Iowa State came away from a successful trip to nationals with every Cyclone athlete becoming an All-American in their respective events.
Out of the five athletes that traveled to Austin, Texas, three First-Team All-America honors were earned with six All-America honors being dished out in total. Cailie Logue was the big winner of the weekend, earning two First-Team All-America honors for herself.
Here is a recap of what went down in the final meet of the track and field season:
Ezekiel Rop represents the Iowa State men
Rop was the only male athlete to compete for the Cyclones, as he made the trip to compete in the 1,500-meter race.
Rop dominated the West Preliminaries to earn a shot at a good placing at nationals, and he did not disappoint. On the first night of competition, Rop raced to a third-place finish in his heat with a time of 3:39.77 to earn a trip to the 1,500-meter finals.
When the finals arrived, Rop gave it his all to finish in seventh place. Although his time of 3:43.59 was slower than his PR and his semifinals time, it was what he needed to become a First-Team All-American, the first All-America honor of his career.
Cailie Logue proves she is built different
Logue was the only Cyclone to earn a spot in two events at nationals.
After a dominant performance at the West Preliminaries, Logue punched her ticket to compete in the 5K and the 10K. With how strong she was in long-distance races, Logue had her eyes set on the top.
Logue started her trip to nationals by competing in the 10,000-meter run where she earned her first All-America honor.
Logue finished sixth in the 10K at the West Preliminaries, and that trend of sixth-place finishes followed her to nationals. In a time of 33:06.86, Logue finished in sixth place to become a First-Team All-American.
Two days later, Logue competed in the 5K. Logue finished in sixth place again in a time of 15:49.85, enough for another First-Team All-America honor.
Logue left nationals with two First-Team All-America honors to add to her resume. Logue is now a six-time All-American and a 13-time Big 12 Champ.
Janette Schraft continued her historic run
Janette Schraft made history to make it to nationals by becoming the first Iowa State woman to qualify for the 3,000-meter steeplechase.
Schraft’s time of 10:02.55 at the West Preliminaries was enough for her to make history. All she needed at nationals was a good placing to cap off her successful season as an All-American.
Although the field was tough, Schraft looked comfortable as she raced to a 17th-place finish with a time of 10:05.58. Although she didn’t make it to the finals in the event, she did earn Honorable Mention All-America honors.
Sydney Willits finishes her season strong
After a historic performance at the West Preliminaries, spectators had high expectations for Willits at nationals.
To qualify for the Outdoor Championships, Willits recorded a long jump of 6.42 meters, setting a new PR. Her jump was also good enough to move her up to third all-time on Iowa State’s leaderboard.
The long jump field was stacked at nationals, but Willits did what she does best and kept her cool to jump to a 16th-place finish with a distance of 6.01 meters, with the jump making her a Second Team All-American.
Willits joined an elite group, as she was the first All-American in the long jump since 2018 and only the eighth in Iowa State history.
Emily March closes the curtain on her Cyclone career
There wasn’t much doubt that March would make nationals.
March proved that she was an elite thrower for the Cyclones and punched her ticket at the West Preliminaries with a fifth-place finish in the discus. Her throw of 55.37 meters was enough to earn her a trip to nationals for the second year in a row.
March finished in 24th place after throwing 49.36 meters at nationals. Although it wasn’t as far as her best throw at the preliminaries, it was enough for her to earn Honorable Mention All-America honors.
March ended her Cyclone career as a two-time All-American, joining many other Cyclones who finished their careers in style.
