Ten Youngstown State Men's Cross-Country runners took the trip to Falcon Heights, Minnesota for the 38th annual Roy Griak Invitational's Men's Gold 8K race Friday morning.
Reigning Horizon League champion Hunter Christopher started his season off in impressive fashion, leading the Penguins with a time of 25:05.4, good enough for a third-place finish out of 180 runners. Senior Thomas Caputo was the next Penguin to cross the line in 32nd-place after running a time of 25:46.6. Closely behind Caputo was Sophomore Owen Brady, as he crossed the finish line with a time of 25:47.5, finishing 36th. Ryan Meadows rounded out the top-50 finishers for the Penguins with a 44th-place finish, running a time of 25:54.6.
Senior Tobias Jones ran a time of just over 26 minutes as he crossed the finish line with a time of 26:04.6, clocking in a 51st-place finish. Just under a minute behind Jones was Blaze Fichter, running a time of 27:02.4, finishing 121st. Connor Shingleton (27:17.1), Joshua Jones (27:19.1), and Keegan Barnette (27:25.5) finished the race closely together, finishing 133rd, 137th, and 140th respectively. Sage Vavro rounded out Youngstown State runners as he ran a time of 28:20.6, finishing in 169th place.
The efforts by Penguin runners were good enough for a 7th-place finish out of the 17-team field. Winning the invitational was Wyoming, with Navy finishing second.
Youngstown State Cross Country teams will be back in action tomorrow morning as the Penguins host the YSU Inaugural Alumni Cross Country Meet, the first-ever meet that will be held at the brand-new Gorby Family Championship Cross Country Course.
For live updates and results throughout the 2024 season, follow @YSUTrackFieldXC on X.
