If having a veteran team means enjoying much success throughout the season, the ISU men’s cross country team fits the bill. Coach Kevin Bourke returns to the helm of a squad laden with experienced, proven runners and hopes to have them ready for great things this upcoming season. “We have good leadership, quite a few seniors and a couple of freshmen that can make an impact and push upperclassmen,” Bourke said. “With us hosting the NCAA Championships and Philemon Too back from a redshirt year, look for us to do good things this year.” Last fall, the Cyclone harriers managed their best “Titanic” impersonation as Coach Bourke couldn’t keep the cardinal and gold ship afloat through much of the last half of the season. After starting the year with great promise, the ‘Clones struggled through injuries and fatigue and floundered through the last portion of the ’99 campaign. However, there was one bright spot last season for the Cyclones that hopes to shine even more this year. That bright spot is sophomore Mike Mwangong. Coach Bourke knows the importance of having Mwangong back to lead the Cyclones for this new season. “With Mike back, we have an All Big 12 freshman, a top-nine finisher at the Big 12 meet, and the second fastest freshman at last year’s NCAA championships,” Bourke said. The Kenya native will not be left to carry the torch by himself though. Returning to bolster the Cyclone ranks is the aforementioned Too. Another Kenyan, Too has been through the trials of Big 12 competition and can only make this team better. “He was one of the top Big 12 runners two years ago and will be one of the top returnees,” Bourke said. “He’s definitely going to make some contributions to this year’s team.” Other members of the 2000 squad hoping to make significant contributions are Daniel Kinyua and seniors Tait Steines and Matt Williams. Kinyua, also a native Kenyan, is a five-time All American between track and cross country and will give the Cyclones a consistent runner after Mwangong and Too. And so, as competition heats up for those top five spots, Bourke can only keep his fingers crossed and hope the injury bug doesn’t bite his talented team. “I think as long as we stay healthy we’ll be all right,” Bourke said. “We just started practicing, and once we have some more training under our belts everything else will fall into place.” “Realistically, we should be able to garner a top three finish in the Big 12 and a top 15 finish at the NCAA Championships,” Bourke said. Although last year did not end up the way Bourke had envisioned it, he sees this year as a golden opportunity to erase the pain and disappointment of what could have been. It is a sure bet that Bourke will have his runners ready when the Cyclones open the season Sept. 6, hosting the ISU open. Make plans to cheer on the ISU cross country team, check out their schedule for this fall.