The woods west of the Towers Residence halls will be filled with sounds of panting runners as the ISU cross country team hosts the Iowa State Open on Saturday.

After a strong finish last season, the men’s squad has positioned itself to continue where they left off.

Led by senior Kiel Uhl, the men’s squad recorded a third place finish in the 2007 NCAA Midwest Regional. That finish was enough to earn the men their first appearance in the NCAA cross country championships since 1997.

The Cyclones, who were ranked third in the Midwest regional preseason poll, return all but one of the runners, Jayden Russ, who placed in last year’s regional meet, including Uhl and sophomore Hillary Bor.

“We’ve got everything in place to do some great things this fall,” said coach Corey Ihmels. “Getting back to Nationals for the first time in 10 years and moving up the lot in cross country, we’ve set ourselves up to have a great year.”

Sophomore Clayton Carper got the Cyclones’ season going on the right track, finishing first at the Bulldog Classic at Ewing Park in Des Moines. The Mason City native went on to be named the Big 12 Runner of the Week for the first week of September.

Carper, along with junior Zach McFall, will be among the short list of Cyclones runners participating in Saturday’s meet.

Junior Jessi Wild and sophomore Rachael Bell highlight the lineup on the women’s side. Wild was the highest finisher for the women at the Bullldog Classic, taking fourth place.