Iowa State cross country had a bounce-back performance in Lubbock, Texas, at the Big 12 Championships Friday as both the men’s team and the women’s team finished top three overall. 

Feyen and Hill lead the charge for women’s team

Junior Dana Feyen and junior Madelynn Hill showed why they are the best runners for Iowa State as they were able to lead the charge for the Cyclones as they finished sixth and seventh respectively. Feyen finished the race with a time of 20:41.4 in sixth place while Hill was just behind Feyen finishing with a time of 20:42.2 in seventh place.

Iowa State finished the day as the third-place finisher with 64 points only behind No. 3 Oklahoma State and No. 28 West Virginia in the 6k championship. An overall strong performance by the women’s team, showing that they are resilient and were not content with their performance two weeks ago. 

Men’s team surges to a second-place finish

The men’s team competed in the 8k championship race Friday and they collectively had a very strong performance finishing in second place with 57 points only behind No. 4 Oklahoma State. They were able to pass No. 23 Texas in the standings. Six out of the nine Cyclones were able to finish in the top 20.

Junior Ezekiel Rop finished as the best Cyclone of the day with a fourth-place finish with a time of 24:13.6. Sophomore Gable Sieperda also had a good performance as he finished ninth in the race with a time of 24:28.5. Iowa State was able to have a very good bounce back finish after disappointing two weeks ago.

Going forward

Both the men’s and women’s showcased their university with top-three performances Friday, and they now look towards the NCAA Midwest Regional which will take place in Columbia, Missouri, on Friday, Nov. 11. A strong finish here can qualify them for a spot in the NCAA Championships that occur on Saturday, Nov. 19.