Former Cyclones Finding Success On The Road

AMES, Iowa – While many were still asleep or slowly waking up on Sunday morning, many of Iowa State's graduated student-athletes were lighting up the road race scene. In Paris, Betsy Saina picked up the biggest win of her road racing career with a win in the Schneider Electric Marathon de Paris. While in Washington D.C., many former Cyclones dotted the leaderboard of the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile.

After finishing fifth in the 10,000 at the 2016 Olympics in Rio, Saina, a three-time NCAA Champion as a Cyclone, made the transition to longer distances and road races. While she has had success at the half-marathon distance, going under 1:10 on multiple occasions, the 26.2 mile marathon has been more of a challenge, as her debut season in 2017 saw her drop out of the Tokyo and New York City Marathons. After a strong performance at the New York City Half Marathon last month, Saina decided to make her third try at the marathon in the City of Lights.

Saina and the elite pack ran their race for well over the first 20 miles. With about three miles to go, Saina made her move, kicking her way into a lead that she would not relinquish. The 11-time All-American and nine-time Big 12 Champion while wearing Cardinal & Gold, Saina crossed the line first in 2:22.56, edging her Kenyan compatriot, Ruth Chepngetich by three seconds.

Betsy Saina ???? remporte le 42ème @parismarathon ! ??
Betsy Saina ???? grabs the victory of the 42nd @parismarathon ! ??#ParisMarathon pic.twitter.com/x59L4VPV2W
— Schneider Electric Marathon de Paris (@parismarathon) April 8, 2018

Back stateside and in our nation's capital, the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run has been a staple of the American road-racing scene for 45 years. Two former Cyclone men and two Cyclone women were among the top-25 in their respective divisions. On the men's side, Mohamed Hrezi led the way by finishing seventh in 46:58. A 2016 Olympian representing Libya, Hrezi is a member of the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project out of Michigan. Finishing 24th in 49:50 was Tyler Jermann, who runs for Team USA Minnesota.

In the women's division, the Cyclone contingent was led by Samantha Bluske's ninth place finish in 55:19. Bluske is an assistant coach at Toledo, and was a Big 12 Indoor champion at 5,000 during her Cyclone career. Less than a minute behind her in 11th in 56:04 was Katy Moen. A five-time All-American as a Cyclone, Moen led ISU to its NCAA Cross Country runner-up finish in 2014, and claimed two Big 12 Outdoor titles in 2015. Moen is a teammate of Jermann's with Team USA Minnesota.

It was an Iowa State reunion today at the @CUCB in DC. It was fun to race and catch up with old teammates and friends! pic.twitter.com/hlZhXZb2ka
— Samantha (@Samantha_Bluske) April 8, 2018

Iowa State University Athletics

Former Cyclones Finding Success On The Road

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