When the ISU women’s cross-country season started back in August, many never thought that it would be where it is now.

Even the team didn’t expect to do as well as it has.

“We thought that we could get here at the beginning, but we definitely expected it to be much harder than it was,” said ISU coach Andrea Grove-McDonough. “It’s been a much smoother ride than we expected.”

After winning the Midwest Regional meet last weekend, the team earned an automatic bid to the national meet for the fourth year in a row. They will be competing in the NCAA Championships on Saturday, Nov. 23, in Terre Haute, Ind.

Sophomore Crystal Nelson — who won the regional meet by beating the next closest runner by eight seconds — led the team to their fourth consecutive Midwest Regional title. Nelson was also named the Midwest Regional Runner of the Year.

“I had no idea that there was such an award, to be honest,” Nelson said. “But it really does mean a lot. It just goes to show that all the hard work I’ve been putting in this year has paid off. It’s pretty reassuring.”

Grove-McDonough, who is in her first season at Iowa State, was named the Midwest Regional Coach of the Year as well. She came into the season joining a team who had just lost two All-Americans in Betsy Saina and Meaghan Nelson.

Expectations were not very high for the Cyclones, as many did not know who would fill in for Saina and Nelson.

“If you would have asked us at the beginning of the year if we would have thought we would be in the position we’re in now, we wouldn’t be honest if we answered yes,” Grove-McDonough said. “But you know, it’s happened and here we are. We’re ranked No. 7 because we deserve to be. These girls have worked so hard this year and fought through so much. They deserve it.”

The Cyclones started out ranked No. 26 and have climbed throughout the season to their current No. 7 ranking.

But they are not the only Cyclones headed to the national meet as ISU men’s runner Mohamed Hrezi finished fourth at the regional last weekend, earning an individual bid to the tournament.

The men’s team, however, just missed a trip to the meet after finishing third at regionals.

And while some maybe have high expectations for the women, who are coming off three Big 12 Championships and a Midwest Regional victory, senior captain Samantha Bluske is just hoping for one thing at the end of the race on Saturday.

“I’m expecting that each girl runs to their full capability on that day, whatever that means,” Bluske said. “We’ve focused on not putting a number on the day, just because we could all race the best race of the season, and it could still not be enough. So we just want to make sure that each one of us does what we need to do to be successful on the day.”