Ranked No. 4 in the country, the Iowa State men’s cross-country team had a chance to become National Champions. The Cyclones came up a spot short but grabbed their second runner-up finish in the past four seasons.
Men’s recap
In the men’s 10K, Iowa State finished as national runner-ups with 137 points, behind only BYU, who had 124.
Senior Said Mechaal led the way for the Cyclones, finishing 10th nationally with a time of 28:59.8. He beat Oklahoma State’s Denis Kipngetich by 0.6 seconds after losing to him at the regional meet a week ago.
Here is the finishing order for Iowa State:
- Said Mechaal, 28:59.8
- Sanele Masondo, 29:16.8
- Joash Ruto, 29:22.4
- Robin Kwemoi Bera, 29:23.9
- Gable Sieperda, 29:31.7
- Devan Kipyego, 29:51.9
- Timothy Sindt, 29:52.4
Women’s recap
In the women’s 6K, junior Maelle Porcher finished in 103rd at the national championship meet, running 20:32.9, 40 seconds slower than her personal record time of 19:52.75, which she set last week at the regional meet. She was the only female runner from Iowa State to represent the Cyclones at the national championship meet.
Looking back on the season as a whole
Of the six meets this season, where the men fielded an entire team, the Cyclones finished third place at one meet, first at the Cyclone Preview and second at the remaining four meets.
On the women’s side, the team placed in the top 10 at four meets and had 20th and 28th place finishes at meets in Madison, Wisconsin.
