NCAA Championships Monday

AMES, Iowa ? Iowa State's cross country runners head to Terre Haute, Ind. for Monday's NCAA Cross Country Championship with different missions, but the same focus on success. Iowa State men's runners are competing as a team in the national championship for the first time since 1997. The Cyclone women's duo of Lisa Koll and Grace Kemmey will compete individually. The 10,000-meter men's race on the LaVern Gibson Championship Course starts at 11:05 am CST. The 6,000-meter women's race is at 11:55 a.m. The races will be telecast nationally on CSTV.

Junior Kiel Uhl led the Iowa State men to a third-place finish at the NCAA Midwest Regional Nov. 10 that earned the team an at-large invitation to the NCAA Division I meet. The Des Moines native finished third in a field of 155 runners at the region meet. This will be Uhl's third NCAA Cross Country Championships appearance. Uhl was an individual qualifier the previous two seasons, placing 67^th in 2005 and 125^th last fall.

“It has been a long time since we've been there as a team,” Iowa State head coach Corey Ihmels said. “I'm feeling better about our team than I did four weeks ago. We are healthier and I think in a better frame of mind. Kiel is our leader but there are several other guys who are making important contributions. This was our goal at the start.”

For the second straight year, junior Kevin Born was the second finishing Cyclone runner at the regional, finishing 18th in 2007 and 21st overall in 2006. Born ran well at the NCAA Pre-Meet, held on the national championship course Oct. 13, placing 77^th in a field of 261 runners.

“(The regional) was a big performance by Kevin,” Ihmels said. “He did it for the second straight year, demonstrating consistency. He likes the NCAA course so I am confident he can run well. We have been getting the same type of consistency from Jayden Russ.”

Russ, a senior, had a strong regional performance, placing 29^th as the team's fourth finisher. The Iowa State finishers at the regional included sophomore Guor Majak (28^th) and freshman Hilary Bor (32^nd). Juniors Richard Newton, Johnny Reel and Brandon Rooney will also make the trip to Terre Haute.

As the Iowa State men count on each other to run a team race Monday, Ihmels says his two women competitors will support each other in a similar fashion. Koll, a junior from Fort Dodge, who earned All-America honors last season at the NCAA Championship with a 36^th-place finish individually, led the ISU women with a fourth-place individual finish in a field of 178 competitors at the Midwest Regional Nov. 10. Kemmey, a junior, finished seventh in the same race. Ihmels said that both should be together at the national championship.

“I don't think Lisa and Grace will miss a beat,” Ihmels said. “They have pushed each other all season and been great training partners. They will have each other so they don't have to face the challenge of running all alone.”

Monday's NCAA meet caps a great season for the Iowa State cross country programs. The Cyclone men finished fourth at the Big 12 Championships, their best finish since 1997. The women were seventh at the conference meet and again at the regional.

The Iowa State teams depart Ames Friday hoping to continue a season of success.

Players Mentioned

Lisa Koll

Lisa Koll

Richard Newton

Richard Newton

Johnny Reel

Johnny Reel

Brandon Rooney

Brandon Rooney

Jayden Russ

Jayden Russ

Kiel Uhl

Kiel Uhl

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