In the second year under new director of track and field, Corey Ihmels, progress was evident in both the cross country and the track and field programs at Iowa State.

The men’s squad finished third in the Big 12 Championships — its highest finish in the last decade — and finished 17th overall at the NCAA Championships — its best since 1997. Sophomore Guor Marial was named an All-American after his 31st-place finish at the NCAA competition.

The women struggled to a ninth place finish in the Big 12 and failed to qualify for the NCAA Championship. The Cyclone women had four different top finishers in their six competitions, two of whom were freshmen.

During the indoor track and field campaign, the men saw a great deal of success in the Big 12 Championships with a ninth place finish — their highest finish in nine seasons. However, the women struggled to an 11th-place finish. One bright spot for the women’s squad was the fact that 12 of the 17 points the team scored came from underclassmen — and they finished just 8.5 points out of ninth without All-American Lisa Koll.

Thus far in the outdoor season, the men and women have both seen great improvements from the young team and will attempt to show their progress on the track at the Big 12 Championships, May 15-17.

Last season, the men finished 11th and the women finished ninth.