The ISU women’s cross country team entered the NCAA Championship ranked No. 5, and they left it ranked No. 2. 

Iowa State was once again led by junior Crystal Nelson and redshirt senior Katy Moen. The two runners placed 7th and 8th overall, respectively. 

Sophomore Bethanie Brown was Iowa State’s third runner to cross, finishing 53rd overall. Sophomore Perez Rotich and graduate student Margaret Connelly rounded out the scoring for the Cyclones, finishing 65th and 66th, respectively. 

Redshirt freshman Erin Hooker and sophomore Heidi Engelhardt made their NCAA Championship debuts. Hooker placed 180th overall, while Engelhardt finished 207th. 

ISU coach Andrea Grove-McDonough witnessed an 11-spot improvement from last year’s 13th place performance at the NCAA Championships.