Men 3rd and Koll 4th, NCAA Bids Likely

Saturday, November 10

Peoria, Ill.

11:00 AM

Iowa State

NCAA Regional

Men 3rd and Koll 4th, NCAA Bids Likely

11.10.2007 | Cross Country

By: cyclones.com

AMES, Iowa- The Iowa State cross country squads had strong performances Saturday at the NCAA Midwest Regional in Peoria, Ill. The Cyclone men finished third in a 23-team field and will wait for a likely at-large berth in the NCAA Championships, Nov. 19 in Terre Haute, Ind. The ISU women placed seventh in a 25-team field and could boast two NCAA individual qualifiers.

The Cy-Hawk series in cross country is contested at the regional. Iowa State's men outdistanced their Iowa rivals as the Hawkeyes placed ninth as a team. The Iowa women scored a point in the series with their third-place finish.

Iowa State's men's team tallied 110 points. Oklahoma State won the men's team title with 47 points. Minnesota was second with 57 points. The third-place finish in the Region was the Cyclones' best team NCAA Regional effort since 1995, when Ihmels ran for an ISU team that placed second.

Saturday it was junior Kiel Uhl who led ISU, earning third place in a field of 155 runners. The four other Cyclones who scored all placed in the top 35 overall. Junior Kevin Born placed 18th, sophomore Guor Majak earned 28th, senior Jayden Russ secured 29th overall and newcomer Hillary Bor rounded out the Cyclone scoring in 32nd.

“It went very well for us today,” Ihmels said. “The men did a fantastic job, they came out and followed the plan, they were able to secure third and put themselves in a good position to make the national meet.”

The Cyclone women had a good day, placing seventh overall with 208 points. Juniors Lisa Koll and Grace Kemmey carried the women's squad with finishes of fourth and seventh, respectively in a field of 178 runners.

“Lisa and Grace did a great job,” Ihmels said. “They came out and competed hard. On the women's side we were able to bring home seventh, which was our goal going into the meet. Overall both teams did great; they went out and had fun. Today was a big step for our program.”

The Cyclones will find out Sunday at 6 p.m. whether the men's team and Kemmey will earn at-large bids as a team and individual, respectively.