Des Moines Register columnist Sean Keeler ran an article on Dec. 30, 2007 about the top eight sports figures to watch in the state of Iowa – including two from Iowa State: senior associate athletic director Calli Sanders and ISU quarterback Austen Arnaud.

This gave me an idea. Of course, Iowa State has a number of athletic figures that are always in the news, from athletic director Jamie Pollard to head football and basketball coaches and big-name players from those programs.

But there are also people important to Iowa State’s athletic landscape who aren’t household names. So, in no particular order, here are my top eight Iowa State athletic personalities to watch in 2008.

Corey Ihmels, head men’s and women’s track and cross country coach

A major coaching shake-up at the end of last season left Ihmels the head coach of a total of six sports – men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor track and men’s and women’s cross country. Ihmels, who was already the men’s head cross country coach and a men’s track assistant, started out his first fall in control of the program by getting the men’s cross country team to the NCAA Nationals. Now he sets his sights on taking over a men’s track program that has not placed in the top half of the conference, indoors or outdoors, since 1997 and a women’s team that has only done so four times during that span.

Allison Lacey, women’s basketball guard

A young team whose only senior is injured for the season will need Lacey to step up at the point guard position. ‘Aus,’ as she is affectionately called by coach Bill Fennelly, started every game for Iowa State in 2006-07. Through the non-conference season, Lacey led the team in points (13.8 ppg) and assists (4.5 apg). Iowa State’s chances at making a second-straight NCAA Tournament largely rely on Lacey’s ability to keep leading the team.

Jake Varner, 184-pound wrestler

Varner is coming off of a Midlands championship on Dec. 30 and was named Big 12 Wrestler of the Week for his performance. The 2007 NCAA Championship runner-up has posted a 16-0 record, including his Midlands win over Northwestern’s Jake Herbert, who beat Varner last season for the NCAA title. Varner, a sophomore from Bakersfield, Calif., will be gunning for a national championship and will play a large part in trying to defend Iowa State’s Big 12 crown, as well as trying to overtake rivals Minnesota and Iowa for a team national title. Varner has defeated Minnesota’s Roger Kish and Iowa’s Phil Keddy.

Stacy Gemeinhardt-Cesler, head softball coach

This is the third season of Gemeinhardt-Cesler’s tenure at Iowa State. After taking over a team that finished 18-32 (.360) in 2005, the team took a positive step in her first season with a record of 23-28 (.450). The team, however, struggled in 2007 with a record of 24-40 (.375) and received bad news in the off season when former player and 2007 graduate Fallon Johnson was killed in a car accident on Nov. 29. The Cyclones turned to Gemeinhardt-Cesler to hold the program together amid tragedy. The job will not be easy as Iowa State faces nine tournament teams from 2007 next season.

Lucca Staiger, men’s basketball guard

“Free . Lucca . Free . Lucca,” has been the chant for much of the young season at Hilton Coliseum. Staiger was expected to play a lot of minutes this season, but he was informed a week before the first exhibition game that he would be ineligible for the season after playing on the Ehingen club team in Germany. The NCAA ruled that Staiger’s team was a professional organization after just two players on the team were given stipends deemed above necessary expenses. Staiger will be under a constant spotlight from the media and Cyclone fans to begin next season, and it will be interesting to see how he responds.

Kaylee Manns, volleyball setter

After reaching unprecedented heights in 2007 with a trip to the NCAA round of 16, Iowa State will have to replace four volleyball seniors, including All-American Erin Boeve. Manns will be a junior in 2008, and will have to step up as a team leader. A leadership role should be a natural progression for Manns, who has started at the setter position as a freshman and sophomore at Iowa State. Manns led the team in assists with 1,402 assists in 2007, and holds the all-time single season record for assists with 1,433 as a freshman. Her 57 assists in a first round win over San Diego set a Cyclone NCAA Tournament record.

Ann Gleason, soccer goalkeeper

The ISU soccer team will start fresh with a new coach in 2008 after Rebecca Hornbacher seemingly unexpectedly stepped down after the 2007 season that saw Iowa State lose in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament and miss the NCAA Tournament. The soon-to-be junior from Stillwater, Minn., will be a key to stability at the goalkeeper position. After recording a Cyclone single-season record of 119 saves in 2006, Gleason kept Iowa State competitive in a lot of games by recording 114 in 2007, good for a .864 save percentage. Gleason also was named to the District 7 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District team in 2007.

Tien Tran, diver

A sensational freshman season saw Tran as one of the few bright spots in the swimming and diving program that finished sixth out of six teams at the Big 12 Championships in the 2006-07 season, and she was one of two ISU divers to compete at the Zone Diving Championships. Tran started off the 2007-08 season strong with a win in the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events against Texas A&M and UNI, a 3-meter win over South Dakota State, an overall diving win at the Husker Invitational and a 1-meter win over Iowa. Tran also scored the fourth best time in school history in the 3-meter board with a score of 298.45 in a first-place performance against Alabama on Dec. 22.