The ISU men’s and women’s cross country teams will compete at the Midwest Regional meet in Bloomington Ill. on Saturday for a chance to qualify for the NCAA Championships on Nov. 25.

The men’s team is coming off a fifth-place finish at the Big 12 conference meet two weeks ago. Men’s head coach Corey Ihmels is satisfied with the way his team has progressed this season.

“I think we started off a little rough but have picked up steam,” Ihmels said. “We will use the momentum from the Big 12 meet to do more at regionals.”

Ihmels said the men’s fifth-place finish at the conference meet was a highlight of the season.

“The guys have made huge improvements this year,” he said. “We’ll build on that this weekend.”

The women’s team was not as successful at the conference meet, finishing 10th. Women’s head coach Dick Lee said the group that is running at this time is doing a good job.

“We are missing two kids that we thought we would have,” he said. “But as they say, you have to dance with who you brought to the prom.”

The Cyclone women have had to re-evaluate their team goals for the season, and Lee said that qualifying for nationals is no longer realistic.

“We have not had the team success that we hoped to have this year,” he said. “Very few schools can afford to lose their top runners. They are hard to replace.”

Lee said he still hopes to place in the top six or eight teams at the regional meet and is placing his confidence in Jessica Huff, who he believes has a chance to qualify as an individual for nationals.

“The top three individuals that are not on qualifying teams go to nationals,” Lee said. “Jessica will be in the running.”

The men’s team hopes to qualify as a team for the championship meet.

“We have a chance to be in the top two teams at regionals,” Ihmels said. “Minnesota is favored but I think that as long as we walk away feeling that we gave it all we had that day, we will be satisfied.”

Ihmels said the top ISU men’s runner Mike Mwangong is aiming to place in the top five individually, if not the top two or three.

“The rest of the team will run as a group,” Ihmels said. “They will battle with each other and the field to help the team score.”

The field of runners will include most of the Big 12 teams with the exception of Colorado and the Texas schools. Both coaches are relieved that Colorado, one of the top teams in the country, will not be competing at the Midwest Regional.

“No one else in our district has the front runners that Colorado has,” Lee said. “The front pack will be closer to the main field but it won’t affect how our team races.”

“We will still have to beat Colorado down the road,” Ihmels said. “I’m glad that they are in our conference. It raises expectations. We’ll go after them. We’re not afraid of running against Colorado.”

Lee said the women’s main conference competitors at the regional meet will be Oklahoma State, Kansas and Kansas State.

“We are all pretty similar,” he said. “It depends on which team puts together the best races with their top five individuals.”

Minnesota, Oklahoma, Iowa and Nebraska will be vying for the top two spots in the men’s race. Ihmels said Iowa State has an advantage of being the underdog.

“We are a bit of an unknown,” Ihmels said. “We’ve struggled the past two years but we have a good front runner and a good supporting cast.”

Both coaches feel that their teams are ready for the Midwest Regional meet, no matter what happens. Neither coach has prepared a special speech to give before the race.

“The hay is in the barn,” Ihmels said. “The guys have gained confidence from the conference meet are excited to run again. They have had a taste of success and they want more of that.”

“They just have to step out, race and do their best,” Lee said. “I just remind them that running is not who they are, it’s what they do.”