From Valders to D1, Griepentrog signs letter of intent to Minnesota

VALDERS, Wis. (WBAY) - Valders senior Shane Griepentrog is running his talents to the neighbors to the west. He signed his letter of intent to run cross country and track at the University of Minnesota.

It means a lot knowing all the work, hours and miles, I put in pays off,” Griepentrog said. “To go and run somewhere else and take your abilities to a higher level.”

“He did what he needed to do to get to a Division 1 level. That’s where he wanted to be early on,” Shane’s dad, Dan Griepentrog, said. “High school wasn’t the end for him, he was gonna go to the next one. I’m super proud of him. It’s neat to be able to see him grow like that.”

Griepentrog helped lead the Vikings to two team cross country state titles in 2019 and 2021. He also won first place in the individual competition this fall.

A few months earlier at the state track meet, he won the 3200m racea nd came in second in the 1600m.

“I’m super proud. He was willing to go that extra mile, work extra hard in the races, learn as much as he can about racing,” Valders cross country coach, Bill Dietrich, said.”

Valders has a population of less than one thousand people. It’s a close knit community. So when someone has success, they all celebrate it.

“Yeah, definitely being in a smaller town, it means whole lot that the whole community is behind us,” Shane said. “They’ve just helped me want to go and run faster, want to go out there and show them who Valders is and represent them. It’s definitely another motivator that helps you run faster.”

Griepentrog will study nutritional science at Minnesota in hopes of becoming a sports dietitian.

Copyright 2022 WBAY. All rights reserved.