Peer Leads Huskers at Roy Griak Invite

Sophomore Anna Peer finished 39th individuall in a loaded 35-team to lead the Nebraska cross country team at the prestigious Roy Griak Invitational in Minneapolis on Saturday.

The Husker men finished 25th among 31 teams, while the women took 32nd in the 35-team field. Southern Utah won the men's race, while Michigan State claimed the women's crown.

Nebraska Coach David Harris was happy with some of NU's individual performances, but said the team may have not fully recovered from last week's Woody Greeno/Nebraska Invitational in Lincoln. 

“We did not look fresh today, and I think it has a lot to do with such a quick turnaround from last week's competition to this week's,” Harris said, “It is hard to get pushed down like this with a young team, and it is hard to get back up, but we are going to train harder than ever to get back up in the next three weeks."

Peer provided a highlight for the Huskers with her 39th-place finish with a time of 22:14 in the 6k field.

“I was very pleased with Anna, she ran well at a very elite race. She is putting herself up against top competition and not shying away,” Harris said. “She is progressing and is getting better. Now we need to continue to train because that is what gets her confident.”

Also performing well for the Husker women was junior Megan Lush, who continues to learn collegiate cross country after joining the team last season. Lush finished 179th with a time of 24:18.  

Leading the way for the men's team was sophomore Joe Harter. The Millard West graduate placed 68th with a time of 26:11 (8k) in the ultra-competitive Griak field. Junior Nolan Border was the second Husker to finish, placing 116th with a time of 26:48. 

True freshmen Alec Sery and Austin Post also ran competitively. Sery placed 127th with a time of 26:58, while Post followed added 136th with a time of 27:04.

Nebraska take a step away from competition for the next few weeks, before competing at the Bradley Classic in Peoria, Ill., on Friday Oct. 17. The Bradley Classic will be held on the same race course the Huskers will be on for the NCAA Midwest Regional on Nov. 14.