The Cyclones had one national qualifier for the indoor track season. That, however, will not keep them down — it will fuel the team.

Near the end of the indoor season, the men’s track team had momentum. This momentum garnered the team their best Big 12 finish in nine years, and also two second-place finishes at Big 12 Championships.

The team wants to use that same momentum to hit the ground running when the outdoor season comes around.

“I can say I was pissed off not making indoor nationals,” said sophomore Hillary Bor. “…it’s kind of frustrating and it puts more pressure on me to train hard because making Nationals is hard.”

Bor is one of the athletes who started the momentum with a win in the mile at the Iowa State Classic. On the outdoor circuit, however, Bor has one of the fastest returning steeplechase times in the nation, and will most likely be competing for a national title come June.

The Cyclones’ lone indoor qualifier, senior Zac Brouillette, enters the outdoor season finishing 12th in the NCAA Championship meet.

This outdoor season, the team will look to Brouillette for leadership. The coaches said that Brouillette truly leads the team, on and off the field, by example.

Another athlete the Cyclones will look to is junior Guor Marial. Marial enters the outdoor season as the Big 12 runner-up in the 5,000 meter run.

Marial also narrowly missed out on competing at the indoor national championships, and will use the progress he made at the end of the season to continue his success in the 5,000.

Marial’s teammate in the 5,000 meters, Kiel Uhl, will do the same thing as Uhl finished 3rd at Big 12 Championships.

Although there weren’t as many indoor qualifiers as the coaches wanted, they said that they still have a positive outlook on the outdoor season as a whole.

“I think we’re going to have some good things happen,” head coach Corey Ihmels said. “It’s a long journey and we just have to stay healthy and keep moving forward and making progress.”

The Cyclones outdoor season opens up this weekend as they will split into two groups. One group will head to Palo Alto, Calif., and the other to Raleigh, N.C.