Oct. 27, 2003
THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa men’s and women’s cross country teams travel to East Lansing, MI, Sunday to compete in the Big Ten Championships on the campus of Michigan State. The women’s 6,000-meter race will begin at 9:45 a.m. (CT) and the men’s 8,000-meter race will begin at 10:30 a.m. (CT) at the Forest Akers East Golf Course.
RECORD BREAKER
Freshman Nikki Chapple recorded the fastest 6,000-meter time in school history at the NCAA Pre-National Meet October 18th. Chapple finished the course in 21:45, eclipsing the old mark of 21:58 set by teammate Sarah Arens in 2000. The NCAA Pre-National Meet was only the second competition of Chapple’s young career.
HAWKEYE COACH Layne Anderson
Layne Anderson enters his first season as Iowa women’s head cross country coach. Anderson served as the head men’s and women’s cross country coach and assistant track coach at Auburn University prior to joining the Iowa staff. During his tenure at Auburn, he coached seven all-Americans, two SEC champions and 58 academic all-SEC performers.
QUOTING ANDERSON
“I’m extremely optimistic about this weekend. Our training has gone very well and for the first time this year we’ll be at full strength. Sarah (Arens) and Nikki (Chapple) give us a strong one-two punch at the top of the lineup and Katie (Donlon) and Georgia (Millward) our running really well. Our key will be getting solid performaces from our fifth runner. Five through eight need to come through for us to have the success I think we’re capable of having.”