X-Country: Running with the big dogs

Justin Hyytinen finished 38th in a field of 490 at the Roy Griak Invitational

The Tigers have run in several large meets this season but those get-togethers looked like dual meets compared to Saturday's Roy Griak Invitational held at the Les Bolstad Golf Course at the University of Minnesota.

100-plus teams from across the country competed in two high school divisions with college and university level races also on the meet menu.

The Tigers ran in the Gold Division of the high school bracket where the girls ranked 33rd and the boys 41st in their respective 50-team races.

"The meet was definitely a learning experience us," Tiger boys coach Lisa Lippold said. "We haven't ever run in a meet of that size and that can be intimidating to run with that many people around you the entire race.

"It was a good for us to be exposed to a more difficult course than what we are used to. We didn't place as high as we wanted so we are looking ahead to the Chaska meet and setting our individual and team goals."

Justin Hyytinen proved he was up to the individual challenge, finishing 38th overall in a field of 494 runners. Hyytinen covered the challenging, 5000-meter course in 16:45.

Alex Hart was the next Tiger to hit the finish line, clocking 18:08 in 227th place. Devon Webb ranked 282nd in 18:35; Hunter Sevenich 290th in 18:42 and Sean Dougherty 310th in 19:03.

Lauren Peterson led the Tiger girls at the Roy Griak Invitational

Seventh grader Lauren Peterson and senior Maricia Pacheco were the top Tiger finishers in the girls race. The 5000-meter race was 1000 meters longer than the customary distance for girls' races in Minnesota.

Peterson ran 20:08 to place 62nd; Pacheco was 78th in 20:16. Anna Palodichuk finished 178th in 21:21, Emily Schaffer 257th in 22:08 and Sofia Chadwick 272nd in 22:38. 460 runners competed in the race.

"It was an adventure given the change in distance, the rainy weather and the hilly terrain," Tiger girls coach Heidi Revels said. "I think the girls did very well. It was fun to see Lauren and Maricia finish so close together."