Cyclones to compete in Stanford Invitational
Redshirt senior Betsy Saina takes first place in 5,000-meter at the Iowa State Classic at the Lied Recreation Athletic Center on Feb. 9. Saina shattered the previous record of 15:29 with a time of 15:21.66, finishing almost four seconds in front of the second-place runner.
March 29, 2013
The ISU track and field teams started the season by sending athletes to compete in multiple events and will continue to do so with the Stanford Invitational this weekend.
“Training has been going pretty well; we haven’t gotten nice weather or been outside yet and that’s unfortunate,” said ISU coach Corey Ihmels. “We’ve been practicing in the Lied Rec Center, where it’s 70 [degrees] and no wind and the first meet where it is hotter than normal we might struggle a little bit, but we will get used to that throughout the season.”
The No. 25-ranked men’s team will be sending distance runners Jacob Aune, Alex Dillenbeck, Edward Kemboi and Falko Zauber to compete in the 1,500-meter run.
Mohamed Hrezi, Rico Loy and Edwin Serem will be competing in the 5,000-meter run and sprinter Troy Walls will be competing in the 110-meter hurdles.
On the women’s side, Ejiro Okoro will compete in the 1,500-meter run.
Maggie Gannon, Crystal Nelson, Meaghan Nelson and Betsy Saina will be competing in the 5,000-meter run.
Samantha Bluske and Katy Moen are set to compete in the 10,000-meter run.
“I like the outdoors better because of the 10,000-meter run. It’s something I love doing and is my favorite race,” Saina said. “When I ran the 5,000-meter run, it helped me, but now I have to run two of those in one race.”
Sprinters Jordon Andreassen and Kelly McCoy will compete in the 100-meter hurdles.
“The sprinters who went to Arizona got a chance to get outside for a few days and the rest of the group will get their chance this week,” Ihmels said. “The conditions will be perfect for the Stanford Invitational and the meet is probably one of the better meets in the country all year long for the distance events.”
Saina ended her indoor season as the runner-up in the 5,000-meter run and finished fourth in the 3,000-meter run during the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships.
“It was disappointing the way I ended my indoor season, and the outdoor season gives me a way to get out of that disappointment by giving me the chance to race again,” Saina said.
Another group of athletes are competing at the Texas Relays in Austin, Texas.
The Stanford Invitational will be held on March 29-30, 2013 in Palo Alto, Calif.
