Lisa Koll saw perhaps one of the best weekends of her running career.

Koll, a sophomore from Fort Dodge, led the way for the Cyclones at the Big 12 Championships. Koll won the 5,000-meter run and placed second in the 3,000-meter run and helped the Cyclones garner a 10th-place finish.

In the 5,000 Koll led from the starting gun to the finish line, not looking back as she captured her Big 12 title in a time of 16 minutes, 18.87 seconds. In winning, Koll became the second Big 12 Champion in ISU history in the 5,000 and the first since 1997, when Cyclone Sydney Pounds won the event.

“Words can’t describe this,” Koll said in a press release.

“This is obviously a goal and expectation since the beginning of the year. To actually come here and do it though, you can’t really put that feeling into words.”

Koll was not the only Cyclone to have an impressive finish in the 5,000. Her teammate, junior Grace Kemmey, finished second in the event.

Kemmey stayed with the pack in pursuit of Koll until late in the race, when Koll pulled away and was able to provisionally qualify for the NCAA Championships.

“Obviously Lisa ran a great race,” coach Corey Ihmels said in a press release. “And the 1-2 finish in the 5,000 with Grace is a great moment for our program.”

Koll came back from her Friday victory to a second place on Saturday in the 3,000. Koll ran a school record 9:20.87 to win her heat, but could have been challenged for the win had Texas Tech’s Sally Kipyego been able to run in the fast heat. Kipyego had one of the fastest times in the nation heading into the weekend, but the NCAA ruled that since it was run at an unsanctioned event, her time was not legitimate and therefore she had no previous time, which forced her to run in the slow heat while Koll ran in the fast heat. Kipeygo was clocked in a time of 9:17.01.

Koll’s time bested Iowa State’s school record, set in 1977 by Carol Cook, by two seconds.

“It was disappointing that the two of the best distance runners in the country couldn’t run head-to-head,” Ihmels said in a press release.

“We feel like we let an opportunity slip away, but Lisa put up 18 points in two days. That is a great effort anytime.”

Grace Kemmey came away with a seventh place finish in the 3000, with a time of 9:42.85 – a personal best.

Iowa State also got a solid performance from 400-meter dash runner Brittany Machacek. The freshman had her first taste of what a Big 12 Championship meet was like over the weekend.

“Nothing really surprised me. I knew it would be really competitive,” Machacek said. “One of my goals was just to make it to finals.”

Machacek accomplished her goal by placing seventh in the competition, running a time of 56.09 seconds. Texas A&M freshman Jessica Beard won the event in 52.61 seconds.

The Cyclones returned to Ames with a 10th-place finish, scoring 30 points. Texas A&M won the meet with 119.25 points.

“I’m disappointed,” Ihmmels said in a press release. “But this is the first step in the process of getting better.”