The ISU men’s cross-country team has been waiting for these last meets all season. After a fourth-place finish at the Big 12 meet, the runners are preparing for the NCAA Midwest Regional meet Saturday. 

Before traveling to Lawrence, Kan., once again, the team had to reflect on its race during Big 12s. 

“Big 12s, for us, was a nice showing,” said assistant coach Jeremy Sudbury. “Being fourth place is always a solid performance — top half is good. To be honest, we wanted more.”

The men’s practice has been geared toward the conference, regional and championship meets all year, meaning the team is looking for consistency. 

“The guys did a good job of bouncing back from Wisconsin and definitely improved on that performance,” Sudbury said. “They’re kind of starting to show the things we’re seeing in practice.”

The men are currently ranked sixth in the nation and are looking for a team qualification for the NCAA championships for the first time since 2009. The Cyclones will be up against Oklahoma State and Oklahoma, who respectively came in first and second at the conference meet.

The top two teams in each region automatically qualify for a trip to the National Championship, and 13 teams will be selected based on the wins they gained this season against the teams that qualified. 

Senior Brian Llamas, who finished 17th at Big 12s, believes that is where the desire to win comes in with the team.

“I don’t really think the guys need to be pushed. It’s about how much they want it individually,” Llamas said. “I just want everyone on my team to perform to their ability.” 

Regionals will feature a 10K course for the men, a challenge that Sudbury thinks they’re up for.

“The workouts are targeting our emphasis of being consistent and really running over the last few [kilometers],” Sudbery said. “That’s always been our M.O., being able to close well. So going into this weekend, our goal is to continue to build, get into position and be able to finish the race off hard.” 

Iowa State will race Saturday in Lawrence, Kan., at Rim Rock Farm, where it took first at the Rim Rock Classic in October. The men will start at 1 p.m.