The Iowa State men’s cross country team took a major step forward this weekend in the NCAA Championships in Terra Haute, Indiana.

After last season’s 13-place finish in the 31-team championship field, head coach Corey Ihmels and the Cyclones were running to move up into the top half.  But, running against perennial favorites Oregon and Oklahoma State, such a big move was going to be a challenge.

Coming into the race, Ihmels had hoped his team could run in the top ten or fifteen teams, but wasn’t disappointed with the 17 place finish.

“We were seventeenth, which is obviously a good step forward,” Ihmels said after the meet.  “We had an opportunity to sneak into that top ten, but we can’t be disappointed with a top-twenty finish.”

Junior Guor Marial led the way for the Cyclones again, finishing 31, earning him a spot on the All-America team.  Senior Kiel Uhl was next across the line for the Cyclones in 41st, followed by sophomore Hilary Bor at 46th.

Outside the top three runners, the four and five spots have been key to the Cyclones’ successes all season.  For them to finish with the nation’s elite, some of the less-celebrated runners were needed to step up for the Cyclones.

“Our four and five were quite a ways back,” Ihmels said.  “That’s what really killed us in the team score.”

Iowa State’s fourth and fifth finishers were senior Kevin Born and sophomore Clayton Carper.  The seven-man roster was filled out by freshmen Rico Loy and Yonas Mebrahtu.

Still, a 13-place improvement is no small task, and was accomplished by a year’s worth of work.

“Everybody on the team had high expectations coming into the season to get here to Nationals and do something once we got here,” Ihmels said on the team’s attitude throughout the season

“We were on the cusp of being a top-ten team. I think we can walk away from the course today, and the guys understand that we didn’t have to run that much better and we would have been in that group.”

For the senior, Uhl, this will be his final National Championship experience.  In his third race, Uhl moved into the top 50 after finishing 71 last season, and 121 in his first try as a sophomore.

“The one guy that’s done a lot for our success is Kiel Uhl,” Ihmels. “He came here four years ago to try and turn the program around.  I think we owe a lot to him for what he’s done for our program.”

 Born, the other senior wrapping up his cross country career, gave another strong effort for the Cyclones.  Born finished fourth at the NCAA Regional race two weeks ago, and won the Bradley Open earlier this year.

“Kevin’s been a solid guy,” Ihmels said.  “He’s one of those guys that’s a great team leader.  Today he didn’t end up where he wanted to, but it doesn’t take away from what he’s done for the program”

Losing two of their top two runners won’t be easy for the Cyclone men, but Ihmels is optimistic about where the program is now, and where it will be going into next season.

“We’ve got a lot of guys waiting in the wings to step up and be key leaders,” Ihmels said.  “With Guor [Marial] and Hilary [Bor] out front, and some guys at home that didn’t get an opportunity that will work hard next year and be ready to roll.”

Next season, the Iowa State will be looking to move up once again, nationally, maybe even challenging the top five programs.

“I told the guys preparation for next season starts today,” Ihmels said.  “I think if they move forward with that idea, that every day they have to keep working hard and moving forward, we’ll be disappointed next year if we’re not a top-ten team.”

After taking two weeks off, the Cyclone men will switch their focus from the cross country to track as the indoor season starts Dec. 5 with ISU Holiday Preview.