To start the season off, the ISU cross country teams traveled to Drake on Friday for what was simply a good workout for both teams.

Women’s head coach Dick Lee said the meet went well but was of little importance to both schools in terms of competition.

“It was a training run for us and Drake,” Lee said.

“We didn’t look at it as a racing situation. It would kind of be like a [preseason] scrimmage in football. It’s as low-key in competition as you can get.

“Our goal wasn’t to race. We’ve only had one practice doing something other than mileage. It was the first hard workout for Drake. They had just started practice this past week.”

Lee said the runners ran a 4-K race, going twice around the 2-K course. He was glad that there were no injuries.

“We came out of it healthy,” he said. “We’ll know after this week [where we’re at]. It’s hard to judge overall where people are at. Kids shouldn’t have butterflies [because of this meet].”

Lee said that the Drake meet should also help in the mental aspects of running.

“It should boost the confidence of those that ran well,” he said.

“Our important meets are in October.”

Men’s head coach Corey Ihmels also felt that the men did well for their first meet.

“It was a good place to start,” Ihmels said.

“It was a fitness test to get them ready and excited. [For] a low-key meet, I’m happy with how we competed. We didn’t walk away disappointed.”

Ihmels said that although the team did very well as a whole, no one in particular did better than anyone else.

“I don’t think anybody stood out or was head and shoulders above anyone else,” he said. “We did what we wanted to do.”

Looking forward, Ihmels said that this week of practice should help for Friday’s home meet.

“We just need to keep the intensity level up,” he continued.

“Hopefully, we can come to this meet more prepared than last week. [We need to] come with the same energy and intensity [to future meets]. We need to keep this up next week and for the rest of the year.”