Mantz edges Iowa State’s Kiptoo in NCAA finals rematch, helping BYU produce one-point win; Minnesota captures first Roy Griak women’s title since 2018, with Logue securing first individual crown for Cyclones since 2012; Scott, Weimer earn high school titles, along with Sioux City North boys and Olathe West girls

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

One second was all the advantage Conner Mantz needed.

One point was all the cushion that mattered for the Brigham Young men’s cross country team.

One more Roy Griak Invitational team title was all sisters Bethany Hasz and Megan Hasz had hoped for during their Minnesota careers.

And one future Golden Gopher earned a memorable victory against a deep field in the Gary Wilson girls gold 5-kilometer race Friday in the 35th edition of the event at Les Bolstad Golf Course in Falcon Heights, Minn.

RESULTS | INTERVIEWS

In their first cross country showdown since March 15 at the NCAA Division 1 Championships in Stillwater, Okla., Mantz and Wesley Kiptoo of Iowa State produced one of the great head-to-head battles in meet history, with the reigning champ Mantz relying on a decisive final surge in the last 150 meters to edge Kiptoo in the Merrill Fischbein Division 1 men’s 8-kilometer gold race.

Mantz clocked 23 minutes, 53.9 seconds to hold off Kiptoo in 23:54.9, which also proved to be the difference in the men’s competition overall, as BYU edged Iowa State by a 34-35 margin to sweep both individual and team titles at Roy Griak for the first time since 2013.

Casey Clinger (24:27.8) took fourth, Aidan Troutner (24:38.9) and Brandon Garncia (24:39) were sixth and seventh, with Lucas Bons passing five runners in the final 400 meters to place 16th in 24:59 and help the Cougars capture the trophy.

Thomas Pollard (24:37.4) was fifth, Gable Sieperda (24:47.5) and Ryan Ford (24:49) finished eighth and ninth, with Ezekiel Kibichii (24:52.2) placing 11th for the Cyclones.

Morgan Beadlescomb (24:18.5) took third for Michigan State, which also earned third overall with 86 points. Alec Basten was 10th in 24:51.2 to lead host Minnesota to a fourth-place finish with 137 points.

Although Iowa State’s Cailie Logue and Michigan State’s Jenna Magness both relied on strong finishes to take the top two spots in the Jack Johnson Division 1 women’s 6-kilometer gold race, it was Minnesota leading from wire to wire to capture its first Roy Griak team title since 2018 and sixth overall with 51 points.

Logue moved from 13th and Magness elevated from 16th at the midway point, with the three-time Big 12 champion earning the victory for Iowa State in 20:57.9, helping the Cyclones place second overall with 81 points. Magness was runner-up in 20:59.6, leading the Spartans to a fifth-place effort with 101 points.

Bethany Hasz, the 2018 individual winner, was fourth in 21:02.2, with teammate Abby Kohut-Jackson finishing fifth in 21:04.4. Megan Hasz placed ninth in 21:10.2, followed by teammate Anastasia Korzenowski (21:11.7) in 10th for the Gophers, who also had Jaycie Thomsen (21:50.5) take 23rd overall.

Sydney Seymour captured third in 21:02.1, leading Tennessee to a 100-point effort. The Volunteers tied Liberty, but prevailed on the head-to-head tiebreaker, as Katie Thronson supported Seymour with an 11th-place finish in 21:13.

Adelyn Ackley and Calli Doan were both timed in 21:04.5 for Liberty to secure sixth and seventh, with Georgia Tech’s Nicole Fegans earning eighth in 21:09.1.

Ali Weimer, a senior at St. Michael-Albertville and Minnesota commit, overcame a six-second deficit at the 3-kilometer split to prevail in 17:48.5 in the Gary Wilson girls gold 5-kilometer race.

Ava Parekh (17:58.4), a Stanford-bound senior from Latin School of Chicago, led through the 4-kilometer mark, before Weimer relied on a strong surge over the final hill to gain the advantage and never relinquish control.

