ISU women win, men take 16th at Wisconsin Adidas Invitational

Cross-country+runners+head+towards+the+finish+line%2C+Sept.+15%2C+2012%2C+at+the+Iowa+Intercollegiate+cross-country+meet+in+Ames.+The+womens+team+placed+first+overall.+The+men+saw+one+of+its+runners+place+first+but+ultimately+fell+to+second+place+in+overall+score.%0A

Cross-country runners head towards the finish line, Sept. 15, 2012, at the Iowa Intercollegiate cross-country meet in Ames. The women’s team placed first overall. The men saw one of its runners place first but ultimately fell to second place in overall score.

Emily Hejlik

The ISU women’s cross-country squad continued its successful season with a runaway team title on Friday, Oct. 12, at the Wisconsin Adidas Invitational on the Thomas Zimmer Cross-Country Course in Madison, Wis.

Betsy Saina and Meaghan Nelson led the team with second- and fourth-place finishes and were paced by a field of 323 runners from 48 teams. The women won the 6,000-meter race with 106 total points.

The Cyclone women were ranked fifth nationally coming into the meet and outperformed No. 7 Stanford, No. 2 Arizona, No. 3 Washington, No. 9 Cornell and No. 10 Michigan State.

On the men’s side, the Cyclones finished 16th in a field of 45 teams and 316 runners. Stanford won the 8,000-meter course.

Sophomore Alex Dillenbeck led the men, coming in 41st, followed by junior Mohamed Hrezi, who placed 50th. Nine runners for Iowa State ran times less than 25 minutes.

The Cyclone men, who were not ranked in the top 30 heading into Friday’s meet, finished just ahead of No. 1-ranked host Wisconsin, No. 24 Georgia, No. 16 Minnesota, No. 13 Notre Dame, No. 29 Virginia and No. 30 Missouri.

Both sides return to action Saturday, Oct. 27, when they travel to Austin, Texas, for the Big 12 Championships.