The Cyclone cross country team encountered a string of success as both the men’s and women’s teams were crowned champions of the 24th annual Roy Griak Invitational last Saturday in Minneapolis, Minn.

This was the men’s fourth Griak championship — the first since 1993, when they won the NCAA championship.

“It’s really exciting to see all our athletes win,” coach Corey Ihmels said in a press release. “I thought up and down the lineup all the athletes competed really hard. I’m just excited about what we did in training this week and what were able to do in the race. We just did a great job all around.”

Senior Guor Marial, who earned All-American honors in 2008, led the Cyclone men by finishing second overall with a time of 24:51. Marial has improved each year since he began running for the Cyclones in 2006.

Junior Hillary Bor finished seventh overall with a time of 25:05, followed by sophomore Yonas Mebrahtu, who finished just one second off Bor’s pace to finish ninth overall.

The men finished with 71 points, beating out Big 12 rival Oklahoma, who finished with 74 points.

On the women’s side, senior Lisa Koll, who made her first official collegiate cross country appearance for the Cyclones since her 18th place finish at the 2007 NCAA Championships, led the Cyclone women by finishing second overall with a time of 21:13.

Freshman Betsy Saina finished third overall for the women with a time of 21:28. Saina, who is a track and field All-American, competed in her first collegiate cross country race.

The women placed five runners in the top 10, earning a total of 31 points to win the meet for the first time in school history.

This year featured a thinner line of competition than last year for both sides. The men’s race only featured 167 runners this year as opposed to last year’s figure of 229 runners. On the other side, the women featured a less substantial loss than the men with 193 runners this year than last year’s field of 222 runners. In a press conference held last Monday, Ihmels said that this year’s Roy Griak Invitational would not be as big in terms of competition because other meets had been taking some competition away from Griak.

The Cyclone cross country team continues its season at the Bradley Classic in Peoria, Ill., Oct. 16.