University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut


Roy Griak Invitational
Huskies Place 9th At Roy Griak Invitational
9/24/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
Sept. 24, 2011
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.- Sophomore Lauren Sara(Stratford, Conn.) leads the Huskies to a ninth overall finish at the Roy Griak Invitational as she finished 6th with a time of 20:52. The Huskies, who entered the meet after earning their first-ever vote in the USTFCCCA NCAA Division I National Cross Country Coaches' Poll, tallied 264 points on Saturday afternoon to take ninth out of 26 teams, eight of which are nationally ranked.
"We had a solid team performance today at the Griak Invitational. We finished in front of some great teams, some of which are ranked," stated Head Coach Andrea Grove-McDonough. "We defeated No. 24 BYU and only were 14 points behind No. 18 Penn State. With five girls running personal records and all faster than our number one finished from last year this is a real indication of the direction our program is moving. Add to that Lauren Sara had a 6th place finish and I have reason to feel great about the rest of the season."
Following Sara was freshman Lindsay Crevioserat (Glastonbury, Conn.) with a 43rd finish in 21:21 and junior Shauna McNiff(Hingham, Mass.) at 54th in 21:48.
"Lauren Sara was brilliant today and led our team in the way we needed her to," said Grove-McDonough.
The Huskies, who had all seven runners finish within two minutes of each other, saw senior Heather Wilson(Homer, N.Y.) cross the finish line next as the 61st competitor with a time of 21:55.
"Heather Wilson had an amazing race this afternoon. She kept grinding and came in front of several other runners making a huge impact for us," finished Grove-McDonough.
The final three runners for UConn were senior Courtney Dinnan (Hamden, Conn.), sophomore Allison Lasnicki (Canastota, N.Y.) and junior Allison Cooper(Portland, Conn.). Dinnan and Lasnicki both finished in 22:16 taking the 100th and 101st seats, respectively. Cooper concluded the meet in 22:35 in the 119th spot.
Meanwhile, Connecticut also sent six team members to the CCSU Ted Owens Invitational in New Britain, Conn. The Huskies came in third place out of 10 teams with senior Christine Vogel(Glastonbury, Conn.) leading the way with a 7th place finish in 18:36.
UConn, had two other runners finish in the top twenty as sophomore Cassandra Goutos(Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) and junior Kim Moran (Brightwaters, N.Y.) took 12th (18:57) and 18th (19:14) , respectively.
The Huskies continue the 2011 campaign on Saturday, Oct. 8, at the New England Championships in Boston, Mass.