FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn.-  Sophomore Liliani Mendez added to her already outstanding 2006 campaign with a ninth-place finish at the Roy Griak Invitational on Saturday. Competing against 288 athletes, Mendez’s time of 21:43 helped the Wildcats to a 20th-place team finish.

“Liliani had the best race she has had so far,” said head coach Michael Smith. “She was absolutely outstanding. It was an All-American performance.”

Mendez was the second Big 12 runner to cross the line behind Iowa State’s Lisa Koll, who finished seventh. Koll and Mendez shared Big 12 Runner of the Week honors for the week of September 9.

Behind Mendez, the duo of freshman Lindsay Pierson and junior Morgan Bonds finished 108th and 109th, respectively. The complete team effort for the women didn’t go unnoticed, as the Wildcats knocked off in-state rival Kansas, who finished 22nd.

“We showed that we could step up and be competitive,” said Smith. “I think we took some great strides to get ready for the Big 12 meet. We’ll look forward to seeing what we can do then.”

On the men’s side, sophomore Colin Swaney led the Wildcats with a 112th-place finish on the afternoon. The men’s team finished 30th overall in the field of 34.

The Wildcats will travel to Stillwater, Okla., next weekend to compete in the Oklahoma State Cowboy Jamboree.

Final Results

Men:                                                    

112. Colin Swaney                     26:22               

180. Kory Cool                          26:57               

213. Alex Umberger                   27:23               

215. Tyler Fennema                   27:25               

252. Danny Schneider                27:57               

274. Arnold Sirorei                     28:23

283. Curtiss Feltner                    28:37

Women:

9.    Liliani Mendez                     21:43

108. Lindsay Pierson                  23:27

109. Morgan Bonds                    23:29

178. Megan-Anne Perrin             24:20

263. Emily Dittemore                  25:53