All-American performances by sophomore Hillary Bor and freshman Betsy

Saina closed out Iowa State’s appearance at the NCAA Outdoor

Championships in Fayetteville, Ark. this weekend.

Bor continued his success in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a

second-place finish and a career-best time of 8:35.12. Saina took

seventh in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 16:40.87.

“I was nervous because I had never run in a race like that,” Saina

said. “I was just happy to be running for Iowa State at nationals.”

Bor and Saina may give a good indication of the direction ISU track

and field is heading.

With a large percent of the team being underclassmen, assistant coach

Travis Hartke said more success is in the team’s immediate future.

“It’s exciting, being where we’re at,” Hartke said. “We can really

build a good team around one area, like distance.”

Hartke said the team’s success this year was “almost expected” due to

the large amount of young talent.

Saina said she believes that in a few years, Iowa State should be

among the top track teams in the country due to the coaching staff and

their training techniques.

“If we train well, everyone should be able to qualify for nationals,”

Saina said.

Bor and Saina’s efforts capped off a competition filled with mixed

results for the Cyclones.

Defending 10,000-meter champion Lisa Koll placed ninth in the event,

after leading the race for about 20 minutes. Koll lost her lead when a

recurring case of plantar fasciitis flared up. In the men’s

10,000-meter run, junior Kiel Uhl took 23rd with a time of 31:09.61.

Freshman Luke Pinkelman placed 19th in the shot put preliminaries,

keeping him out of the finals. However, Pinkelman’s total was the best

among freshmen in the event. Junior Jenna Caffrey failed to qualify

for the 100-meter hurdles finals, after finishing seventh in her heat

with a time of 13.97.