A rash of high temperatures at the beginning of the school year has not led to any player health problems during practices, ISU coaches said.

ISU head football coach Dan McCarney said in his weekly press conference Tuesday the football team has handled the recent heat wave very well.

“It’s very unusual for Iowa to be in the 90s this long, this time of year,” McCarney said.

“But we’ve not had any heat-related problems whatsoever or anyone missing practice because of the heat.”

In the last week, high temperatures have ranged from the middle 80s to upper 90s, peaking at 97 degrees Sunday and Monday.

McCarney praised head trainer Mark Coberley, his staff and doctors for the plan they have in place which allows players to practice effectively at higher temperatures.

“We didn’t adjust one thing; we didn’t change any practice times. We’ve done the same thing that we’ve done for the last eight years since we got here. That’s really paid off for us, I think,” McCarney said.

McCarney also said Iowa State has been working through weather that schools like Texas and Oklahoma are used to this time of year.

“We think the condition of this team is real good,” McCarney said. “When we go run, and we time their runs, their conditioning after practice, and everybody makes their times after a long, hard, hot practice, that tells me we’re in pretty good shape.”

The forecast for Saturday’s game against Northern Iowa calls for temperatures in the low 70s. McCarney said that hopefully, Iowa State can be a good four-quarter football team and finish strong.

One ISU team that has made adjustments due to the temperature is the women’s cross country team.

Head coach Dick Lee said his team has moved their practice runs to the morning hours.

“So far, we’ve had no problems,” Lee said.

“In our workouts, we have to keep the continuous running going, from 40 to 60 minutes. It’s hard to break up that segment into smaller ones, so we make sure our runners are properly hydrated both before and after their practice runs.”

Lee also said they use water to hydrate their runners, and that some will use sports drinks on their own as well.

ISU women’s volleyball coach Linda Crum said her team has dealt with the recent heat wave by staying properly hydrated and has not had any problems. Crum said her team has had two-hour workouts in the gym and also in the swimming pool.

The women’s soccer team travels from Ames to Tuscon, Ariz. this weekend to play Arizona and Weber State. Coach Rebecca Hornbacher said her team has had two-a-day workouts and a couple of players were treated for heat-related problems, but those have been addressed and the Cyclones will be ready for the dry Arizona heat.