Minnesota senior Ben Blankenship finished 10th in a talented and deep field at the Griak Invitational last weekend to earn this week’s Big Ten Conference Runner of the Week award. Blankenship covered the 6-kilometer Les Bolstad course in a time of 24 minutes, 31.1 seconds to finish as the Golden Gophers’ number-one runner. Minnesota placed fifth in the 22-team field.

This is the first Big Ten cross country award for Blankenship, a Stillwater, Minn., native.