Olathe West of Kansas captured the team title with 172 points, with four athletes in the top 35 separated by 12 seconds – including Bree Newport (19:32.6) and Kate Miller (19:32.9) placing 24th and 25th – and their fifth scorer, Elizabeth Browning, finishing 67th in 20:18.3 to edge Middleton High of Wisconsin, which had 178 points and was led by a third-place effort from Lauren Pansegrau in 18:08.3.

St. Paul Highland Park of Minnesota took third with 185 points, led by Molly Moening placing 10th in 18:53.1, holding off a late surge from fourth-place Naperville North of Illinois at 193 points.

Anjali Hocker Singh of Olathe North added to the success of Kansas competitors by finishing fourth in 18:20.2, with teammate Kaylee Tobaben taking ninth in 18:50.2.

Ali Bainbridge of Sioux Falls Lincoln was the top South Dakota athlete in fifth in 18:36.9, with Iowa grabbing the next three spots, as Addison Dorenkamp of West Des Moines Valley (18:42.5) was sixth, Ashlyn Keeney of Iowa City Liberty (18:46.9) secured seventh and Olivia Verde of Johnston (18:48) of Johnston earned eighth.

Sioux City North added to the impressive Iowa performances by capturing the team title in the Larry Zirgibel boys gold 5-kilometer race with 158 points, becoming the first program from the state to triumph since 2015. The last Iowa winner at Roy Griak was Dowling Catholic, which placed runner-up Friday with 165 points, followed by Wayzata of Minnesota with 232 points and Siegel of Tennessee with 281 points.

Sophomore Sam Scott became the first individual winner from Minneapolis Southwest since 2002, clocking 15:49.3 to hold off Micah Blomker of Shawnee Mission North from Kansas in 15:56.

Nick Gilles of Minnetonka High in Minnesota took third in 16:07.9, with Will Lohr leading Sioux City North by producing a fourth-place finish in 16:12.6.

Lohr received strong support from Natnael Kifle (16:21.5) earning eighth and Gabe Nash (16:34.8) placing 17th, with two other scorers both finishing in the top 80.

Dowling Catholic was led by Jackson Heidesch placing 14th in 16:32.2 and all five scorers in the top 60.

Griffin Ward was the top Wisconsin competitor with a fifth-place effort in 16:15.9, with Minnesota athletes rounding out the top 10. Daniel Vanacker of Forest Lake (16:17.2) was sixth, Alden Keller of Breck School (16:20.5) secured seventh, Finn McCormick of Nova Classical Academy (16:28.2) took ninth and Jakob McCleary of Perham (16:29.1) placed 10th.

Charlie Power-Theisen of St. Paul Como Park in Minnesota won the Lefty Wright boys maroon 5-kilometer race in 16:31.6, with Joseph Sullivan of Medford Area High in Wisconsin clocking 16:33.

Bismarck High of North Dakota, led by Brady Korsmo finishing third in 16:53.6, won the team title with 85 points.

Isabella Jacobsen of Menomonie High in Wisconsin prevailed in the girls 5-kilometer maroon race in 18:42.4, with Olivia Goebel of Albany High in Minnesota placing runner-up in 18:45.

Mounds View High in Minnesota, led by a 10th-place finish from Taylor Isabel in 19:47.8, secured the team title with 125 points.

Winona State freshman Lindsay Cunningham produced a dominant performance in the Suzy Wilson Division 2 and 3 women’s 6-kilometer maroon race, clocking 21:44.9, with Mackenzie Hall of Minnesota-Duluth leading her team to a second-place finish in 22:25.1.

University of Mary, from North Dakota, edged Minnesota-Duluth by a 64-69 margin, relying on third- and fourth-place finishes from Alyssa Becker (22:34.9) and Taylor Hestekin (22:40.6).

Clayton Sayen of Michigan triumphed in the Jo Rider Division 2 and 3 men’s 8-kilometer maroon race in 25:17.7, with Ransom Allen (25:22.5) and Zac Truman (25:41.3) placing second and third to lead Wayne State to the team title with a 68-72 victory over Western Washington.