Roseville’s Robert Mechura wins 38th annual Roy Griak Invitational

Roseville senior cross-country standout Robert Mechura calls his approach to success “playing the long game.”

It worked to perfection on Friday.

Mechura won the 38th annual Roy Griak Invitational at the Les Bolstad Golf Course near the University of Minnesota’s St. Paul campus.

His winning time of 15 minutes and 35 seconds put him ahead of Minnetonka’s Sean Fries by 17.4 seconds in the boys championship division race.

“I was nervous because there were a lot of good runners out here,” said Mechura, who won last November’s Class 3A meet on the same 5,000-meter course. “It’s probably the most competitive race I’ll run until state. But I was also confident because I was the top Minnesota runner here last year, and I had a good summer.”

At the state track and field meet in June at St. Michael-Albertville, Mechura also swept the 3A 1,600- and 3,200-meter races. He spent the offseason working smarter, not harder. Just because he could run for days doesn’t mean he found it wise.

“It’s better to do too little than a little too much,” he said. “Last year, I think I went a little too hard on my summer workouts. I was a little smarter about not going so hard.”

On Friday, Mechura was 6.5 seconds off the lead pace at the one-mile mark and the gap increased to 8.1 seconds at the 3,000-meter mark. He wasn’t fazed.

Mechura used the final 2,000 meters to reel Fries in and cross the finish line first.

“I had to start farther back and work my way up,” Mechura said. “That was my strategy.”

Perham senior Bjorn Anderson, who finished second in the Class 2A state meet in November, placed fourth.

Wayzata junior Maddie Gullickson took fourth in the girls 5,000-meter championship division, one spot ahead of Forest Lake senior Norah Hushagen, the defending Class 3A individual champion. Wayzata, which won its second consecutive 3A state meet last fall, grabbed second.

Freshman Erik Semling (Cotter/Hope Lutheran) finished first among Minnesotans and third overall in the regional meet. Junior Lev Dougherty (Heritage Christian) placed sixth overall and second among Minnesotans. Mounds Park Academy senior Eddie Snider, Minnesota’s Class 1A champion in November, grabbed eighth.

Hibbing senior Tara Hertling finished first among Minnesotans and second overall, with Hillsboro/Central Valley seventh-grader Claire Grinde placing third overall and second among Minnesotans. Senior Sonja Semling of Cotter/Hope Lutheran capped the top three in-state finishers.

Sartell senior Andrew Berndt won the race in a time of 17:07.9. Coon Rapids senior Lachlan Demmer placed second and Osseo senior Quinlan Rundquist clocked in at fourth.

Minnesotans swept the top three spots: Monticello junior Isabel Mahoney (first), Rogers sophomore Cara Back (second) and Chisago Lakes ninth grader Annika Hall (third).