Oct. 24, 2005
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
THIS WEEK – The University of Iowa men’s and women’s cross country teams compete Saturday. They both will run at the Big Ten Championships hosted by the University of Minnesota. The women will start their 6,000 meter race at 10:45 a.m.while the men will follow with their 8,000 meter race at 11:30 a.m. All Big Ten teams will compete in the race held at Les Bolstad Golf Course. The Iowa men have already run at this course this year at the Roy Griak Invitational where the Hawkeyes captured a third place finish. For more information on the 2005 Big Ten Championships visit the home page at www.gophersports.com/events/index.asp.
LAST TIME OUT – Iowa men placed fourth out of 34 teams at the NCAA Pre-Nationals. The Hawkeyes finished with a total time of 2:02:42 and 193 points. Eric MacTaggart led Iowa with a time of 24:17 and finished 22nd out of 229 competitors.
The Iowa women placed 13th out of 35 teams at Pre-Nationals. Iowa finished with 401 team points and a team time of 1:48:35. Sophomore Meghan Armstrong finished 22nd out of 232 runners with a time of 20:49. Armstrong has led the team in every race this year.
PRESS CONFERENCE – The University of Iowa will host a pre-NCAA Midwest Regional Cross Country Championships press conference Monday, November 7 at 11 a.m. Iowa men’s Head Coach Larry Wieczorek and Iowa Women’s Head Coach Layne Anderson and a few student-athletes from each Hawkeye squad will be available in the Carver-Hawkeye Arena Press Room. Credentials requested for the championships can also be picked up at the press conference.
To request credentials, e-mail traci-wagner@hawkeyesports.com.
IOWA IN THE RANKINGS – The Iowa men are currently ranked No. 11 in the Mondo Men’s NCAA-I Cross Country Poll and No. 1 in the Midwest Region Poll. The Iowa women are ranked No. 30 in the FinishLynx Women’s NCAA Division-I cross country poll.
HAWKEYE COACH Larry Wieczorek – Larry Wieczorek is in his 18th season as Iowa men’s cross country coach. In the past six years, Iowa has placed no lower than sixth at the NCAA Regional, including a first place finish at the 2002 NCAA Regional, the highest finish in school history. Wieczorek was a two-time Big Ten champion and a member of Iowa’s last Big Ten track championship team in 1967. Wieczorek still owns Iowa records in the outdoor 5,000-meters and the indoor two mile.
HAWKEYE COACH Layne Anderson – Layne Anderson is in his second season as Iowa women’s cross country coach and assistant women’s track coach. In his first season at Iowa, Anderson guided the cross country team to a ninth-place finish at the NCAA Midwest Regional. 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 COACH WIECZOREK – “This meet is a very important step for our team. We are coming off our best performance last week and hope to keep improving and taking steps forward. I’m hoping the team will keep getting better in the championship part of our season.”
QUOTING COACH ANDERSON – “We are excited about the upcoming Big Ten Championship and the opportunity to improve our standing in the conference. It will be a tight battle for positions 4-7 and we will have to run our best to improve upon our seventh place finish from last year.”