Sophomore Bethanie Brown and junior Crystal Nelson have provided much needed sparks for the ISU women’s cross country team over the past two seasons.

But the sparks Brown and Nelson have created haven’t been limited to cross country.

The pair of runners became roommates for the first time this year, and both agree that it was a good choice. They are returning All-Americans from last year’s cross country team, and both like to cook.

Despite their passions for cooking, Brown and Nelson have encountered multiple disasters in the kitchen.

“We have a lot of kitchen problems because we both like to cook, but we don’t necessarily know how to cook in the best ways,” Nelson said. “[Brown] will leave the stove on by accident, so we have bright neon signs everywhere in our kitchen that say, ‘turn off the stove’ or ‘don’t forget to turn off the oven.’ I’ve actually set something on fire in the microwave by putting tin foil in it.”

Nelson and Brown’s issues in the kitchen have provided the runners more opportunities to work together away from cross country.

After setting off their fire alarm with smoke during a cooking experience last month, Brown asked cross country teammates down the hall for advice. The only problem was that their teammates weren’t home.

“We were freaking out because we didn’t know how to stop it,” Brown said. “Crystal grabbed a chair from our kitchen table and started bopping [the alarm] with a broom trying to find a button to turn it off. And then finally I [suggested] opening the door to let the smoke out, and that was what finally shut it off.”

Aside from the cooking accidents, Nelson and Brown both say that being roommates and teammates presents many advantages.

“If one of us has a bad workout and doesn’t feel comfortable talking about it with the team, we can go home and talk about it with each other,” Nelson said. “We know we can trust each other with different things we talk about.”

Nelson said Brown isn’t much different at home than she is during cross country and that the intensity Brown brings to practice is no different to that of her cooking and school work.

“[Brown’s] very determined on and off the track,” Nelson said. “Every time I come home, she’s either doing some sort of school work or cooking. She acts very much the same [at home] as she does at practice.”

Brown said the only thing different about Nelson at home is that she is goofier than she is during cross country practices and competitions.

“When it comes to competition, [Nelson’s] really able to focus and get serious, but outside we can have a little fun,” Brown said.

The two roommates will try to add to the sparks they’ve created in cross country on Friday, Oct. 17 when the team travels to Madison, Wisconsin to compete in the Wisconsin Adidas Invitational.

Nelson finished third overall for Iowa State in her first event of the season, and Brown finished 16th. They will attempt to duplicate that success in their second competition of the year on Friday.

They will also try to decrease the number of fires they create in their kitchen.