Sydney Drevlow from Hopkins placing seventh in 18:45.0 and Marissa Long of Chanhassen rounding out the top 10 in 19:02.1.

Anjali Hocker Singh of Olathe North in Kansas placed fifth in 18:35.4, Isabelle Bloker from Sioux Valley in South Dakota achieved eighth in 18:49.8 and Nora Gremban of Northland Pines in Wisconsin was ninth in 18:54.1.

Jazleen Malherek-Osorio led five Wayzata scorers finishing in the top 50, taking 11th in 19:03.2.

Following a remarkable comeback effort in the final mile last year to edge Cherry Creek by a 113-114 margin, Wayzata demonstrated its resilience again Friday, overcoming a six-point deficit in the final 2-kilometer stretch against Brandon Valley of South Dakota.

The Trojans triumphed with 118 points to repeat as girls winners at Roy Griak for the first time in program history, capturing their third title overall, along with 2013.

Aubrey Smith earned 32nd in 19:51.9, Miley Clark finished 34th in 19:52.8, Alyson Kleyman grabbed 36th in 19:55.3 and Chloe Kissell placed 50th in 20:15.4 for Wayzata.

Johnston High of Iowa was runner-up with 147 points and Brandon Valley took third at 183 points. Naperville North from Illinois placed fourth with 278 points and Olathe North finished fifth at 327 points.

Cal Baptist also needed to summon late strength to capture its first women’s gold race title since 2019 with a 63-64 victory against last year’s winner Utah.

Greta Karinauskaite of Lithuania became the first Cal Baptist female athlete to secure an individual title at Roy Griak with a come-from-behind victory in the 6-kilometer gold competition in 20:27.6.

Yasna Petrova from Bulgaria secured sixth for the Lancers in 21:03.3, Emilia Mikszuta of Poland took 10th in 21:22.6, Karin Gosek from Slovenia finished 21st in 21:47.2 and Marina Trave of Spain placed 25th in 21:50.7 for Cal Baptist.

Nicola Jansen, representing South Africa, was second for New Mexico in 20:30.6.

Utah was led by Anna Peters taking third in 20:49.0, McKaylie Caesar placing fifth in 20:59.6, Morgan Jensen achieving ninth in 21:14.8 and Clara Mayfield securing 12th in 21:32.7. Karli Branch was the fifth scorer for the Utes with a 35th-place effort in 22:03.3.

Colorado State, led by Sarah Carter’s fourth-place performance (20:57.1), took third with 96 points.

Laura Pellicoro of Italy earned seventh in 21:12.5 for Portland, which was fourth overall with 113 points, just ahead of Boise State with 115 points and New Mexico at 124 points, including an eighth-place effort from Peyton Schieppe (21:13.4).

Despite New Mexico showcasing a dominant trio of newcomers in the men’s gold 8-kilometer race, Cal Baptist had five scorers in the top 20 to triumph with 46 points.

Arturs Medveds from Latvia finished fourth in 24:10.8, Valentin Soca of Uruguay secured sixth in 24:17.4, South African Rikus Van Niekerk earned eighth in 24:25.1, Matias Reynaga from Argentina grabbed ninth in 24:26.1 and Giedrius Valincius of Lithuania placed 19th in 24:41.5 for Cal Baptist.

The Lancers joined Wisconsin in 1997, Providence in 1998, Iowa State in 2009 and Portland in 2016 as the only programs to sweep both team titles at Roy Griak.

Habtom Samuel from Eritrea was victorious for the Lobos in 23:36.4, with Kenyan competitors Lukas Kiprop (24:02.5) and Evans Kiplagat (24:14.1) taking third and fifth, respectively for third-place New Mexico, which accumulated 110 points to hold off Portland at 111 points and Boise State with 127 points.

Wil Smith was runner-up in 24:00.4 and Kyle Radosevich secured seventh in 24:20.9 for Gonzaga, which placed second as a team with 80 points.

Mason Brown of Colorado State completed the top 10 in 24:26.4.

It was a California sweep of the women’s individual 6-kilometer titles, with Gianna Bomarito from Sonoma State joining Karinauskaite as a winner, delivering a dominant performance in the maroon competition by clocking 21:44.2.

Jessica Kampman of Dordt, an NAIA performer, was second in 22:15.6, with UMary teammates Alyssa Becker (22:18.2) and Andrijana Fundak (22:24.2) placing third and fourth, respectively, to contribute to a runner-up team performance with 106 points.

Augustana earned its first women’s maroon team title since 2019 with 80 points, highlighted by Aubrey Surage securing sixth in 22:24.9.

Indiana Wesleyan, an NAIA program, captured its first men’s maroon team crown with 58 points, as a seventh-place effort from Braden Sweet (25:51.6) led five scorers in the top 16.

Ransom Allen of Wayne State, runner-up in 2021, prevailed in 25:18.4 to secure the first men’s individual victory in program history at Roy Griak. Wayne State was second as a team with 92 points, with Dordt taking third at 99 points.

Augustana, led by a second-place performance from Ryan Hartman at 25:29.0, was fourth with 118 points.

Brock Olsen from Blue Valley West made it a pair of boys individual winners from Kansas, capturing the gold race title in 16:14.1.

Freshman Keegan Decker finished fourth in 16:48.0 to lead Iowa City Liberty to a 103-137 victory against Eau Claire Memorial from Wisconsin.

Marah Benedict of New Richmond in Wisconsin triumphed in the girls gold race in 19:32.9.

Kylie Nelson clocked 19:42.7 to place second and lead Centennial of Minnesota past Notre Dame from Wisconsin by a 63-102 margin.

Mia Hoffman from Bemidji in Minnesota led from wire to wire in the girls maroon race, securing the title in 19:21.6. Lauren McCalla placed fourth in 19:57.1, helping Menomonie from Wisconsin hold off St. Louis Park of Minnesota for a 190-208 win.

Owen Clark of Lakeland in Wisconsin emerged victorious in the boys maroon race in 16:28.0.

Luke Williams took third in 16:41.5 for White Bear Lake Area in Minnesota, which edged Brandon Valley by a 91-102 margin. Mikah Peters placed second in 16:35.9 for Brandon Valley.