Sept. 19, 2006
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THIS WEEK — The men’s cross country team will compete Saturday in the Roy Griak Invitational at Les Bolstad Golf Course in St. Paul, MN. The 8,000 meter race is scheduled to begin at 11:20 a.m. The Hawkeyes will compete against a number Big Ten teams including, Michigan State, Minnesota, and top ranked, Wisconsin.
THE RANKINGS– The United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches’ Association have released the preseason rankings for the 2006 season. The Hawkeyes are ranked 27th in the nation and fourth in the Midwest region.
LAST TIME OUT–The University of Iowa cross country teams hosted the Hawkeye Open on the Ashton Cross Country Course with a 6,000-meter race on September 9th. Syracuse’s Jeff Scull (18:37.56) took first in the men’s race, while Iowa was lead by a fifth place finish from sophomore Andy Napier (18:50.46). A youthful squad represented the men’s team. Napier, freshman Jesse Luciano (18:50.46, 6th), redshirt freshman Tommy Tate (19:12.36, 11th), sophomore Blake Schlotzhauer (19:12.85, 12th), and sophomore Alex Webster (19:41.00, 16th) all contributed in the win over Loyola. Redshirt freshmen Jay Renaud (19:44.69, 17th) and Brendan Camplin (20:14.66, 22nd) were close behind.
HAWKEYE MEN’S COACH Larry Wieczorek —Larry Wieczorek is in his 20th season as Iowa men’s cross country coach. During his tenure, the cross country team has placed sixth or higher nine times at the NCAA Regional Championships, has had 27 all-region selections and qualified for the NCAA Championships four times. In 2002, Wieczorek was named Midwest Region Coach of the Year by the United States Cross Country Association after the Hawkeyes won the NCAA regional for the first time in school history. In 2004, the Hawkeyes recorded their highest placings under Wieczorek at the Big Ten (3rd) and NCAA Championships (13th). 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 the Iowa record in the indoor two miles.
QUOTING COACH WIECZOREK –“This will be the first meet that we will have our team all together. We will get to see a lot of national ranked teams and hope to have as much success as last year’s third place finish.”