Men's Cross Country Year In Review

AMES, Iowa – The 2020 cross country season was like none other in NCAA history. Despite all of the new protocols, an unprecedented two-semester season and other hurdles, one thing remained consistent, and that was the Iowa State men's cross country team excelling on the course and in the classroom.

Welcome to Wesley Kiptoo
The emergence of junior-college transfer Wesley Kiptoo was the cornerstone of the Iowa State men's program success in 2020-21. He punctuated his rookie season at Iowa State with a third-place finish at the NCAA Championships with a time of 29:54.9, cementing himself as one of the top-distance runners in the country.

Prior to the national finals, Kiptoo won all three regular-season races that the Cyclones competed in, as well as the men's Big 12 individual crown. At the Big 12 Championship, Kiptoo finished 14 second clear of the field, finishing with an 8k time of 22:35.4.

Kiptoo's cross country trophy case is already pretty cluttered. He was named the Big 12 Men's Runner and Newcomer of the Year, while earning Big 12 Runner of the Week following his wins at the Bob Timmons Classic and Cowboy Jamboree. He was also named the USTFCCCA Male National Athlete of the Week following the Cowboy Jamboree. Most recently, Kiptoo was named the recipient of the Bill Bergan Award, which is given annually by the USTFCCCA to the best male cross country runner in the Midwest Region.

Consistency on the National Stage
As a team, Iowa State made its fifth-consecutive trip to the NCAA Championships, which is the second-longest run in program history. At the NCAA Championships, the Cyclones earned an eighth-place finish as a team, which is their fourth top-10 showing at the national finals in-a-row.

The Cardinal and Gold were paced by Kiptoo in Stillwater, as he went on to become Iowa State's 41^st All-American in program history.

Seniors Mitchell Day, Festus Lagat and Thomas Pollard all turned in top-100 performances individually to push the Cyclones into the top-10. Day finished just outside of All-America contention, finishing 41^st individually. Lagat finished 53^rd, followed by Pollard in 91^st.

Big 12 Superlatives
The 2020 Big 12 Cross Country Championship was the tightest race in conference history, as Iowa State tied with Oklahoma State at 31 team points. After the tiebreaker was applied, the Cowboys edged the Cyclones for the Big 12 title.

It was a historic day on many fronts for the Iowa State men's cross country team. Kiptoo dusted the field in Lawrence, Kan., finishing as the Big 12 Champ in 22:35.4, 14 seconds better than the runner-up finisher.

As a team, Iowa State had seven All-Big 12 performers. It was the second year in-a-row that the Cyclones put seven runners on the Big 12 medal stand. ISU is the only program in Big 12 history to achieve this feat twice, and it's just the fourth time in conference history that a team has had seven runners finish in the top-15 individually (Colorado - 1999, Oklahoma State - 2014, Iowa State – 2019, 2020).

Thomas Pollard (11^th place) and Milo Greder (12^th place) both earned All-Big 12 honors for the fourth time of their careers, becoming the only Cyclone cross country runners in school history to earn All-Conference honors in four seasons.

Festus Lagat (3^rd), Chad Johnson (7^th), Mitchell Day (9^th) and Gable Sieperda (14^th) made up the rest of the Iowa State medalists at the Big 12 Championship.

Regular Season Recognition
Iowa State competed at the Bob Timmons Classic, Cowboy Jamboree and FSU Winter XC Classic in an unorthodox regular season. In the fall, the Cyclones won the Bob Timmons Classic and finished runner-up at the Cowboy Jamboree.

With the NCAA Championships being moved to the spring, the Cyclones got a chance to race at the FSU Winter XC Classic in February, an event that featured one of the deepest fields in the nation. Led by individual champion Kiptoo, Iowa State finished second in Tallahassee.

Between the three regular season events, the Cyclones put up 11 top-10 finishes individually, while Kiptoo cruised to first place in all three races.

On the Course, and in the Classroom
In addition to postseason success, excellence in the classroom has been a staple for the Iowa State cross country program.

Mitchell Day, Milo Greder, Festus Lagat, Jeffery Pedersen, Thomas Pollard, Jared Schuckman and Gable Sieperda all earned First-Team Academic All-Big 12 recognition for their work in the classroom.

Pollard is now a five-time Academic All-Big 12 honoree, and was one of just five Big 12 men's runners who earned a 4.0 GPA. Greder is a four-time First Team Academic All-Big 12 member.

In addition to their conference recognition, Day, Greder, Lagat and Pollard all earned the USTFCCCA Individual All-Academic honors. Greder is a four-time All-Academic honoree, while Pollard made the list for the third time of his career.

As a team, Iowa State also earned the distinction of being named an USTFCCCA All-Academic Team.

2020-21 Race Results
Bob Timmons Classic – 1^st place
1. Wesley Kiptoo, 18:06.0
2. Festus Lagat, 18:19.6
3. Milo Greder, 18:22.0
6. Thomas Pollard, 18:33.2
9. Nehemia Too, 18:46.3
22. Jeffery Pedersen, 19:36.3
23. Jared Schuckman, 19:37.1

Cowboy Jamboree – 2^nd place
1. Wesley Kiptoo, 23:34.5
4. Festus Lagat, 24:10.6
8. Chad Johnson, 24:21.1
9. Milo Greder, 24:29.2
10. Thomas Pollard, 25:29.6
12. Gable Sieperda, 24:45.7
30. Matthew Meinke, 25:26.8
38. Jeffery Pedersen, 25:40.7
73. Jared Schuckman, 26:28.2
119. Nehemia Too, 28:46.8

Big 12 Championship – 2^nd place
1. Wesley Kiptoo, 22:35.4
3. Festus Lagat, 23:26.1
7. Chad Johnson, 23:31.7
9. Mitchell Day, 23:33.5
11. Thomas Pollard, 23:42.1
12. Milo Greder, 23:45.4
14. Gable Sieperda, 23:47.5
39. Jeffery Pedersen, 25:07.3
62. Jared Schuckman, 26:29.4

FSU Winter Classic – 2^nd place
1. Wesley Kiptoo, 22:48.8
14. Thomas Pollard, 23:52.2
17. Mitchell Day, 23:56.2
32. Festus Lagat, 24:14.4
38. Milo Greder, 24:17.9
41. Chad Johnson, 24:21.3
89. Gable Sieperda, 25:09.1

OSU Winter Open – No team score
9. Mitchell Day, 24:32.6
10. Thomas Pollard, 24:45.2
13. Chad Johnson, 25:12.9
14. Milo Greder, 25:13.3

NCAA Championships – 8^th place
3. Wesley Kiptoo, 29:54.9
41. Mitchell Day, 30:46.7
53. Festus Lagat, 31:02.6
91. Thomas Pollard, 31:26.0
122. Chad Johnson, 31:50.5
130. Ezekiel Rop, 31:57.0
146. Milo Greder, 32:09.2

Players Mentioned

Mitchell Day

Milo Greder

Chad Johnson

Wesley Kiptoo

Festus Lagat

Matthew Meinke

Jeffery Pedersen

Thomas Pollard

Ezekiel Rop

Jared Schuckman

Gable Sieperda

Nehemia Too

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics