The ISU cross country team’s season came to a close Saturday at the NCAA Regional Meet in Peoria, Ill., and although the team will be returning with most of its members, it will also be bidding farewell to some talented runners.

The men’s team placed eighth out of 21 teams, and the women’s team placed 19th out of 26.

For the men, senior Ryan French was the first to cross the finish line, placing 37th with a time of 31:33.24.

“Ryan did a tremendous job to be our No. 1 guy,” men’s coach Corey Ihmels said. “He did what we kind of expected on a good day [from him].”

The next runner to cross the line for the men was Grant Shadden, who struggled with back problems throughout the race.

Shadden finished the 10,000-meter course in 52nd place with a time of 31:59.44.

“He’s obviously capable of a top 10 finish,” Ihmels said of Shadden, who won the Midwest Collegiate Open.

“After the first 3K, his back [acted up] on him. We know what he’s capable of; it just wasn’t in the cards. With Grant, we’ve learned a lot. Now, we’ve got to move on to the track season.”

Looking back on the season, Ihmels said, the team went through a lot of ups and downs. The team started off hot, winning the Midwest Collegiate Open in Kenosha, Wis. on Sept. 18.

Ihmels said the team made progress and that it is head and shoulders above where it was last year at this point. But the Cyclones still aren’t where they have set their goal — as one of the top three teams in the conference.

As for the departing seniors, Ihmels said he will miss the competitiveness of French and Shadden.

“[Ryan] came to run at every meet. His competitiveness will be missed,” Ihmels said.

“Grant struggled with injuries, but he is competitive, and he has ability. When he’s on, he’s very good.”

Meredith McKean was the first Cyclone to finish for the women’s team. McKean placed 87th out of 185 runners, clocking in at 22:39.97.

Women’s head coach Dick Lee said it was no surprise to see her finish at the top of the ISU team.

“The first four kids have been going back and forth all year,” Lee said, referring to McKean, Lindsey Nye, Jenny Mockler and Krysta Metz.

“It’s really whoever has a good race on a certain day. They’re really balanced.”

At the beginning of the season, Lee said he wasn’t even sure McKean would be able to compete because she was having problems battling anemia.

“It’s good to see her end her season on a high note,” he said.

Lee said Nye, a senior, was one of the most improved runners from last season.

The Fort Madison native made the tough adjustment of transferring in from Georgia Southern and worked hard to get herself into shape, he said.

“I wish she’d had another year,” Lee said.

“I think we’d see even more improvement.”