The men’s cross country team placed fifth over the weekend at the NCAA Midwest Regional meet but came up short of qualifying for the NCAA Championships on Nov. 20 in Terre Haute, Ind.

Coach Corey Ihmels called the meet a disappointment, adding that he felt the team did not finish the race as strong as it could have.

“It was disappointing. I felt like we got out very well and we were in position,” Ihmels said. “Looking back on the results, we had the worst finish of anybody in the top six as far as how we finished the last 3K. That’s what it boiled down to in the end. We went from being third to [finishing] fifth.”

The bright spot for Iowa State was sophomore Kiel Uhl, who finished in fourth place out of 154 runners, individually qualifying for the NCAA Championships. Uhl entered the meet with high hopes and received his second automatic bid to nationals in as many years.

“I’m a little disappointed that we didn’t make it as a team, but it’s a really big honor to represent Iowa State,” Uhl said. “I feel like I’m really fit – more so than last year. My legs are starting to feel really good, so I think I can run pretty fast. I’ve just got to go out there and represent Iowa State the best that I can.”

Ihmels agreed that Uhl is better prepared for the national meet the second time around.

“Last year he was second in the region and we were holding on with his fitness,” Ihmels said. “This year he’s in a different spot. He’s just starting to come around into top form. I think he’s mentally and physically in a lot better spot than he was 12 months ago.”

Missouri, which entered the meet ranked seventh in the region, finished just ahead of the Cyclones in fourth place. Big 12 rivals Oklahoma State and Kansas received automatic bids to the NCAA Championships by taking first and second, respectively. Iowa finished third and was the only team from the region to receive an at-large bid. Minnesota, ranked second in the region for five straight weeks entering the race, finished just behind Iowa State in sixth.

Being beaten by a Missouri team that the Cyclones outran in the Big 12 conference meet two weeks prior really hurt the team’s hopes of racing in the NCAA Championships, Ihmels said.

“We didn’t want Missouri to sneak in there and beat us,” Ihmels said. “One spot is huge.”

The NCAA system for selecting at-large teams weighs heavily on the regional meets each year, and Ihmels said although the system has its flaws, the team has itself to blame for missing its opportunity.

“As far as we’re concerned, I don’t think we have any beef about not getting in,” Ihmels said. “We should have been third, and if we’re third we’re in. Our beef is with ourselves and not running as well as we could have.”

Ihmels said the team is now in a position where it needs to build on progress made this year and could make a run at the NCAA Championships next season.

“We’re kind of at a crossroads. We either need two or three guys to step up and say, ‘I’m going to be one of the guys to get us to nationals,’ or we need to bring in another guy or two to get us there,” Ihmels said. “We’ll see the resolve of the team and see who is willing to do the work in the next year to get us to that point. Hopefully, somebody is up for the challenge.”

Although the season-long goal was not accomplished, Ihmels saw his young team do good things. With Uhl and freshman Guor Majak returning along with sophomores Kevin Born and Daniel Fadgen, he said the future looks promising.

“Unfortunately, Saturday defined our season. We can sugarcoat it all we want, but the goal was to make nationals and we didn’t do it. Hopefully we make a positive out of a negative and come away a better, stronger team.”