Cyclone Men and Women Third at Midwest Regional

Saturday, November 14

Springfield, Mo.

11:00 AM

Iowa State

NCAA Regional

Cyclone Men and Women Third at Midwest Regional

11.14.2009 | Cross Country

By: cyclones.com

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. ? The Iowa State cross country men's and women's teams finished third, respectively, at the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships in Springfield, Mo. Six-time All-American Lisa Koll led the women with a third-place finish on the 6,000-meter course, while All-American's Hillary Bor and Guor Marial finished fifth and sixth, respectively.

The pair of third-place finishes give both teams a solid shot at earning at-large bids for the NCAA Championship Nov. 23 in Terre Haute, Ind. The bids will be extended Sunday evening.

"We talked with the women before the race that we were going to come out and run hard," Iowa State head coach Corey Ihmels said. "We have not run our best race this season and I hope we will be ready to do that in 10 days time. Everyone ran to their potential."

The performance was magnified because Cyclone Betsy Sainia, one of Iowa State's top runners, did not finish the race. Cyclone Semehar Tesfaye competed hard after a tough Big 12 meet and picked up the slack.

"It was hot today and Betsy struggled with it," Ihmels said. "We were fortunate that everyone else came through today."

Koll's third-place finish (20:19) earned her USTFCCCA All-Region honors. Freshman Aliphine Tuliamuk finished 10th (21:04) and senior Grace Kemmey finished 16th (21:16), earning USTFCCCA All-Region honors. Sophomores Meaghan Nelson and Semehar Tesfaye finished 37th and 48th, respectively, to round out the top five finishers.

Bor and Marial both earned USTFCCCA All-Region honors with their top-25 finishes. Sophomore Yonas Mebrahtu finished 30th (31:50), while senior Jory Zunich finished 32nd (31:52). Sophomore Joel Limo rounded out the top five with a 42nd-place finish (32:15).

"The men ran with passion today," Ihmels. "The men did exactly what they needed to do. Joel Limo did a great job and ran better than at conference. Hillary and Guor did what they had to do. "Yonas Mebrahtu had not been feeling well and fought through it today. Jory Zunich did a great job, a steady workman-like effort."

USTFCCCA Athlete of the Year and Coach of the Year awards will be announced on Thursday (women) and Friday (men).

Men's Individual Results: 1. Hassan Mead, Minnesota, 30:21; 5. Hillary Bor, IOWA STATE, 30:55; 6. Guor Marial, IOWA STATE, 30:56; 30. Yonas Mebrahtu, IOWA STATE, 31:50; 32. Jory Zunich, IOWA STATE, 31:52; 42. Joel Limo, IOWA STATE, 32:15; 68. Brandon Rooney, IOWA STATE, 33:05; 100. Ben Murphy-Baum, 34:00.

Men's Team Results: 1. Oklahoma State, 50; 2. Oklahoma, 71; 3. Iowa State, 109; 4. Minnesota, 125; 5. Southern Illinois, 160; 6. Iowa, 170; 7. Tulsa, 174; 8. Nebraska, 248; 9. Kansas, 252; 10. Illinois, 278.

Women's Individual Results: 1. Angela Bizzarri, Illinois, 20:07; 3. Lisa Koll, IOWA STATE, 20:19; 10. Aliphine Tuliamuk, IOWA STATE, 21:04; 16. Grace Kemmey, IOWA STATE, 21:16; 37. Meaghan Nelson, IOWA STATE, 21:53; 48. Semehar Tesfaye, IOWA STATE, 22:05; 50. Paige Ties, IOWA STATE, 22:07.

Women's Team Results: 1. Minnesota, 60; 2. Illinois, 86; 3. IOWA STATE, 106; 4. Nebraska, 147; 5. Iowa, 160; 6. Wichita State, 200; 7. Missouri, 202; 8. Tulsa, 220; 9. Kansas State, 222; 10. Kansas, 247.