“If you can’t handle the heat, then you might want to stay off the cross country course” could have been the motto for the Roy Griak Invitational on Saturday in Minneapolis, Minn.

Unusually high temperatures seemed to be a storyline in the event at the University of Minnesota, where 185 collegiate schools competed in a squelching hot race. The runners not only had the heat to compete against, but also the hilly terrain of the course.

Grand Valley State University coach Jerry Baltes said the conditions took a toll. For the No. 2 GVSU men, the heat led to much different results than the previous meet at Michigan State University.

“We had three guys collapse from heat issues,” Baltes said. “Two of them were in our top five our first meet and our second and third runners today were our 10th and 11th our first meet of the year.”

Senior Alan Peterson led the way for GVSU with a 54th-place finish. He was followed by a pair of young runners who stepped up and performed well despite the conditions.

Redshirt sophomore Torben Hoffmeyer crossed the line 65th while redshirt freshman Wuoi Mach finished in 69th place. Juniors Chad Cini (70th) and Kyle Flores (75th) rounded out the top five.

Flores said that even though it was hot out, he felt as though he competed much better than he did at Michigan State. He said the first race was a chance to get in the mindset of racing, and this one was much more natural. He also said he wished the team had placed a little higher, but with the heat and a talented field full of NCAA Division I schools, it was still a solid performance overall.

The No. 1 GVSU women also took 10th place overall in Saturday’s meet.

Sophomore Kendra Foley crossed the line first for the women’s team. She ran a 21:57:7 in the 6K, which landed her the 23rd spot. The next Lakers to cross the finish line were senior Hannah Osborn (45th), junior Jessica Janecke (55th) and junior Jordan Chester (66th).

Even though the weather was a lot warmer than it will be when it comes time for nationals in December, the race still gave the cross country teams a chance to compete against quality teams.

“It gives us the mentality of a high competition race that you will see at nationals,” Flores said. “Even though there is still a lot of training and meets between then and now, it’s just one step closer to competing for a national title.”

The Lakers will take to the course again Friday afternoon at the Lansing Invitational hosted by Lansing Community College.