Completed Event: Track and Field at Bryan Clay Invite on April 16, 2026 ,
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Track and Field
Bryan Clay Invite
Iowa State University Athletics
Kennedy Happy To Be At Iowa State
05.23.2011 | Track and Field
AMES, Iowa - As the collegiate outdoor track season nears its climax in 2011, the competition accelerates. Events begin to weed out runners, jumpers and throwers as competitors produce some of their personal best times, heights, and distances to qualify them for the NCAA Championship.
After finishing sixth at the Big 12 Conference meet in Norman, Okla. May 13-15, the Iowa State women's track team will send 10 athletes to Eugene, Ore. for NCAA West Regional meet. One of the Cyclone athletes is senior distance runner Lucy Kennedy.
Born in Brisbane, Australia, Kennedy first joined the Cyclone cross country team last fall. Former Cyclone track athlete and fellow Brisbane native, Jayden Russ, put Iowa State head coach Corey Ihmels in contact with Kennedy. Two months before coming over to the United States, Kennedy received an e-mail from Ihmels expressing interest in her joining the Cyclone team.
"There was a lot of going back and forth," Kennedy said. "It was a really hard decision for me to drop everything I was doing at home. I had little idea of what I was getting into. In the end, I'm glad I did."
Once Kennedy decided to join the team, complications determining her eligibility ensued. It wasn't until one week before she boarded the plane to cross the Pacific Ocean that all the terms and conditions of her eligibility had been approved. Kennedy described the process as "really, really complicated."
Despite playing tennis much of her childhood, Kennedy lost the drive to continue swinging the racket and turned to running.
"I think the general fitness (of tennis) carried over to track," Kennedy said. "Otherwise, it would be hard at the age of 15 to start running."
In the upcoming NCAA West Regional, Kennedy will be running in the 5,000 meters, with a qualifying time of 16:16.49, ranking 22nd among her West Regional competitors. She also qualified for the 1,500 meters but after discussing it with Ihmels, they came to a consensus on the 5K, running along-side fellow Cyclone Betsy Saina.
"The 1500 meter run is a slower tactical race with a sprint finish," Kennedy said. "Although it's my favorite race, I'm not sure if I'm fast enough for it."
With that said, Kennedy ranks 12th at 1,500 meters among all West Regional qualifiers. She cruised to a time of 4:20.98, earning her a second-place finish at the Big 12 meet, May 16. The upcoming Regional 5,000 meter event will be of the highest magnitude race of her career. Kennedy says the level of competition in the United States is far greater than that in Australia.
"Everyone will be competitive," Kennedy said. "There are very few girls in Australia running. Here (in the U.S.) the competitors are in the thousands. All the times are really close together."
She's right. In the 5K, a race that spans just over three miles long, there is a 30-second difference between Kennedy and the leader. Kennedy hopes she can achieve a top 12 finish in Eugene, which would qualify her for the NCAA Championship June 8-11 in Des Moines. The West Regional meet begins this Thursday and lasts through Saturday.
Pending potential nationals qualifying, Kennedy will have one season of cross country eligibility left while her future for Cyclone track remains undecided. Her Iowa State experience has shown that she can run beyond the collegiate level.
"It has opened my eyes. I can make something of (running)," Kennedy said. "To run for my country would be the ultimate goal. Now I know it's not an impossible dream."
After finishing sixth at the Big 12 Conference meet in Norman, Okla. May 13-15, the Iowa State women's track team will send 10 athletes to Eugene, Ore. for NCAA West Regional meet. One of the Cyclone athletes is senior distance runner Lucy Kennedy.
Born in Brisbane, Australia, Kennedy first joined the Cyclone cross country team last fall. Former Cyclone track athlete and fellow Brisbane native, Jayden Russ, put Iowa State head coach Corey Ihmels in contact with Kennedy. Two months before coming over to the United States, Kennedy received an e-mail from Ihmels expressing interest in her joining the Cyclone team.
"There was a lot of going back and forth," Kennedy said. "It was a really hard decision for me to drop everything I was doing at home. I had little idea of what I was getting into. In the end, I'm glad I did."
Once Kennedy decided to join the team, complications determining her eligibility ensued. It wasn't until one week before she boarded the plane to cross the Pacific Ocean that all the terms and conditions of her eligibility had been approved. Kennedy described the process as "really, really complicated."
Despite playing tennis much of her childhood, Kennedy lost the drive to continue swinging the racket and turned to running.
"I think the general fitness (of tennis) carried over to track," Kennedy said. "Otherwise, it would be hard at the age of 15 to start running."
In the upcoming NCAA West Regional, Kennedy will be running in the 5,000 meters, with a qualifying time of 16:16.49, ranking 22nd among her West Regional competitors. She also qualified for the 1,500 meters but after discussing it with Ihmels, they came to a consensus on the 5K, running along-side fellow Cyclone Betsy Saina.
"The 1500 meter run is a slower tactical race with a sprint finish," Kennedy said. "Although it's my favorite race, I'm not sure if I'm fast enough for it."
With that said, Kennedy ranks 12th at 1,500 meters among all West Regional qualifiers. She cruised to a time of 4:20.98, earning her a second-place finish at the Big 12 meet, May 16. The upcoming Regional 5,000 meter event will be of the highest magnitude race of her career. Kennedy says the level of competition in the United States is far greater than that in Australia.
"Everyone will be competitive," Kennedy said. "There are very few girls in Australia running. Here (in the U.S.) the competitors are in the thousands. All the times are really close together."
She's right. In the 5K, a race that spans just over three miles long, there is a 30-second difference between Kennedy and the leader. Kennedy hopes she can achieve a top 12 finish in Eugene, which would qualify her for the NCAA Championship June 8-11 in Des Moines. The West Regional meet begins this Thursday and lasts through Saturday.
Pending potential nationals qualifying, Kennedy will have one season of cross country eligibility left while her future for Cyclone track remains undecided. Her Iowa State experience has shown that she can run beyond the collegiate level.
"It has opened my eyes. I can make something of (running)," Kennedy said. "To run for my country would be the ultimate goal. Now I know it's not an impossible dream."
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