The end results differed for the ISU men’s and women’s cross-country teams in 2014, but the direction of the two teams appears to be similar.

In one of its best performances in school history, the women’s team ended its season with a runner-up finish at the NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, Ind. The Cyclones were led by Crystal Nelson and Katy Moen, who finished 7th and 8th in the national meet. Nelson will return for her fourth cross-country season, but Iowa State will lose Moen. 

The team also will be without Margaret Connelly, a graduate student from Brown University, who earned the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year honor.

Iowa State does however return Bethanie Brown, who missed much of the 2014 season due to injury, along with Erin Hooker and Perez Rotich, who ran mostly as the team’s fourth and fifth runners. The duo finished ninth and 13th, respectively, at Big 12s.  

On the men’s side, a freshman provided the biggest spark for the team in 2014. Dan Curtis will enter his second year after placing 10th at Big 12s and fifth overall at the NCAA Midwest Regional, earning an individual-qualifying spot to the NCAA Championships. 

The team will be without Martin Coolidge, who finished 14th at the conference meet and 18th at the regional meet. 

In addition to Curtis, the men’s team also returns Josef Andrews, a freshman last season who finished as the team’s second runner at the Roy Griak Invitational but missed the remainder of the season because of an Achilles injury. 

Both teams will return the majority of their top-seven runners from 2014 for the 2015 campaign.