Iowa State Cross Country competed in the Big 12 Championship on Friday in Stillwater, Oklahoma, but came away with second place team finishes.

The Iowa State women ran a 6,000m race and the men ran a 8,000m race. Both teams were expecting Oklahoma State to be the toughest contender and it was. The women’s team earned second place behind the Cowgirls and missed the mark by one point. After a tie last year for the men’s team, they were hopeful to take back the title from OSU. The Cyclones fell short and came in second place with 31 team points to the Cowboys. 

Women’s team battle for Second

Iowa State senior Cailie Logue has led her team in many victories throughout her career and this season in particular. Up until Friday, Logue had won the last three Big 12 Championship individual titles and in a battle to the very end, she was unable to defend her spot. West Virginia’s Ceili McCabe proved to be a fierce opponent this season and her performance at the Big 12 proved that. McCabe beat out Logue in the final second of the race, taking first place. 

Logue finished her race in 20:45.2 and was the first Cyclone to cross the line. Logue is the first woman in Big 12 history to have earned five All-Big 12 honors. Along with Logue, three other Cyclones found top 10 finishing times. 

In her first ever Big 12 Championship, Senior Ashley Tutt wasn’t too far behind Logue throughout the race. Tutt finished in fifth place, running her race in 21:09.5. Trailing Tutt was Junior Dana Feyen, who took eighth place and finished in 21:16.1. Feyen also earned a second All-Big 12 award. Junior Madelyn Hill took ninth place with a time of 21:21.2.

Sophomore Winrose Chesang took 12th place in 21:35.5, Junior Janette Schraft took 13th place in 21:35.8, Sophomore Brenna Cohoon finished in 25th place in 22:08.7, and Sunior Grace Dickel earned 27th place in 22:20.5. 

The women’s team was defeated in a tight race by Oklahoma State, the Cyclones finished with 36 team points and Cowgirls finished with 35. West Virginia finished in third place with 65 team points. 

Kiptoo Does it Again

Similarly to the women’s team, the men’s team knew Oklahoma State was going to be the team to watch out for. From the jump Oklahoma State and Iowa State were neck and neck, with Junior Wesley Kiptoo and the Cowboys’ Isai Rodriguez battling it out for the first place finish. 

Rodriguez and Kiptoo were the top-two runners in last year’s Big 12 Championship. Around 2k in, Kiptoo found a way to take a huge lead, leveraging 23 seconds over Rodriguez by the end. Kiptoo finished in 23:32.5 and earned his fourth Big 12 Championship individual title. Rodriguez finished in second place with a time of 23:56.3. 

In his career as a track and field athlete, as well as a cross country runner, Kiptoo has earned seven Big 12 titles as a Cyclone. 

Senior Festus Lagat made significant headway throughout the race at 3,000m, as the Cyclones were trailing by 32 points. Fellow Senior Ryan Ford stuck by Lagat and put Iowa State within one point of the Cowboys.

Lagat finished in fifth place with a time of 24:21.9, making it his second All-Big 12 finish. Behind him was Senior Thomas Pollard who took seventh place in a 24:24.8 race. Pollard became the first male to earn five All-Big 12 honors. 

Both teams will compete in the NCAA Midwest Regional on November 12 in Iowa City, Iowa.