Darling, Poole finish top 10 at Roy Griak Invitational

Seniors Ryan Darling and Brittany Poole each raced to top 10 finishes for the Northwest Missouri State cross country teams Saturday morning at the 27th Annual Roy Griak Invitational.

Darling covered the men's course in a time of 25:53, his second best of 2012. The pace set by Darling also helped the Bearcat men to a seventh place team finish.

Nolan Zimmer continued a solid start to his freshman campaign with a personal best time of 26:13 and a 24th place finish. Sophomore Drew Keefer just missed a top 50 finish in the 430 runner field with a time of 26:59.

Jacob Henry ran fourth for the Bearcats, clocking a time of 27:12.

The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs captured first place in the men's division followed by Minnesota State-Mankato. New league member Nebraska-Kearney finished just ahead of Northwest in sixth place.

For the Northwest women, Poole returned after missing the Woody Greeno Invitational and left with an eighth place finish in 22:46.

Rounding out the top four scores for the Bearcat women were seniors Jordan Esry and Heidi Johnson along with junior Taylor Woodruff. Esry finished 52nd in the 400-plus runner field with a time of 24:03.

Woodruff was sandwiched between the two seniors with a mark of 24:24, while Johnson covered the course in 24:48.

As a team, the Bearcats finished 12th.