FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn. – The Drake University men's cross country team recorded a ninth-place finish Saturday morning at the prestigious Roy Griak Invitational against some of the top programs in the country.
 
The men's team finished with 271 points, ahead of the likes of Wyoming, Arizona State and regional foes South Dakota and North Dakota State in the deep field. Colorado State won the team competition with 47 points.
 
Drake's women's team finished 17^th of 18 teams as competitors faced grueling course and inhospitable heat and humidity that forced alterations to the race schedule.
 
Josh Yeager (Center Point, Iowa) led the men's effort with a 38^th place finish in a 157-runner field. Yeager completed the hilly 8-kilometer course in 26:17.5 followed by freshman Maxmilian Fridrich (Salzburg, Austria) in 49^th place in 26:40.3. Kyle Brandt (Maple Grove, Minn.), Kyle Cass (Deforest, Wis.) and Matt Cozine (Mt. Prospect, Ill.) all recorded top-100 finishes in 52^nd, 83^rd and 100^th places, respectively.
 
Colorado State's Jerrell Mock won the men's race in 24:52.0.
 
The Drake women were led again by senior Bailee Cofer (Overland Park, Kan.) in 110^th place with a 24:09.2 finish on the 6-kilometer course that challenged a field of 201 runners. Morgan Garcia (Marion, Iowa) finished on Cofer's heels in 111^th place with a time of 24:10.1 while fellow sophomore Mykaela Cole (Urbandale, Iowa) took 122^nd place in 24:21.1. Freshmen Elizabeth Aho (Grayslake, Ill.) and Kenzi Mente (Tipton, Iowa) completed the Bulldogs' scoring in 148^th and 160^th place, respectively.
 
San Francisco, ranked No. 8 in the nation, won the women's team event behind Weronika Pyzik's first-place individual finish in 21:09.2.
 
Following the Bulldogs' performance at the Griak Invitational, the Bulldogs will continue training in preparation for their next event, the Bradley Pink Classic, Oct. 13 in Peoria, Ill.
 
Drake Individual Men's Results
8 kilometers – 157 runners
38. Josh Yeager, 26:17.5
49. Maxmilian Fridrich, 26:35.5
52. Kyle Brandt, 26:40.3
83. Kyle Cass, 27:26.8
100. Matt Cozine, 28:02.5
125. Xavier Lechleitner, 29:15.5
126. Joe Romain, 29:17.5
128. Kurt TeBeest, 29:22.1
 
Drake Individual Women's Results
6 kilometers – 201 runners
110. Bailee Cofer, 24:09.2
111. Morgan Garcia, 24:10.1
122. Mykaela Cole, 24:21.1
148. Elizabeth Aho, 25:05.5
159. Kenzi Mente, 25:21.0
160. Millie Bretl, 25:22.7
174. Olivia Rogers, 25:55.0