The ISU cross country course will get a stomping by the men’s and women’s cross country teams Friday night as they face eight teams — including the Hawkeyes.

The teams’ first home meet of the year, the ISU Open, will begin with the women’s 6,000-meter race at 5:30 p.m. The gun fires for the men’s 8,000-meter run at 6 p.m.

Iowa, Upper Iowa, Drake, Buena Vista, Wartburg, South Dakota and Graceland will be bringing both men’s and women’s teams to the ISU Open. Truman State will compete with only its men’s team.

“We are excited to get going and [start] a fun year,” men’s head coach Corey Ihmels said. “Hopefully we will go out there and have a good meet, get our feet wet, and start rolling again.”

“The kids are excited when they run at home,” said women’s head coach Dick Lee.

“They really enjoy running for the home crowd. Also, this is the first time running for our freshmen.”

The Cyclone women defeated Drake in the Bulldog Classic on Aug. 29. The men’s team was also victorious.

The duel was the first chance for Lee’s freshman runners to compete as Cyclones. Freshman Amanda Ganser finished first for the team at the meet and second overall with a time of 16:41. Ganser and fellow freshman Meredith McKean are both hoping to gain experience with their first home meet.

“I want to find my niche and keep improving,” Ganser said. “I hope to gain some experience to start the season. It is really exciting to compete for this team.”

“The Drake meet was just mainly a run-through,” McKean said. “This meet will help tell us where we are at.”

McKean was the fifth-place overall finisher at the Bulldog Classic with a time of 17:03 for the 4,000-meter course. She was the fourth Cyclone to come across the finish line.

Ihmels, a two-time all-American in cross country at Iowa State, said Drake and Iowa are the main competition for the men, since they are both Division I schools.

“This team has high potential,” Ihmels said. “We have to rely on running as more of a pack. The main group had a great summer. Dan Taylor has stepped into the leadership role for us.”

With the graduation of four-time NCAA championship qualifier Mike Mwangong, Ihmels said the team has to approach this season differently than the last few.

“We will definitely miss his huge leadership, that contributed a lot to our program,” Ihmels said. “I think that we have the personnel to fill his spot.”

Taylor and junior Ryan Pence, who finished first (12:46) and third (12:57), respectively, at the Bulldog Classic, look to help and lead the team this year.

“This meet is really our first meet of the season,” Pence said. “Our main goal is to get out there and compete against the other teams. There are going to be more people running closer together in packs. We are already excited about our improvement from last year to this year.”

Taylor said he will be running unattached at the meet to maintain the option of a redshirt season.

“I am not going to run for Iowa State in the ISU Open, although I will be running,” Taylor said. “We are going to have a great season and are going to beat up on people, just being a force.”