ISU Men, Koll, Kemmey in NCAA Meet

INDIANAPOLIS -- Iowa State men's cross country team earned an NCAA Championship berth and Cyclone women's runners Lisa Koll and Grace Kemmey earned individual spots in the national championship field, the NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Track and Field Committee announced Sunday.

"Obviously, this is really exciting," said Iowa State head coach Corey Ihmels. "All summer and fall our men's team's goal was to make it to the NCAA meet and then do something once we are there. Lisa and Grace earned their way into the meet. Lisa is already an All-American and will go after those honors again. Grace is very capable of being in there as well."

In order to be eligible to participate in the championships, teams and individuals must qualify in their respective NCAA regions.

Thirty-one teams were selected to participate in each championship. The top two, seven-person teams automatically qualified from each of the nine regions, for a total of 18 teams. Thirteen additional teams were selected at-large.

Led by the third-place individual finish of former Des Moines-Roosevelt prep Kiel Uhl, the Iowa State men finished third in the Midwest Regional Saturday in Peoria, Ill.

Thirty-eight individuals, the first four athletes from each region who are not a part of a qualifying team and two additional qualifiers, were selected to participate in each championship. All individual qualifiers must finish in the top 25 in their region.

Koll, a Fort Dodge native, and Kemmey placed fourth and seventh, respectively, in the Midwest Regional race Saturday. The Iowa State women were seventh overall as a team.

Indiana State University will host the 2007 NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships, November 19, at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course located at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center, Terre Haute, Indiana. The men's race will begin at 11 a.m. CST time followed by the women's race at 11:55 a.m. Both championship races will be broadcast live on CSTV.

Players Mentioned

Lisa Koll

Lisa Koll

Kiel Uhl

Kiel Uhl

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics