Sept. 27, 2007

Minneapolis, Minn. - The 2007 Jack Johnson Gold Race of the Roy Griak Invitational once again brings a gathering of several of the nation's top teams to battle it out on the Les Bolstad course. Four top-10 teams are expected to race for supremacy, including the host Minnesota Golden Gophers.

The Sun Devils of Arizona State, the highest ranked team competing, tabbed at No. 6 this week in the USTFCCCA national poll, are annual contenders at the Griak. Arizona State posted a runner-up finish at the Griak a year ago but enters the meet with an experienced and talented squad looking to make a mark in 2007. Coming off a 13th-place showing at the NCAA Championships, the Sun Devils return four runners from their NCAA lineup. Junior Jenna Kingma topped the ASU finishers with a 60th-place finish at the NCAA but add her to a list of Griak contenders as she finished 12th in a talent-laden field in 2006. Also back for Arizona State from its NCAA squad is Ali Kielty, Kari Hardt and Krystal Duke.

Minnesota checks in with a No. 8 national ranking this week and is a squad led by a senior All-American in Ladia Albertson-Junkan, yet bolstered by a talented corps of sophomores and juniors. Albertson-Junkans placed 19th at the NCAA Championships a year ago and has the chance to become the first three-time All-American in Gopher women's cross country history. She placed eighth in the Griak last season. The top runner for the Gophers this season, however, has been a sophomore - Jamie Cheever. Cheever, a track All-American, has posted back-to-back individual victories in Minnesota's first two meets of the season. Cheever finished 19th at the Griak in 2006, went on capture All-Midwest Region accord but ran with the flu at the NCAA meet, an unfortunate situation that could have cost the Gophers a top-10 finish. Minnesota placed 11th overall and returns three other all-region honorees - junior Gabriele Anderson and sophomores Elizabeth Yetzer and Amy Laskowske - to the 2007 squad. The Gophers' top seven also features four-time track All-American and 2005 indoor 800-meters national champion Heather Dorniden.

The Michigan State Spartans return to the Griak field and boasts a No. 9 ranking. The Spartans, as well as the Gophers, are prepping for what could be the toughest Big Ten Championship ever (Oct. 26 in Columbus, Ohio). Five teams from the Big Ten Conference finished in the NCAAs' top 10 in 2006 and find themselves ranked among the top 10 this season. Leading the charge for the Spartans is junior All-American Alissa McKaig. McKaig returns as the Griak's and NCAA Championships' highest finisher from a year ago, posting fourth and 10th-place showings, respectively. The Spartans' lineup also features three runners back from their NCAA roster: Nicole Bush, Sarah Price and Leah Elenbass.

The Virginia Cavaliers are currently ranked No. 10 in the nation, the highest-ranked team from East Coast. The Cavaliers placed 14th at the 2006 NCAA Championships and are working toward an even higher finish as five runners return. Topping that list is All-American Emily Harrison, who finished 20th overall, and will definitely be in the hunt for a Griak title after placing fifth last season. Virginia also returns Katie Read, Lauretta Derubay, Janine Ricci and Sara Casscella from their NCAA lineup.

Defending Griak team champion UC Santa Barbara used five seniors, including Griak medalist Stephanie Rothstein, to run to a ninth-place NCAA finish last season so the Gauchos may be in a bit of a rebuilding mode this season. Santa Barbara has two runners back from that 2006 NCAA squad in Bethany Nickless and Danielle Domenichelli.

The Big 12 Conference is always well represented in the Roy Griak Invitational field and 2007 is no exception as Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma make the trek north to the Twin Cities. A trio of the Big 12's top runners are positioned among the contenders to take the Griak individual gold this season. Oklahoma senior Jessica Eldridge garnered All-America honors with an 18th-place NCAA finish. She finished 19th at the 2006 Griak. Iowa State junior Lisa Koll finished seventh in the Griak, then went to capture her All-America honor with a 36th-place finish. Kansas State junior Liliani Mendez was the top Wildcat finisher at the 2006 Griak, placing ninth.