The Iowa State men’s cross country team has a goal of consistency this year, and it seems they’re certainly starting off that way. 

The Cyclones won the meet last year, and raced to a repeat team victory at the Hawkeye Early Bird Invitational Friday evening at Ashton Cross Country Course in Iowa City, IA. 

In head-to-head results, the Cyclones were 6-0, sweeping the field as a team. Drake, Northern Iowa, Illinois State, Iowa Central Community College, Iowa and Creighton made up the rest of the field. 

The Cyclones had six runners place in the top ten, and all eight finishers placed in the top 25.

Redshirt sophomore Festus Lagat finished first for Iowa State and first overall in the men’s race, running 17:49.2 for the 6 kilometer distance. Next up was senior Nathan Rodriguez in 17:50.6 and sophomore Andrew Jordan in 17:50.9, placing third and fourth overall.

Thomas Pollard, Stanley Langat, and John Nownes rounded out the top ten in sixth, seventh and ninth for Iowa State. 

Next up for the men’s squad is the Roy Griak Invitational in Minneapolis, MN, Saturday, September 23. 

Men’s Team Results: 

def. Drake, 15-48 

def. Illinois State, 15-50 

def. Iowa, 15-48 

def. Iowa Central CC, 21-38 

def. Northern Iowa, 15-49 

def. Creighton, 15-50 

Men’s Top Ten Individual Results: 

Athlete		Yr.	#	Team	Score	Time	3k
1	Festus Lagat	SO	151	Iowa State	—	17:49.2
2	Karim Achengli	SO	111	Iowa Central CC	—	17:50.1	9:09.3 (4)
3	Nathan Rodriguez	JR	155	Iowa State	—	17:50.6	9:08.6 (1)
4	Andrew Jordan	SO	150	Iowa State	—	17:50.9	9:09.1 (3)
5	Jhordan Ccope	FR	118	Iowa Central CC	—	17:51.4	9:09.1 (2)
6	Thomas Pollard	SO	154	Iowa State	—	17:53.2	9:09.4 (5)
7	Stanley Langat	SO	152	Iowa State	—	17:55.5	9:09.9 (10)
8	Ezekiel Kipchirchir	FR	124	Iowa Central CC	—	17:56.2	9:10.1 (12)
9	John Nownes	JR	153	Iowa State	—	18:02.5	9:09.7 (9)
10	Ian Eklin	JR	88	Iowa	—	18:10.7	9:09.7 (8)