Iowa City Today

The University of Iowa cross country teams are set to compete at the Roy Griak Invitational on Friday morning at the Les Bolstad Golf Course in Minneapolis. The men’s 8,000-meter race will begin at 10:00 a.m., followed by the women’s 6,000-meter event. Admission for spectators is $12.

The Hawkeyes began their 2025 season with strong performances at the Hawkeye Invite. The women’s team secured first place with 24 points, led by sophomore Elena Torres who completed the 4,000-meter race in 13:44.6. The men’s team, led by junior Luke Knepp with a time of 17:59.2 in the 6,000-meter race, tied for first place with Iowa Central before losing on a tiebreaker. Across both teams, athletes achieved twelve personal records and six entries onto Iowa’s all-time performance lists.

For the women’s squad, senior Miriam Sandeen returns as Iowa's top finisher from last season and continued her form into this year’s opener. Senior Jalyssa Blazek finished third at the Hawkeye Invite and is now tied for eighth all-time at Iowa. Sophomore Hillary Trainor set a new personal best to finish seventh in that meet.

On the men’s side, Iowa brings back its top seven scorers from last year. Seniors Brayden Burnett and Carson Houg were consistent contributors previously. Freshman Elias Arbuckle placed sixth in his collegiate debut at the Hawkeye Invite with a time of 18:09.0—fifth fastest ever for an Iowa runner in that event—while Kyle Montgomery finished seventh (18:11.3), moving him to seventh all-time at Iowa.

This season introduces four newcomers to the roster: freshmen Owen Wolfe, Spencer Alf and Elias Arbuckle join the men’s team; Emma Magallan joins on the women’s side. Last year saw significant contributions from new athletes as well; Elena Torres was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week twice and earned recognition as Iowa's September Woman Athlete of the Month.

Of note among team demographics, fifteen out of twenty-four Hawkeye cross country athletes are from Iowa. Other states represented include Illinois (Cameron Kalaway and Audra Soderlind), Minnesota (Marissa Long and Miriam Sandeen), Wisconsin (Spencer Alf), Virginia (Armaan Chopra), Texas (Ella Magallan), Indiana (Kyle Montgomery) and Colorado (Elena Torres).

At their last appearance in this invitational in 2016, Iowa's men's team placed fifteenth out of twenty-nine while the women's team finished twenty-fourth out of thirty-four.

Fans can follow updates about University of Iowa Cross Country through social media platforms including Facebook (“University of Iowa Cross Country and Track & Field”), X (@IowaXC_TF) and Instagram (@iowaxctf). Live results will be available online via hawkeyesports.com/tracklive.

After this weekend's competition, both teams will next compete at the Joe Piane Invitational on October 3rd.