Men's Cross Country Season Review

AMES, Iowa - The Iowa State men's cross country 2016 campaign was the best in recent memory, as a talented but young Cyclone squad advanced to the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2009. Upon arrival at the NCAA meet in Terre Haute, Iowa State outperformed its ranking and raced to a 16th-place overall finish, tied for the program's best since 1997.

The Cyclones opened the season in dominant fashion at the Hawkeye Invitational, going an undefeated 8-0 in dual scoring at the meet. Led by a first-place finish from Toby Hardwick, Iowa State landed all five scorers in the meet's top-11, despite missing some of its top runners. The meet also established that senior Kevyn Hoyos, in his first season at Iowa State after transferring from Syracuse, would be a key factor going forward. Hoyos placed fourth with a time of 18:02.8 in Iowa City.

Despite the strong opening weekend, the real coming-out party for the Cyclone men took place at the Roy Griak Invitational. Running in a field that featured seven teams ranked in the top-30 nationally, Iowa State finished second while utilizing the pack running approach to great success. Iowa State's five scorers all finished within five seconds of each other, including freshmen Thomas Pollard and Andrew Jordan, who were making their collegiate debuts.

The Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational brought a new challenge for the Cyclones, as the field featured 19 nationally-ranked programs and was widely considered to be the strongest regular season meet in the county in 2016. Hoyos (21^st – 24:19.7) and Pollard (25^th – 24:23.4) guided the way as Iowa State ascended to an eighth-place finish overall, cementing a place for ISU in the national conversation.

The Cyclones opened the postseason with an outstanding showing at the Big 12 Championship. Iowa State finished second as a team, tying for their best finish at a conference meet in the Big 12 era. ISU's 49 points were also the lowest team score ever accrued by the Cyclones at a Big 12 Championship meet.

Pollard asserted himself as Iowa State's top runner, placing fourth in 25:39.8 in what was the best individual finish by a Cyclone at the Big 12 Championship since 1998. Josef Andrews (8^th – 25:45.8), Jordan (9^th – 25:51.1) and Hoyos (12^th – 25:56.0) joined Pollard as All-Big 12 honorees.

Following a fourth-place team finish at the NCAA Midwest Regional, in which Pollard, Hoyos and Andrews were named to the All-Region team, the Iowa State men would receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships. It was program's first time advancing to the NCAA meet since 2009.

The young Cyclone squad did not disappoint once they reached Terre Haute. With one of the youngest teams in the entire field, Iowa State placed 16^th overall, tying the program's best performance at the NCAA meet since 1997. With Pollard (Fr. – 45^th), Dan Curts (So. – 99^th), Andrews (So. – 136^th) and Jordan (Fr. – 148^th) all contributing to the scoring effort, Iowa State was the only team in the nation to finish in the top 20 with four underclassmen among their top five finishers.

Following the NCAA Championship, Pollard was named the Big 12 Men's Newcomer of the Year on a vote by the league's head coaches. Pollard recorded the third-best finish of any freshman in the entire NCAA Championship field, and was also the third Big 12 runner to cross the finish line. He is the first runner in program history to earn the honor.

Quick Hitters
• Iowa State closed out its 2016 cross country season with both its men's and women's squads running at the NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, Indiana. Iowa State was one of 14 schools in the country to have both its men's and women's teams advance to the NCAA meet.

*The Cyclone men finished 16th in Terre Haute, which ties for the program's best showing since 1997. It was the program's 23rd appearance in the NCAA Championship meet and the first since 2009.

*2016 marked the ninth time in school history, and just the second time since 1995, that the Iowa State men's and women's cross country teams both competed at the NCAA Championships. Both teams received at-large bids to the meet.

*Following the season, Iowa State redshirt freshman Thomas Pollard was named the Big 12 Men's Newcomer of the Year. He is the first Cyclone runner to win the award in the Big 12 era. Pollard was the third-highest finisher among all freshmen at the NCAA Championship, taking 45th place.

*Iowa State's top three men's finishers at the Big 12 Championship were either freshmen or sophomores. Freshman Thomas Pollard (4th), sophomore Josef Andrews (8th) and freshman Andrew Jordan (9th) were the only underclassmen in the entire field to place in the top 10.

*The Cyclone men and women combined to rack up eight All-Big 12 honors at the conference meet in Lubbock. It was the most combined all-conference honorees since the Big 12's inception.

*The Iowa State men scored just 49 points courtesy of a strong team effort at the Big 12 Championship. It was their best team score ever at a Big 12 Championship.

Players Mentioned

Josef Andrews

Dan Curts

Toby Hardwick

Kevyn Hoyos

Andrew Jordan

Thomas Pollard

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