Koll, Kemmey earn All-American honors at NCAA cross country meet

Kyle Oppenhuizen

The ISU women’s cross country team had two runners earn All-American honors at the NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, Ind., on Monday.

Lisa Koll, a junior from Fort Dodge, took 18th in the 6,000-meter race with a time of 20 minutes, 40 seconds. Koll earned All-American status for the second year in a row.

Koll is also a Big 12 champion in track and field after winning the 10,000-meter run at the Big 12 Outdoor Championships last spring.

Earning her first All-American title was Grace Kemmey, who finished 22nd with a time of 20:46. Kemmey, a junior from Eldoret, Kenya, competed in her first two years of college at Vanguard University of Southern California, where she was a back-to-back NAIA All-American.

Koll and Kemmery were competing individually at the meet.

The men’s cross country team was making it’s first appearance at nationals since 1997. After being ranked in the top 25 during part of the season, the team took 30th out of the 30 teams to compete in the meet.

Kiel Uhl led the team with a 71st place finish with a time of 31:03 in the 10,000-meter men’s race. Uhl fell down at the 2,000-meter mark but still managed the highest finish on the team.

Of the seven runners competing at the meet, Iowa State will only lose Jayden Russ to graduation. The Cyclones will return Uhl, along with juniors Kevin Born, Richard Newton and Brandon Rooney, sophomore Guor Majak and freshman Hillary Bor.

The team will now turn its focus to track and field, with the indoor season starting on Jan. 11 at the Arkansas Invitational.